Tools & Protocols
Protocols in this section fall into two groups: adopted standards that search engines document support for (XML sitemaps, IndexNow on participating engines), and proposals that no major search platform documents using (llms.txt). Entries say which is which.
Start with XML sitemaps vs IndexNow, then read the claim checks on Claim: llms.txt improves AI search visibility and on Claim: The Indexing API gets any page indexed fast, which covers what Google’s Indexing API is actually for.
Entries in this topic
Claim checks
- Claim: llms.txt improves AI search visibilityNo major search platform documents using llms.txt for ranking or citation. Google says Google Search ignores the file, so it neither helps nor harms rankings there. llms.txt itself is a 2024 community proposal for a curated Markdown index of a site.
- Claim: The Indexing API gets any page indexed fastGoogle's Indexing API only works for pages with JobPosting or BroadcastEvent embedded in a VideoObject. Submissions face spam detection, the default quota is 200 publish requests per day, and quota abuse can cost you access. For other pages, use sitemaps and URL Inspection.