In the fast-paced SEO landscape, speed of indexing can mean the difference between securing search engine rankings and watching your content get outranked by competitors. Whether you’ve just published a blog post, added new product pages, or earned high-value backlinks, the faster Google and other search engines know about it, the better your chances of capitalizing on that momentum.
That’s where Ping My URL tools come into play. These services let you notify search engines instantly about your new or updated URLs—so they can crawl and index them faster.
In this guide, we compare two popular choices:
- onwardSEO’s Free Bulk Ping Tool — an advanced, feature-rich tool for SEOs, digital marketers, and webmasters.
- PrePostSEO’s Ping Multiple URLs Tool — a widely used online ping utility.
We’ll break down each tool’s features, performance, and use cases, highlight pros and cons, and conclude with which tool gives SEOs the real edge.
1. Why “Ping My URL” Tools Are Essential for SEOs
Search engines don’t crawl everything instantly. Depending on your domain authority, crawl budget, and link profile, it could take hours to weeks for new or updated URLs to appear in Google’s index.
Without pinging:
- Your competitors might republish or paraphrase your content and get indexed first.
- Your backlinks might not be recognized quickly, delaying ranking benefits.
- Time-sensitive content (e.g., news, promotions) might miss its optimal traffic window.
With pinging:
- Search engines receive a direct notification to fetch and process your new URLs.
- Your content gains index priority, especially in freshness-driven SERPs.
- Your backlink profile updates faster in Google’s link graph.
2. onwardSEO Ping My URL Tool – Overview
onwardSEO’s Ping My URL Tool is designed for speed, scalability, and reliability. It’s free, but built to handle professional SEO workloads.
Key Features:
- 100% Free Service – All premium features with no cost barrier.
- Reach 65+ Search Engines – Including Google, Bing, Yahoo, regional engines like Naver and Qwant.
- Bulk URL Submission – Ping up to 5 URLs at once.
- Simultaneous Bulk Requests – 5 URLs × 65 services = 325 ping requests in a single operation.
- Backlink Pinging – Notify search engines of newly acquired backlinks.
- Responsive Design – Works seamlessly on desktop and mobile.
Version 1.2.28 Updates (November 6, 2024):
- Enhanced URL validation (handles www, ports, DNS rules).
- All ping services updated to HTTPS.
- Reduced service list to the most reliable providers.
- Added social media ping (Pinterest, LinkedIn) and news/archive pings (Google News, Internet Archive).
- Improved error handling, retry logic, and security headers.
- Optimized performance for faster responses.
How It Works
- Paste up to 5 URLs into the tool.
- Click Ping.
- The tool sends each URL to over 65 search engines and content aggregators, using the page’s title for context.
Technical Note: Each ping request is an XML-RPC call or equivalent to notify indexing services and search engines. This mimics how CMS platforms like WordPress send update pings but on-demand and in bulk.
3. PrePostSEO Ping Multiple URLs Tool – Overview
PrePostSEO’s Ping Tool is another free, widely accessible ping service.
Key Features:
- 100% Free – No subscription required.
- Reach 65+ Search Engines – Similar coverage to onwardSEO in core search engines.
- Bulk Submission – Ping up to 10 URLs at once (double onwardSEO’s per-batch limit).
- 650 Ping Requests in One Batch – 10 URLs × 65 services.
- Backlink Pinging – Similar to onwardSEO.
- Simple UI – Paste URLs, click “Ping,” and you’re done.
How It Works
- Paste up to 10 URLs into the box.
- Click Ping URLs.
- The system fetches each URL and notifies 65+ search engines.
Technical Note: PrePostSEO uses a similar XML-RPC pinging structure, sending the URL and its title to search engine ping endpoints.
4. Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | onwardSEO Ping My URL Tool | PrePostSEO Ping Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Free Access | ✅ 100% free | ✅ 100% free |
| Max URLs per Batch | 5 | 10 |
| Ping Coverage | 65+ engines + news, archive, and social pings | 65+ engines |
| Ping Volume per Batch | 325 requests | 650 requests |
| URL Validation | Advanced checks (prefix, DNS, port, feed://) | Basic syntax validation |
| HTTPS Support for Services | ✅ All ping services updated to HTTPS | Not explicitly stated |
| Error Handling | Advanced retry logic, graceful fallbacks | Standard retries |
| UI/UX | Mobile-optimized, responsive, enhanced descriptions | Simple text box form |
| Extra Features | Backlink ping, feed protocol support, regional pings | Backlink ping |
| Security | Added security headers, improved CORS handling | Not documented |
5. Real-Life Usage Scenarios
Case 1 – New Blog Post Indexing
Scenario: A news publisher pushes out 10 breaking stories daily.
Need: Fast indexing before competitors syndicate similar content.
onwardSEO: Pings 5 URLs immediately after each publish; repeats for the next 5 URLs. News services like Google News are also pinged, improving discovery in Top Stories.
PrePostSEO: Can ping all 10 URLs in one go but lacks specialized news engine coverage.
Case 2 – Backlink Recognition
Scenario: An eCommerce brand lands backlinks from 3 major publications.
onwardSEO: Uses backlink ping to notify Google and Bing within minutes, boosting link graph updates.
PrePostSEO: Achieves the same core backlink ping, but onwardSEO’s HTTPS service updates and retries improve delivery success.
Case 3 – Sitewide Update
Scenario: A company updates product descriptions on 50 URLs.
onwardSEO: Runs 10 batches (5 URLs each) with advanced validation, ensuring no misfires.
PrePostSEO: Runs 5 batches (10 URLs each), finishing faster but with less granular control over ping batches.
6. Pros & Cons
onwardSEO Ping My URL Tool
Pros:
- Advanced validation prevents ping failures.
- Specialized pings for news, archive, and social platforms.
- Updated HTTPS endpoints for all services.
- Strong error handling and retries.
- Mobile-optimized, better UI/UX.
Cons:
- Lower batch size (5 URLs) vs. PrePostSEO’s 10.
- Requires multiple batches for very large URL lists.
PrePostSEO Ping Tool
Pros:
- Higher batch size (10 URLs).
- Straightforward, minimal interface.
- Quick setup—paste and ping.
Cons:
- Lacks specialized pings for news/social/archive.
- Fewer documented updates for HTTPS and error handling.
- Basic validation may lead to failed pings for malformed URLs.
7. SEO Impact: Why Speed of Pinging Matters
Search engines prioritize fresh content. By using a ping tool:
- You reduce index latency—often from days to hours.
- You protect original authorship by being indexed first.
- You can trigger faster ranking evaluation for time-sensitive content.
Example: onwardSEO’s internal testing found that pinging URLs reduced average indexing time from 36 hours to under 6 hours for mid-authority domains.
8. How to Use These Tools Effectively
- Ping Immediately After Publish – Don’t wait for crawlers.
- Use for Backlinks – Ensure new high-DA links are seen fast.
- Batch Strategically – Group related URLs in the same ping batch.
- Verify Indexing – Use Google’s site: operator or indexing API to confirm.
9. FAQ
Q1: Does pinging guarantee instant indexing?
A: No. It accelerates discovery, but final indexing is at the search engine’s discretion.
Q2: Can I ping the same URL multiple times?
A: Yes, but excessive pinging can be ignored. Use after significant updates.
Q3: Which tool is better for small bloggers?
A: PrePostSEO’s higher batch size can be useful, but onwardSEO’s advanced delivery ensures fewer failed pings.
Q4: Does Google still honor ping requests?
A: Yes, especially for content feeds, backlinks, and fresh articles.
Q5: Should I use both tools?
A: You can. Some SEOs ping via multiple services for redundancy.
Conclusion: The Better Choice for SEOs
Both tools are free, effective, and worth having in your arsenal.
However, onwardSEO’s Ping My URL Tool stands out for professional SEO use:
- Better validation = higher delivery success.
- Expanded coverage with news/social/archive pings.
- Updated HTTPS service endpoints for security and reliability.
- Advanced error handling ensures pings get through.
If you want maximum control, reliability, and professional-grade delivery, onwardSEO wins.
For quick, simple, high-volume batches without specialized targeting, PrePostSEO remains a solid alternative.