Google Indexing API: Who Qualifies and What Quotas Apply?
The Google Indexing API is not a general-purpose recrawl tool. Google documents its use for pages with JobPosting structured data or BroadcastEvent embedded in VideoObject markup. For ordinary URLs, follow Google’s guidance to use URL Inspection for a few pages or a sitemap for many.
This distinction matters if you manage a small-business site: updating a service page does not make it eligible for the Indexing API. First identify the page type and its markup; check API quotas only if you are working with an eligible page and plan to use the API.
What changed on October 16, 2026?
Google Search Central’s Documentation Updates log says the Indexing API quota page was revised on October 16, 2026, to reflect current quota limits and process and to remove an outdated form. That is a documentation revision. The log does not say that eligibility expanded, quotas increased, or Google Search behavior changed.
Check eligibility before checking quotas
Google’s Indexing API Quickstart says the API can notify Google about new, updated, or deleted URLs, but its documented use is limited to pages with JobPosting structured data or BroadcastEvent embedded in VideoObject markup. The quickstart describes its use for job-posting and livestreaming-video pages.
Do not add structured data solely to try to qualify a page for the API. Start by checking whether the page genuinely belongs to one of Google’s documented types and has the applicable required markup. If it does not, use the recrawl route Google documents for ordinary URLs.
Google says API submissions undergo spam detection. Abuse, including attempts to exceed quotas, may result in access being revoked.
Check your project’s Indexing API quota
If the page is eligible and you intend to use the API, open Google API Console and inspect the quota for the project you will use. Google’s Indexing API Quota and Pricing page lists these default per-project limits:
- 200 publish requests per day
- 180 metadata requests per minute
- 380 total requests per minute
Google says the daily quota resets at midnight Pacific Time. A quota increase can take up to 24 hours to take effect, and Indexing API use is free. Treat the published numbers as documented defaults, not proof that your project has those exact limits: check the quota shown for your own project before planning requests.
Choose the documented route for ordinary URLs
For pages that are not eligible for the Indexing API, Google’s Ask Google to Recrawl URLs guidance recommends:
- A few URLs: use URL Inspection in Search Console to request indexing.
- Many URLs: submit or update a sitemap so Google can discover the URLs.
These are route-selection recommendations, not evidence that one method produces better Search outcomes. Google also says repeatedly requesting a recrawl for the same URL will not make it crawl faster. The cited guidance does not establish whether quota accounting for these routes is independent of Indexing API quotas, so do not assume either way.
Hypothetical example: updated service pages
Imagine a small-business website revises its pricing and service descriptions across several ordinary service pages. Those updates do not make the pages eligible for the Indexing API. If the owner wants Google to recrawl just a few revised URLs, URL Inspection is the documented route. If many URLs changed, the owner can use a sitemap. In either case, monitor what Search Console reports; submission is not confirmation that Google crawled or indexed the pages.
Verify the route and monitor the result
- Classify the page and check its markup. Confirm whether it is an eligible job-posting or livestreaming-video page. Check for
JobPostingstructured data or, as applicable,BroadcastEventembedded inVideoObject. - Check the project quota if using the API. In Google API Console, inspect the Indexing API quota for the specific project. Compare that value with the documented defaults rather than assuming they match.
- Choose the documented route. For a few ordinary URLs, use URL Inspection; for many, use a sitemap. For eligible pages, the Indexing API can send its documented notification.
- Check crawl and indexing status. Google recommends monitoring with the Index Status report or URL Inspection in Search Console.
A notification or request is not the same as a crawl, and a crawl is not the same as inclusion in Search results. Google says recrawling can take a few days to a few weeks, and a crawl request does not guarantee inclusion.
Are the pages you want recrawled actually eligible for the Indexing API, or should you use URL Inspection or a sitemap?
Sources
Editorial note: AI assists with research, drafting and automated checks. Sources are linked so you can verify the guidance. Platform requirements can change; confirm the details that apply to your setup.
