Get your app in the Google index - and be ready for the future of Search
Last
October
we worked with a small number of developers to launch
App
Indexing, the ability for Google to index apps just like websites. In
June,
we opened App Indexing to all Android developers, giving you the ability to add app deep links
to search results, helping users find your content and re-engage with your app after they’ve
installed it.
Today, we’d like to highlight two videos to help you set up App Indexing. Check them out
below. You’re only a few steps away from driving re-engagement and unlocking new avenues of
discovery for your app.
1998 all over again
In 1998, Google set out to index the web and make content easily accessible and discoverable.
Today mobile app adoption is growing rapidly. Similar to the early days of the internet, it
can be frustrating for users to search through their device to find what they need, since the
content within apps typically exists in silos. By implementing App Indexing, you can re-engage
your users from search results.
Consider the scenario of users looking for details about a great place for some Spanish food.
Users might already have a great mobile app for restaurant details installed, but they
typically still rely on a search engine to pull up information about local places to eat.
Wouldn’t it be great if they could jump straight into your app from those search results?
App Indexing is all about connecting users with the best content, whether it’s in-app or on
the web. You can add it to your app very quickly --
simply
add deep linking to your app, and then
verify
your website with Google. To enable re-engagement with your users, you can generate
query autocompletions in the Google
app
using the
App
Indexing API.
Learn More
To learn more about App Indexing, and how you can use the API for your apps, check out this
DevByte from Lawrence Chang, Senior Product Manager for App Indexing at Google.
For an in-depth look at App Indexing, demonstrating the technology, and the
opportunities available with it, watch this session from Google I/O 2014: “The Future of Apps
and Search.”
We’re at the beginning of a new wave of how people find and interact with content, and it
often starts with search. Is your app in the index? If not, follow the steps in this post, and
get ready for the future of Apps and Search!
Posted by
Laurence Moroney
Laurence is a Developer Advocate at Google, working on Google Play services for Android. When
not having fun with this, he's also a best-selling author of several Young Adult novels and
dozens of books on computer programming.
