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Bing, IndexNow and the search engines that aren't Google

Google gets most of the attention, but Bing's index also powers Yahoo and much of DuckDuckGo, and Apple Maps is on every iPhone. The setup takes about half an hour. Some of the verification takes days.

Last checked October 15, 2026 · about 5 minutes to read · drafted and checked with AI help, here's how

Once Google Search Console is set up, it's easy to stop there. That leaves out a real slice of the people looking for you: everyone using Bing, Yahoo or DuckDuckGo, and everyone who opens Apple Maps instead of Google Maps on their iPhone. None of these cost anything, and two of them can copy what you already did for Google.

Why Bing matters more than its name suggests

Bing is a search engine in its own right, and it also feeds others:

  • Yahoo. Yahoo's help pages say its search results are generated by an algorithm run by Microsoft Bing.
  • DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo says it gets its regular links and images "largely" from Bing. It also runs its own crawler and uses other sources for its instant answers.

So getting your site into Bing's index is the main step for showing up in all three.

Setting up Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools is Bing's version of Search Console. Go to bing.com/webmasters and sign in. You can use a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account.

The shortcut: import from Google

If you've already verified your site in Google Search Console, choose the option to import from Search Console. Bing says imported sites are verified automatically. You can import up to 100 sites at once, which is handy if you run more than one.

Or verify it yourself

If you imported from Google, skip this part. Otherwise, these are Bing's other ways to prove you own the site. Any web designer can do them in a few minutes:

  • XML file: download a small file called BingSiteAuth.xml and upload it to the top folder of your site.
  • Meta tag: paste a line into your home page's header. Most site builders have a box for this.
  • CNAME record: add a record to your domain's DNS settings, usually at your domain company.
  • DNS auto verification: shows up only if your DNS provider has partnered with Bing. It does the DNS step for you after you log in.

Then submit your sitemap

Under Sitemaps, add the same sitemap address you gave Google, usually yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. If you added a Sitemap: line to your robots.txt file, Bing can find it there too.

Old advice you can skip: Bing used to accept anonymous sitemap "pings" sent to a web address. It stopped on May 13, 2022. Use Webmaster Tools, your robots.txt file or IndexNow instead.

IndexNow: telling search engines a page changed

Normally a search engine finds out about a new or changed page whenever it next gets around to crawling your site. IndexNow flips that around. Your site sends a short notice that says "this address is new or changed", and the search engine can come look.

Who uses it

The IndexNow site lists Microsoft Bing, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yandex and Yep as supporting it, and its list of endpoints also includes Amazon and the Internet Archive. A submission to any one of them is shared with all the others, so you only send it once.

Google doesn't take part. It isn't listed anywhere on the IndexNow site, and Google's own page on getting pages recrawled mentions only Search Console and sitemaps. For Google, keep using those.

How it works

  1. Make up a key: a string of 8 to 128 letters, numbers and dashes.
  2. Save it in a plain text file named after itself, like a1b2c3d4e5f6.txt, and put that file in the top folder of your site. The file proves the notices really come from you.
  3. When you publish or change a page, send its address along with the key. For a single page it can be as simple as visiting a web address like this one:
https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yoursite.com%2Fnew-page&key=a1b2c3d4e5f6

The page's address has to be URL-encoded, which is why :// and / turn into codes like %3A and %2F. Free online "URL encoder" tools do this for you.

For lots of pages at once, IndexNow accepts up to 10,000 addresses in a single submission. That part takes a small script, or a tool that does it for you.

You may not have to do any of this by hand. Some hosts, content systems and SEO plugins can send IndexNow notices automatically whenever you publish. Look in your platform's settings or plugin list for "IndexNow" before building anything yourself.

Don't overdo it. IndexNow is for pages that are actually new, changed or deleted. Sending the same unchanged pages over and over doesn't help them rank.

Bing Places for Business

Bing Places is Bing's version of a Google Business Profile: the listing that shows in Bing Maps and Bing's local results. If you already have a Google Business Profile, Bing Places can import it:

  • Choose the option to import from your Google Business Profile and sign in to Google.
  • You can have Bing re-sync your Google listing weekly, every two weeks or monthly, so changes you make on Google carry over.
  • Bing says a listing that's already verified on Google is verified automatically and goes live in about 7 to 12 days.

A few catches, from Bing's own help page: categories may not carry over exactly, duplicate listings can appear, and once a listing is linked you can't edit it in Bing. You make changes in Google and they flow across at the next sync.

Apple Maps: Apple Business

On an iPhone, the default map app is Apple Maps, not Google Maps. Apple's free tool for businesses used to be called Apple Business Connect. On April 14, 2026, Apple replaced it with a service called Apple Business, at business.apple.com. Data from the old Business Connect was moved over automatically, so if you set it up before, you don't have to start again.

Through Apple Business you can claim your location and edit your "place card", the panel with your hours, phone number, website and photos. Apple says the place card appears across Apple Maps, Safari, Spotlight and more. As with Google and Bing, keep it matching your website exactly.

A sensible order for all of this

  1. Google Search Console and your sitemap (guide).
  2. Google Business Profile if you qualify (guide).
  3. Bing Webmaster Tools, imported from Search Console.
  4. Bing Places, imported from your Business Profile once that's verified.
  5. Apple Business.
  6. IndexNow, if your platform offers it, or later when you're publishing new pages often.

Sources

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