Zapier and Make workflows for URL indexing

Why generic HTTP steps

Automation platforms connect apps through prebuilt integrations, but neither Zapier nor Make lists an IndexChex app. Both offer a general-purpose request step for APIs without one, and an indexing API needs nothing more: an HTTPS URL, a header with the key, and a small JSON body. This page assumes the API of IndexChex, which publishes this handbook; the IndexChex software and API page summarises what it offers, and backlink indexer APIs compares API designs across tools.

Two calls worth automating

The single-URL endpoint suits event-driven flows: one trigger, one URL, one call. It belongs to the v2 API, which follows SpeedyIndex's request schema; teams moving an existing SpeedyIndex flow can read the migration notes. The batch endpoint suits daily or weekly runs that gather many URLs first. Each standard submission costs 1 credit per URL, and the optional re-check adds 1 credit per URL.

Zapier: Webhooks by Zapier

Zapier's help centre describes Webhooks by Zapier as an action with POST, PUT and GET events plus a Custom Request event for raw bodies.

Single URL on a new item

1. Trigger: any app event that yields a URL, for example a new row in a Google Sheets tab or a new item in an RSS feed.
2. Action: Webhooks by Zapier, event POST.
3. URL: https://indexchex.com/api/v2/google/url.
4. Payload Type: JSON.
5. Data: key url, value mapped from the trigger's link field.
6. Headers: Authorization with your API key as the value, no prefix.
7. Test the step and confirm the response contains code 0.

List of URLs

Zapier's templated POST builds flat key-value bodies, so an array is easier with Custom Request: method POST, the v1 jobs URL, the same Authorization header plus Content-Type: application/json, and a raw JSON body such as {"urls": ["https://example.com/a/", "https://example.com/b/"], "name": "Weekly links", "checker": 3}. Custom Request sends the body exactly as typed and does not parse it, so validate the JSON before saving. When the URLs come from a previous step as line items, join them into a JSON array with a formatting step first.

Make: the HTTP app

Make's HTTP app documents three modules; the one needed here is Make a request.

1. Add the trigger module that produces URLs (a watch-rows module, a feed module, or a schedule).
2. Add HTTP: Make a request.
3. Authentication type: API key. Create a keychain with the key in the Key field, placement In the header, and parameter name Authorization. Make recommends this Credentials field over typing keys into Headers, because the key is then stored once and rotated in one place.
4. URL and Method: one of the two endpoints above, method POST.
5. Body content type: application/JSON. Use Data structure for the single-URL body, or JSON string for a urls array built with Make's array functions.
6. Parse response: Yes, so code or job_id can be mapped in later modules.
7. Return error if HTTP request fails: Yes, so a 4xx or 5xx stops the run instead of passing an empty value downstream.

Following up on a batch

A submission with checker set schedules an automatic index re-check 1 to 5 days later. To collect it, run a second scenario or Zap on a daily schedule that:

1. Calls GET /v1/index-submit/jobs/{job_id} and reads scheduled_check_run_id, which stays empty until the re-check has started.
2. Calls GET /v1/index-check/jobs/{that id}; when status is completed, calls .../report.
3. Writes indexed_links, unindexed_links and failed_links to a sheet, a message or a ticket.

Store the submission job_id somewhere both workflows can read, such as a sheet row or a Make data store. The polling job status page explains why a daily schedule is enough here and a tight loop is wasteful.

Guardrails

• Avoid double submissions. Triggers that fire on "updated row" rather than "new row" can submit the same URL many times. Filter on a status column, and write "submitted" back after a success.
• Respect rate limits. Both API versions apply a per-minute request limit and answer HTTP 429 when it is exceeded. Bulk work belongs in one batch call, not hundreds of single-URL calls; see rate limits and batching.
• Handle low balance. A v2 response with code 1 (HTTP 402) means insufficient credits; route it to an alert. The error handling page lists the other cases.
• Keep the key out of shared fields. Prefer the platform's credential stores, and restrict who can edit the workflow.

Related recipes

Code-first teams can do the same work with the Python indexing script or the Google Sheets workflow. Sites running WordPress can skip the automation platform entirely with a publish hook. For context on where these flows fit among indexing products, see what backlink indexer software is, and for field-level detail the IndexChex API reference.