How can I automate the "Request Index" action in the Google Search Console?

In website SEO optimization, ensuring content is quickly indexed by Google is crucial. The traditional method is to manually click "Request Index" in the Google Search Console (GSC), but this is both tedious and inefficient for websites with large amounts of content or frequent updates. Fortunately, the Google Indexing API allows for automated "Request Index," enabling newly published or updated content to quickly enter the Google index. Below is a detailed explanation of the steps.

Step 1: Create a Google Services account

1. Log in to the Google Cloud Console .

2. Create a new project.

3. Enable the Indexing API in "APIs and Services" .

4. Create a service account and download the key file in JSON format (e.g. google-service-account.json).

5. In GSC, add the service account's email address as the website owner .

Step 2: Install the client library

The API can be called using Python, PHP, or Node.js. For example, using Python:

pip install google-api-python-client google-auth-httplib2 google-auth-oauthlib

Step 3: Write the automatic indexing script

Example Python script:

from google.oauth2 import service_account
from googleapiclient.discovery import build

SCOPES = ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/indexing']
SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE = 'path/to/google-service-account.json'

credentials = service_account.Credentials.from_service_account_file(
    SERVICE_ACCOUNT_FILE, scopes=SCOPES)
service = build('indexing', 'v3', credentials=credentials)

def publish_url(url):
    body = {
        "url": url,
        "type": "URL_UPDATED
    }
    service.urlNotifications().publish(body=body).execute()

publish_url('https://www.yoursite.com/new-page')

Running this script will automatically send indexing requests to Google. You can combine it with cron jobs or CMS posting hooks to automate the process.

Step 4: Monitor index status

In GSC, you can view index status and error reports to ensure that automatically submitted URLs are being successfully crawled. Regular monitoring helps identify and fix issues promptly.

Precautions

• The Indexing API is primarily suitable for new content and important updates , and is not ideal for batch refreshing of all pages.

• Automated submissions do not guarantee immediate indexing. Google crawls pages based on website authority, content quality, and queue priority.

• Ensure your website has high-quality content and a clear page structure so that automatic indexing can be more effective.

By following the steps above, you can automate GSC's indexing requests in 2025 and beyond, significantly improving SEO efficiency and allowing new pages to appear quickly in search results.