Frequently Asked Questions
How Does InstaIndex Work?
InstaIndex automates the process of notifying search engines about new, updated, or deleted content in your Shopify store using the IndexNow protocol. Once you subscribe to a plan, this happens automatically whenever you add or modify products, collections, blog posts, or pages. The app ensures that your changes are quickly discoverable on supported search engines, helping you reach more customers faster.
We recommend creating a Bing Webmaster Tools account to fully benefit from InstaIndex. This allows you to monitor your submissions on the IndexNow page. Please note that for new users, submissions might take a few days to appear on this page; however, all submissions are processed in real time by the search engines.
Will the App Submit All of My Existing URLs After Installation?
No, InstaIndex does not automatically submit all of your existing URLs upon installation. The IndexNow protocol is designed to notify search engines about new or updated content, not unchanged existing pages. Submitting all existing URLs without changes is considered misuse of the protocol and may lead to penalties from search engines.
We recommend submitting your store's sitemap to search engines separately. This allows them to discover and index your existing content at their own pace, while InstaIndex handles real-time notifications of new and updated content moving forward.
How Do I Submit Changes Made Before Installing the App?
The app relies on Shopify webhooks to listen for changes on your store and submit URLs, which aligns perfectly with how IndexNow is designed to work. The official IndexNow guide discourages submitting changes made before the protocol is implemented. However, if you've made significant changes like bulk deleting products or importing new ones in the last few hours, feel free to use our manual submission function to submit those URLs. Please remember, SEO is a long-term game, and you'll benefit more by ensuring all future changes are submitted through InstaIndex.
I Made Changes but the App Is Not Submitting URLs
If you've made changes to your store after installing the app and subscribing to a plan and noticed that InstaIndex is not submitting these updates, here's what you can do:
- For Products and Collections: The app submits updates in real time. If this hasn't happened, go to the Settings page in the InstaIndex app. Visiting this page resets the webhook registration. You can also check the status of key verification on this page. If the key status appears to be not working, regenerate the key. The app should pick up any updates afterward. If it doesn't, please contact support.
- For Blog Posts and Pages: Updates are submitted every 10 minutes in batches due to Shopify API limitations. If submissions aren't occurring as expected, please contact support.
How Can I Verify URLs Submitted by InstaIndex in Search Engines?
InstaIndex provides detailed submission logs for tracking automatic URL submissions. For further verification, you can check submissions in your search engine's webmaster tools. For example, in Bing:
- Log into Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Select your site.
- Navigate to the IndexNow page via the side navigation to view submitted URLs.
Please note that URLs may take 24–48 hours to appear if you have recently added your store or installed InstaIndex. If URLs don't appear as expected, please verify your store's key status in the InstaIndex settings or consider contacting support.
My Submission Failure Rate Is High. What Should I Do?
A high submission failure rate may indicate issues with your key verification or the IndexNow service. Please check the response codes for failed submissions in the submission logs. If you see errors related to the key, please regenerate your key in the InstaIndex settings. If the issue persists, please consider contacting support.
Do I Still Need a Sitemap with InstaIndex?
Yes, we recommend adding your sitemap to Bing and other search engines. While InstaIndex notifies search engines about new and updated content in real time, sitemaps provide search engines with a complete list of all your site's URLs. This helps search engines discover and crawl all your content, including pages that haven't changed recently.
How Do I Unsubscribe from InstaIndex?
We're sorry to see you go. If this decision is due to an issue you're experiencing, our team is here to help resolve it. Your success is our success, and we'd love to assist you in any way we can. If cost is a concern, please reach out to us and explain your situation—we might be able to offer a discount for a limited time.
However, if you still wish to proceed, you can simply uninstall the app from your Shopify store, which will cancel your subscription.
If you have any other questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our support team—we're here to help!