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chore(seo): add the IndexNow key file - #31
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IndexNow lets a site notify Bing, Yandex and Seznam that URLs changed, instead of waiting to be recrawled; Bing's legacy sitemap ping endpoint is deprecated, so this is the remaining automated route. Submissions are authenticated by hosting a file named after the key, containing the key, at the site root. Adds docs/00298a26fa365f68b7dc8505d1543a57.txt. It must stay reachable at https://pierrejochem.github.io/SpeculumExampleModule/00298a26fa365f68b7dc8505d1543a57.txt for as long as that key is used to submit — deleting it silently invalidates every future submission.
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Why
The docs site now has a
sitemap.xml, but nothing has told a search engine it exists. Of the automated routes:/ping?sitemap=) is deprecated and no longer accepted.IndexNow authenticates by key ownership — the submitter hosts a file named after the key, containing the key, at the site root.
Change
Adds
docs/00298a26fa365f68b7dc8505d1543a57.txt, which will serve at:One file, 32 bytes, no code.
Important
This file must stay reachable for as long as the key is used. Deleting it does not raise an error — it silently invalidates every future submission.
The key is not a secret in the usual sense: it is published deliberately, and it only grants the ability to say "these URLs on this site changed". It is scoped to this host.
After merge
Once Pages redeploys and the file is live, the four sitemap URLs get submitted to the IndexNow API. Google remains manual — it needs a verified Search Console property, which cannot be automated from here.