Is Your In-App Content Google Indexed?

Nope, then, I’m afraid your app would certainly get lost in the sea of magnum opus, modest, and mediocre apps flooding the Play Store.

Yes, then, your Android app surely stands a considerable chance, and, might as well, gain a sizable leg up in the form of app downloads, user engagement and more.

For the uninitiated, Google not only indexes your web pages but even indexes your in –app content, via its Mobile App Indexing API, which directly helps app marketers and developers in their app promotion.

Now, the big question is: How does App Indexing API help Android apps?

Apparently, the apps that factor in API have their in-app content automatically updated on Google. It’s like killing three birds with a single stone… escalates app installs, enhances user engagement and more than anything, endorses great content.

While Google uses Googlebots to index webpages through hyperlinks, for indexing app content, Mobile App Indexing API is indispensable because apps do not have hyperlinks.

So it comes as no surprise that Mobile APP Indexing API is considered as Google’ s Next Gen SEO tool, for it not only helps search engines track your in-app content but also connects it with the URL of the website having the same app content.

With over 1 million apps milling in Google Play Store, according to industry analysts, this is one of the best app marketing strategies for app marketers to drive more app installs, and drive user engagement.

How does it work?

For instance, when an Android smartphone user is searching for ‘Triple Chocolate Therapy Cookies Recipe,’ Google will start populating it searches with those apps that have established deep links through the app indexing method. When the user clicks onto the “Open in-app” the Allthecooks Recipes app opens up directly.

In the above-mentioned example, for the app deep links to appear in Google search results users need to ensure:

• The Allthecooks Recipes app supports deep linking
• The allthecooks.com website authorizes Allthecooks Recipes app page as a stand-in  for the web page
• Google should have indexed the Allthecooks Recipes app

A Google Indexed in-app content helps users’ trace the relevant app content effortlessly through its seamless search experience.

For more on Android App Indexing, go through the developer guidelines given here or just check out this video.

How to integrate Google App Indexing API in your app

Once you have deep linked your app with Developers Console, and subsequently connected it with your website, next thing you should focus upon is setting up your project with Google Play Services. Once that’s done, you need to update your project configuration as shown in the example given below:

Now set up the “intent filters.” The filters are extremely resourceful in the sense that it updates Google the moment a user is viewing your in-app content, and matches the same app content with the web page of your site.

Simply put, APP indexing API will notify Google the moment a user views a piece of your app content.

Moments later, when a user is looking for some app info on Google and would be expecting Google to throw some website info on the same, but rather than displaying the relevant web page content, Google gives user an option to view the same content straight away from the app. By clicking the app content option, the app content gets opened instead of the website content.

Advantages of Google App Indexing API

1] More Installs (recent addition)

It helps developers increase their install base as the search results directly lead the users to the Play Store page of your app from where they can install it directly.

2] More User Engagement

 

App Indexing helps drive app usage via Google. Deep links of your app appear in Google Search results so users can get enhanced native mobile experience very quickly and easily.

3] Promotes Great Content

Developers will be inspired to create great content in-apps and also create deep links in the content, which will definitely help users get answers for their specific questions directly by accessing the content.

4] Easy To Start

There’s a complete tutorial about deep linking on Google. In case of any questions, you are free to seek answers in the webmaster forum of the mobile section.

5] New Mobile App Indexing API

The newly introduced API helps app notify Google of their deep links, notwithstanding their web presence.

New Update by Google on App Indexing

Before: Until now the app content had nothing to do with Google’s search algorithm. The indexing of the app, so far, meant, only tracking the app title and the location of the in-app content.  Plus, an app had to be installed by the user to access the in-app content in the search results. No more.

After: According to Google’s official update on April 16, 2015, you don’t have to install an app anymore to view its in-app content on the search results. With Google indexing, more than 30 billion links within the apps the users now can discover apps and view the in-app content without installing. This is good news for users because earlier they had to spend on downloading the app to view the content directly from search engine pages. From, now on, users can weigh the apps for its worth and then download. And, also, according to the latest announcement made by Google, from now on Google App Indexing will impact Google rankings as well.

How App Indexing API Will Put Undue Pressure on Google Searches

Incidentally, in the early days of the internet, search tool was not as powerful as it’s today. In fact, companies were apprehensive of building websites because they felt that their websites will never get discovered. The search tool was so uncommonly used.

Now, Google is again working on its search tool to make the app content easily discoverable. If app search on Google becomes quick and easy, user installs and user engagement are sure to go sky-high.

Final Thoughts:

Google App Indexing API is all set to change the face of app SEO. Android app devs will have to look beyond title and description and optimize the content within the apps as well. With Google including in-app content for ranking purposes, its time the app developers and marketers overhaul their app marketing strategies.

OpenXcell is a market leader in app development and app marketing. So, if in case you are pursuing any serious app development or marketing plans for your organization, OpenXcell will be happy to help. We have the experience and wherewithal to make your app a grand success.