Search Atlas Help Center

⚡ Set Up OTTO IndexNow

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Camilo Aponte

Camilo Aponte

Last updated on Oct 8, 2026

⚡ What IndexNow does

IndexNow notifies search engines, including Bing, when your pages are added, updated, or removed. This can help them discover changes faster, but it does not guarantee indexing or ranking.

🔗 Connect Bing to Search Atlas

  1. Open your project in Search Atlas and go to the OTTO SEO settings.
  2. Open the IndexNow or instant indexing setup area.
  3. Choose Bing and follow the connection instructions shown in the platform.
  4. If prompted, sign in to Bing Webmaster Tools and select the website that matches your Search Atlas project.
  5. Complete any ownership verification requested by Bing. The verified website and project URL must use the same domain and protocol where applicable.

If Bing asks you to verify ownership, use one of its available verification methods, such as an HTML file, meta tag, or DNS record. Complete verification in Bing Webmaster Tools before returning to the Search Atlas setup.

🔑 Create the IndexNow key file

  1. Copy the IndexNow API key provided during the OTTO setup.
  2. Create a plain-text file using that exact key as the file name, followed by .txt. For example, if the key is abc123, the file name is abc123.txt.
  3. Save the file as UTF-8 text. Do not add formatting, quotation marks, spaces, or extra text. The file should contain the key itself.
  4. Upload the file to the root directory of your website.

📁 Where to upload the file

The root directory is the top-level public folder that serves your domain. The file must be reachable at a URL like https://www.example.com/abc123.txt or https://example.com/abc123.txt, depending on the version of your domain used in Search Atlas.

Do not place the file inside /wp-content/, /uploads/, a theme folder, or another subfolder. The file must be alongside files such as index.html or the main public website files.

🛠️ Upload options by website type

  • WordPress: Use your hosting control panel, hosting file manager, SFTP, or a file-management plugin approved by your site administrator. Upload the file to the WordPress installation's public root, usually the folder containing wp-admin and wp-content.
  • Other hosted platforms: Use the platform's file manager or custom-code/file-upload area. Look for an option that publishes a static file at the domain root, not a page editor or media library.
  • Git-based or developer-managed sites: Add the file to the repository's public root and deploy the change.
  • Sites without file access: Ask your hosting provider, developer, or website administrator to upload the UTF-8 file to the public root and confirm its live URL.

✅ Verify the setup

  1. Open the key file URL in a browser, such as https://example.com/abc123.txt.
  2. Confirm the page displays only the exact key.
  3. Check that the URL does not redirect to a login page, 404 page, homepage, or file-download error.
  4. Return to the OTTO IndexNow setup and use the verification or test option.
  5. Save the configuration and allow time for the first notification to process.

🔍 Common setup problems

  • The file name does not match the API key exactly.
  • The key was saved with a hidden extension such as .txt.txt.
  • The file includes a blank line, spaces, quotation marks, or rich-text formatting.
  • The file was uploaded to a subfolder instead of the domain root.
  • The file is available on www, but the project uses the non-www version, or the reverse.
  • The website blocks crawlers, requires authentication, or redirects the key URL.
  • Bing ownership verification is incomplete or was completed for a different domain variation.

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be instantly connected with a member of our team.