It was not until recently that the digital marketing industry set off a buzz around app indexing. This buzz, which has progressed through the process of being considered a trend, to now being considered an ongoing necessity, is the result of the shift in focus of Google. Early in 2015, Google announced the launch of its mobile-friendly algorithms, which ultimately went live in April. This announcement by Google sent webmasters and SEO firms into a frenzy as they attempted to transform sites into formats that were mobile friendly. A part of this new push to facilitate mobile searches was a commitment by Google to provide users more relevant app-related searches.
What is App Indexing?
In simple, app indexing is a process that allows Google to index mobile application in the same manner that they index websites, allowing users to get to your native mobile app experience more quickly — directing them to the relevant content within your app. What this means is that anyone who conducts a web search through Google will not only receive relevant results from web pages, but they will also receive results from mobile applications that are relevant to their specific search.
The results will produce deep links to specific locations within your mobile app. This is extremely important for businesses, because it offers mobile users a more functional and personalized experience through the mobile app. Additionally, mobile applications use far less data than accessing a website via the mobile device or smartphone.
Google is committed to providing their users the best experience possible, and the increase in the number of people who are conducting web searches on a mobile device has increased substantially over the past several years to surpass desktops as the number one web search medium.
One way that businesses are maximizing their mobile app exposure is through the use of Accelerated Mobile Pages technology. The use of AMP technology allows businesses to build light weight application pages that are searchable and highly functional.
What Exactly is an AMP?
AMP is an acronym for Accelerated Mobile Page, which is, at its essence, a stripped-down HTML code that allows for the building of lightweight mobile application pages. The fact that these pages are extremely lightweight means that they facilitate fast loading. The streamlined HTML coding keeps the page from becoming bogged down during the loading process.
What Does All of this Mean for Your Business?
Actually, mobile app indexing is not a new concept; it is nearly three years old. The idea behind this concept is quite simple. When webmasters enable deep linking within the functionality of the apps, it allows Google to index the content within the application and rank the pages on which the content was found. This mobile app indexing process provides the user who is conducting the search with direct access to the information that is most relevant to their search, regardless of whether it is on a traditional website or a mobile app.
Recent research reveals that not only do mobile searches produce results that include content from mobile apps, but the inclusion of mobile app pages in the results is actually growing. This growth in mobile app search results is indicative of the need for businesses to create mobile applications that are responsive and searchable. Using accelerated mobile page technology to build these apps can be of great benefit.
As the dominance of mobile searches continues to surge, the indexing of mobile applications will play a central role moving forward. It is important that business owners, webmasters, SEO firms, app developers and marketers understand that the mobile search and marketing industry is not static, apprehending the fact that things are constantly changing. Those who are able to effectively evolve in sync with the shifts in the industry will benefit from the results.
To learn more about app indexing and how it can help your mobile search results, contact Surgeon’s Advisor today at 305-763-8011.