How to Get Your IndexNow Key File

How to Get Your IndexNow Key File

Follow these simple steps to generate and verify your IndexNow key — it only takes 2 minutes.

Follow these simple steps to generate and verify your IndexNow key — it only takes 2 minutes.

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Step 2

Create, Save, and Download Key File (.txt)

Create, Save, and Download Key File (.txt)

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Step 3

Host your API key: Upload to Website Root

Host your API key: Upload to Website Root

Quick Instructions

1. Go to https://www.indexnow.org/key and click “Generate” to get your unique key.

2. Download the .txt file, upload it to your website’s root, and visit the URL to confirm it’s accessible in plain text.

Uh Oh..Need a Hand? What could go wrong?

Since I couldn’t upload the IndexNow key file directly to the root of my website, I used a combination of Amazon S3 and Cloudflare DNS to host the .txt file on a custom subdomain.

Hosting the IndexNow Verification File Using Amazon S3 + Cloudflare DNS

A)
Created a custom subdomain

→ indexnow.fairwaydigitalmedia.com

B) Set up an S3 Bucket in AWS:

(a) Bucket name: indexnow.fairwaydigitalmedia.com

(b) Enabled Static Website Hosting

(c) Set the Default Root Object to the name of the .txt key file

(d) Uploaded the IndexNow .txt key file to the bucket

C) Configured Cloudflare DNS:

(a) Added a CNAME record:

D) Tested the setup by visiting:
http://indexnow.fairwaydigitalmedia.com/
→ Confirmed that the key file loads properly

This workaround allows the .txt verification file to be publicly accessible — fulfilling the IndexNow verification requirement even without root server access

We're now fully set up to get our content indexed by search engines and LLMs that respect IndexNow.

We’ll guide you through every step, and once your key file is live, automating IndexNow updates is handled for you.

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