Indexing API bypasses 'Discovered - currently not indexed' queue

What happened

A practitioner on r/TechSEO shared results from a 5,000-page split test comparing the Google Indexing API against standard sitemap submission for bypassing the “Discovered - currently not indexed” queue.

The user, alexcobasb, split a new programmatic cluster into two equal groups of 2,500 URLs. The control group was submitted via a standard XML sitemap. The test group was pushed through the Indexing API V3 using a GCP service account. Over seven days, the control group reached 8.4% indexation with slow crawling. The test group hit 94% indexation, with most URLs crawled and indexed within 48 hours.

The test specifically targeted standard content pages, not job postings or livestream videos.

Why it matters

That distinction matters because Google’s Indexing API documentation explicitly states the API “can only be used to crawl pages with JobPosting or BroadcastEvent embedded in a VideoObject.” The API was designed for short-lived content types like job listings and live video events.

The practitioner’s results suggest Google is currently processing Indexing API pings for non-qualifying page types and crawling them anyway. The 94% vs. 8.4% gap is dramatic. For sites stuck in the “Discovered - currently not indexed” limbo, especially large programmatic clusters or post-migration pages, the difference is significant.

However, this is an unsanctioned use of the API. Google could enforce the documented restrictions at any time, rejecting pings for pages that lack JobPosting or BroadcastEvent markup. Practitioners who build workflows around this behavior should treat it as a temporary advantage, not a reliable long-term strategy.

Sites running large-scale programmatic SEO or recovering from migrations are the most likely beneficiaries. Small sites with a few dozen pages stuck in the queue have less to gain since manual URL inspection in Search Console often handles those cases.

What to do

If you want to test this approach, here is the setup the practitioner described:

1. Create a GCP project and enable the API. Go to Google Cloud Console, create a new project, search for “Web Search Indexing API,” and enable it.

2. Create a service account. Under IAM & Admin > Service Accounts, create a new account. Copy the generated email address (formatted as name@project.iam.gserviceaccount.com). Generate a JSON key file via Manage Keys > Add Key > Create New Key (JSON). Google’s authentication docs cover service account setup in more detail.

3. Add the service account to Search Console. In GSC, go to Settings > Users and permissions. Add the service account email as a user. The practitioner stressed that the permission level must be set to Owner, not “Full.”

4. Batch-submit URLs. The Indexing API supports up to 100 URLs per batch request. For a 5,000-page cluster, that means 50 batch calls.

Before scaling up, start with a small test group of 50–100 URLs. Compare indexation rates against a control group submitted only via sitemap. Monitor GSC’s crawl stats and index coverage reports to verify the API pings are triggering crawls.

Keep JobPosting or BroadcastEvent markup considerations in mind. The practitioner’s test succeeded without qualifying markup, but Google’s documentation says it is required. A future enforcement change could invalidate this approach overnight.

Watch out for

Silent failures with wrong permissions. The practitioner flagged that setting the service account to “Full” permission in GSC instead of “Owner” causes the API to silently reject requests. You will not get an error. The URLs simply will not be crawled.

API quota limits. Google enforces daily quota limits on Indexing API calls. The default quota may not cover large-scale submissions. Check your GCP project’s quota dashboard before batching thousands of URLs.

Policy risk. Google’s documentation restricts the API to JobPosting and BroadcastEvent pages. Using it for other content types works today based on one practitioner’s test, but Google could start enforcing the restriction or flag accounts that abuse it.