Google Index Check Before 2027: A Practical Checklist

Google retires its Custom Search JSON API on January 1, 2027. It was the last official self-serve way to pull Google search results as data, and it is already closed to new customers. For SEO practitioners this raises a practical question: how do you keep verifying what Google actually knows about your pages once programmatic access disappears?

This checklist covers the checks worth running now, while migration options are still open.

1. Verify what is actually in the index

A backlink report saying "500 links built" means little if Google indexed only 70 of them. Before investing in more links or content, run your URL lists through a bulk index checking tool — checking one URL at a time with site: queries does not scale past a few dozen pages, and manual checks are exactly what becomes harder as programmatic SERP access shrinks.

2. Map what SERP data your workflows consume

Most tools built on the Custom Search API used a fraction of the response: position, URL, title, snippet. List what your scripts and dashboards actually read — it makes evaluating replacements much simpler than comparing vendors feature by feature.

3. Watch pages that silently drop out

Indexation is not permanent. Pages fall out of Google's index without warnings in Search Console, and rankings go with them. Whatever replacement stack you choose, make sure something re-checks your critical URLs on schedule.

4. Vet link donors by indexation rate

A domain whose pages Google barely indexes passes little value. Before buying placements, estimate the share of the donor's pages present in the index — it is one of the cheapest quality filters available.

What comes next

The team at SpeedyIndex is running a short survey on which SERP data SEOs actually need after the shutdown — rank tracking, AI Overview citations, index-drop alerts, bulk site: data and more. It takes a minute, multiple answers allowed: vote here.

Facts current as of September 2026: API closed to new signups; full shutdown on January 1, 2027; Google's official replacements are limited to 50 domains or enterprise pricing.