Indexing Requests Ignored

Job website operators are reporting lengthy delays when applying for access to Google’s Indexing API, with some saying they have waited months without receiving either approval or a rejection.

The issue matters because Google recommends the Indexing API for job posting pages. However, using the API beyond its initial testing quota requires additional approval, and Google’s public documentation does not explain how long that approval process should take.

Job Boards Report Long Delays

SEO consultant Nick LeRoy, who operates SEOJobs.com and PPCJobs.com, recently brought attention to the issue after saying that neither of his job sites had received approval or a quota increase.

LeRoy said he and job board consultant Alexander Chukovski had gathered information from more than 100 job boards. Based on those reports, they believe approvals may have become extremely limited.

However, LeRoy has stressed that this is an observation rather than confirmed information from Google.

In a July newsletter, he said requests for both of his websites had been submitted again several months earlier. He reported receiving no approval, rejection or request for additional information.

Chukovski has reported similar experiences. He said he had visibility over at least 50 applications dating back to October 2025 and had not seen any successfully approved.

Neither consultant has claimed to have inside information about Google’s approval process.

Other job site owners have raised similar concerns in the Google Search Central Community.

Posts published during the year describe operators submitting applications repeatedly and waiting between several months and more than half a year without receiving a clear response.

Some have also said they received no acknowledgement, reference number or way to check whether their application was still being reviewed.

Google’s API Has a Testing Limit

Google’s documentation creates an unusual situation for job publishers.

Its job posting structured data guidance recommends the Indexing API rather than relying solely on sitemaps because the API can prompt Googlebot to crawl job URLs sooner.

However, the Indexing API’s own documentation explains that the default quota is intended for onboarding and testing.

Additional approval is required before the API can be used beyond that initial allowance.

Google clarified this wording in September 2024, explaining that the default quota is intended for initial setup and testing. A spam warning was also added to the documentation shortly afterwards.

Applications for additional access are submitted through a Google Form.

Google says quota levels can change depending on document quality, but its public documentation does not provide a standard timeframe for reviewing applications.

There is also no obvious public system that allows site owners to see whether an application is pending, approved or rejected.

Why Approval Matters

For job boards, the distinction between testing and full access is important.

A site can receive the default quota while setting up and testing its API integration. However, operators wanting to use the system more extensively need Google’s approval.

This leaves publishers facing uncertainty when their requests remain unanswered.

A lack of response does not necessarily mean an application has been rejected. It could simply mean that the request is still waiting to be reviewed.

Without a published timeframe or status system, however, site owners have little way of knowing what is happening.

Google’s Comments on the Issue

Google Search representative John Mueller addressed the issue in May after LeRoy raised concerns about his stalled applications.

Mueller said he was not aware of a specific problem but suggested that Google may now be more cautious when approving Indexing API requests.

He pointed to the number of bloggers attempting to present themselves as legitimate websites as one reason for that caution.

However, his comments did not explain how the current approval process works or how long applicants should expect to wait.

Google was also asked about the reported delays, including whether job sites are still being reviewed, whether there is a typical processing time and whether applicants can track their requests.

No response had been provided at the time of the original report.

What Does an HTTP 200 Response Mean?

Some of the confusion also comes from how the API responds to requests.

Google explains that an HTTP 200 response means it may attempt to recrawl the submitted URL soon. It does not guarantee that the page will immediately be crawled or indexed.

Several job site operators have reported receiving a 200 response after sending a publishing request, followed by a 404 response when checking the same URL through the API’s metadata endpoint.

Google’s documentation says the metadata endpoint shows the most recent notification received for a URL.

Reports from different operators suggest that this 200-then-404 pattern can occur when a project has not received full approval.

However, Google’s public documentation does not explicitly state that a 404 from this endpoint confirms that an application has not been approved.

A Google Product Expert suggested that the response could indicate the project had not been approved and that the initial 200 response could still be useful when testing an integration.

Product Experts are volunteers rather than Google employees, so this should not be treated as an official explanation from Google.

Sitemaps Still Matter

The Indexing API is designed to help Google discover changes to job posting URLs more quickly, but it does not replace sitemaps completely.

Google’s job posting guidance continues to recommend submitting a sitemap to help provide broader coverage of a website.

This means job publishers should not rely entirely on API access while waiting for an approval decision.

What Happens Next?

At present, there is no clear public indication of how long job sites should expect to wait for Indexing API approval.

The reports from job board operators suggest that some applications have remained unanswered for months, but there is not enough public information to establish whether this reflects a widespread pause in approvals or simply delays affecting individual applications.

For now, publishers can continue monitoring Google’s Indexing API documentation and quota information for updates.

Any formal change to the approval process would likely be reflected in Google’s documentation or its updates to the API quota guidance.

Until then, job site operators are left with an API that Google recommends for faster job URL crawling, but an approval process that provides little visibility into when access will actually be granted.