How to Submit URLs to Google: Add URL Alternatives That Work

You published a page or landed a backlink — and Google does not see it. Instead of hunting for retired "add URL" forms, start with what actually works: AGD Index sends real Googlebot and Bingbot visits to a list of your URLs — the crawlers hit every address on the list, and pages enter the crawl queue within hours instead of weeks. Below: the full picture of how to submit URLs with Google's free tools, where their quotas bite, and how they combine with bot visits.

What the Google Add URL form was and where it went

"Add URL" (webmasters also called it the submit-your-site form) was Google's public page where anyone could paste a URL and ask Google to crawl it. It lived at google.com/addurl for years and was the default answer to "how do I add my URL to Google?"

In 2018 Google retired the public form. The official position: quality signals matter more than quantity, and Google already discovers new URLs through sitemaps, links, and Chrome. Two replacements were offered:

• Google Search Console with the URL Inspection tool and its "Request Indexing" button — for individual pages;
• Sitemaps — for announcing new URLs at scale.

So the ability to submit a URL to Google still exists. The format changed: a simple form became quota-limited tools, and bulk workflows moved to third-party bot-visit services.

Method 1. URL Inspection in Google Search Console

The primary free way to get a page indexed is Google Search Console with a verified property.

Step by step:

1. Open Search Console and paste the full URL into the top search bar (URL Inspection).
2. Wait for the inspection result: Google shows what it sees — title, canonical, mobile rendering.
3. Click "Request Indexing". Google queues the URL for crawling.
4. Check the status a few days later in the Page Indexing report or the same URL Inspection tool.

The quotas nobody mentions

Google does not publish exact limits, but it confirms that quotas for indexing requests exist and raising request volume does not speed indexing up. Community experience puts it at roughly 10 pages per day per property. If you run multiple sites, you hit the ceiling fast: submitting 300 URLs by hand takes months.

URL Inspection is perfect for one important page: a new landing page, an updated homepage, a fresh post. It is not a bulk submission tool.

Method 2. Sitemap.xml — bulk but passive

A sitemap is a sitemap.xml file listing your site's URLs. It is the official way to tell Google about pages at scale.

How it works:

1. Generate the sitemap (CMS platforms do this natively or via plugins — Yoast, Rank Math, built-in Wix and Tilda settings).
2. Reference it in robots.txt: Sitemap: https://site.com/sitemap.xml.
3. Submit it in Search Console: Sitemaps section → add the sitemap URL.

The sitemap problem is speed. Google decides when to fetch the map and which URLs to crawl. On trusted sites new pages get picked up within hours to days; on fresh domains it takes weeks. A sitemap puts URLs on Google's radar but does not force a crawl.

Method 3. The Google Indexing API — why it is not an option for regular pages

The Indexing API is Google's programmatic interface for notifying changes about pages. Officially it is allowed for exactly two content types: job postings (JobPosting) and live broadcasts (BroadcastEvent in a VideoObject).

For years SEOs used it beyond that scope — sending URL_UPDATED events for regular pages through scripts and plugins (for example, Rank Math's Instant Indexing). That trick no longer works: Google's documentation explicitly restricts the API to the two types above, and requests outside them are ignored. Webmaster threads on Google's support forum reporting that the Indexing API "stopped working" for regular pages confirm it.

The technical setup (a Google Cloud project, a service account with a JSON key, property verification in Search Console) and the default quotas (200 requests per minute per project) no longer matter: requests for regular pages do not trigger a crawl. Bottom line: the API is still useful for jobs and livestreams, but you cannot add a regular page to the index with it.

Method 4. Bot-visit services: bulk URL submission

When the list is hundreds or thousands of URLs — new categories, programmatic pages, purchased backlinks, catalogs after a migration — you need services that direct real search bots to your URLs.

How it works with AGD Index:

1. You prepare a clean URL list in a plain .txt file — one URL per line.
2. Send the file to the Telegram bot or via the API.
3. The service directs a real Googlebot (or Bingbot) to every URL on the list: one bot visit = one URL.
4. The bot arrives at the page and puts it into the processing queue — the same effect as a manual indexing request, without Search Console's daily quotas and at any volume.

Unlike the ping services of the 2000s, this is not spam links pointing at your URL — it is an actual search crawler visiting the address. Unlike the Indexing API: no Google Cloud, service accounts, or scripts needed, and you can submit domains you do not own — for example, pages carrying your backlinks (more on this below).

Pricing starts at 2,000 bot visits for 10 USDT, pay-per-volume, no subscriptions. New users get a starter bonus for a first test.

Comparing ways to submit URLs to Google

How to submit backlinks for indexing

A task where URL Inspection and the Indexing API cannot help at all: indexing a link on a third-party domain. Google's own tools only work for properties you verify.

If you bought a guest post, a directory listing, or a profile link — Google must find that page on its own. If the donor site is poorly crawled, the link can sit unindexed for months, and you keep paying for a link Google never counts.

The answer is the same bot visits: you submit the donor URLs (not your site!), the bot visits every page carrying your link, and it enters Google's field of view. More on this in why Google is not indexing your pages.

Pre-submission checklist

Sending a bot to a broken or blocked page is wasted budget. Before any submission method, verify:

1. The URL returns 200 OK with no redirect to another address.
2. No blockers: robots.txt does not disallow crawling, the page has no noindex, the canonical does not point elsewhere. Blockers explained in Robots.txt, noindex, and indexing blockers.
3. Internal links exist to the page from other pages of your site — orphan URLs index worse.
4. The content is unique and useful — a bot visit guarantees a crawl, not index inclusion: the algorithm makes the final call. If Google crawled but did not index, see Crawled, currently not indexed.

FAQ

How long does indexing take after submission?

From an hour to several days with forced submission (bot visits). Passive sitemap discovery takes days to weeks, longer on fresh domains. GSC's Request Indexing usually lands within 1–3 days but is quota-limited.

Can I submit a URL to Google for free?

Yes. Free options: URL Inspection in Search Console (one by one) and sitemaps (bulk but slow). The Indexing API is technically free but officially limited to job postings and livestreams — regular pages cannot be added with it. Paid bot visits matter when volume is large or speed is critical.

Why is Request Indexing unavailable or rejected?

The tool is limited to property owners and full-access users in Search Console. If the property is unverified or the quota is spent, the button will not work. Google can also refuse pages with noindex, redirects, or load errors.

How do I submit someone else's site for indexing?

Not possible through Google's official tools — they only cover verified properties. For third-party pages (backlinks, mentions), bot-visit services like AGD Index are used.

Does resubmitting the same URL speed things up?

Yes — repeated bot visits to the same URL add a freshness signal; in AGD Index you simply repeat the URL in the list. But if the page was rejected on content quality, repeats will not help.

What about Bing?

For Bing, the fast paths are the IndexNow protocol and Bingbot visits — the same AGD Index lists work for both engines. See Fast indexing service.

What to read next

• Check the basics: robots.txt and noindex blockers — the top reason submitted URLs stay out of the index.
• CMS workflows: WordPress indexing and the Wix, Tilda, Bitrix platform guide.
• Ready to submit a list — Google and Bing bot visit tariffs.