Google Indexing API limits and quota, explained

The Google Indexing API is powerful, but it comes with hard limits that catch people out — usually right when they're trying to push a big batch. Knowing the quota math up front lets you plan your pushes instead of hitting a wall mid-migration.

The core quota: 200 requests per day

Google grants roughly 200 publish requests per day per Google Cloud project by default. Each URL you push (whether it's an update or a removal notification) counts as one request. The quota resets at midnight Pacific time. This is a project-level cap, not a per-URL or per-property one.

• URL updates (URL_UPDATED) and removals (URL_DELETED) both count against the 200/day.
• The cap is per Cloud project — if a service is built on one shared project, everyone's pushes draw from the same 200.
• You can request a quota increase from Google, but it's granted case-by-case and not guaranteed.

The official content-type rule

Officially, the Indexing API is for two content types: JobPosting and BroadcastEvent. For those, Google honors it as a first-class signal. For other page types, it still works as the strongest crawl hint Google exposes — but Google doesn't guarantee indexing, and any tool claiming a guarantee is overselling. Use it as a powerful nudge, not a magic button.

Spending 200/day wisely

1. Prioritize by value: new and recently updated high-traffic URLs first.
2. Pre-check before pushing — don't spend quota on URLs Google already has indexed. A status check first tells you which URLs actually need a push.
3. Skip URLs that 404 or redirect; pushing them wastes a request and can file them wrong.
4. For sites bigger than 200 new URLs/day, spread pushes across days and lean on sitemaps for the long tail.

Other limits to remember

• URL Inspection (status checks) has its own separate quota: ~2,000 queries/day and 600/min per property, counted on the property, not the Indexing API project.
• Every URL must belong to a Search Console property you own and have verified — unverified URLs are rejected before they cost you a request.
• Batch sensibly: IndexerNow caps batches (50 URLs by default) and reserves quota atomically so you can't accidentally overspend.