Why Businesses Should Get Their Mobile App Indexed

App indexing has emerged as the new buzzword in the digital marketing world, with Google announcing the mobile friendly ranking algorithm, which was put into effect on 21^st April 2015. Abiding by Google’s announcement, webmasters and SEOs geared up to incorporate mobile friendliness in their websites by 21^st April. Well, what needs to be noted is, “more mobile-friendly websites in search results” made only a half of the announcement by Google. The next half was – “More relevant app content in search results.”

Starting today, we will begin to use information from indexed apps as a factor in ranking for signed-in users who have the app installed. As a result, we may now surface content from indexed apps more prominently in search. To find out how to implement App Indexing, which allows us to surface this information in search results, have a look at our step-by-step guide on the developer site.

So, what is app indexing actually? Is it important? If so, why? As a marketer, should you care about getting your app indexed? Let’s try to get the answers to these questions, one by one.

What does App Indexing Mean?

To quote Google, “App Indexing lets Google index apps just like websites. Deep links to your Android app appear in Google Search results, letting users get to your native mobile experience quickly, landing exactly on the right content within your app.”

Coming to the practical meaning of Google’s words, when you search something on Google through a mobile device, the results would not only show web pages, but would also feature relevant content present inside an app.

For example, you search for a movie via Google search, on your mobile device. Suppose the content that’s most relevant for the movie query you’ve entered, lies within the IMDb app. Besides featuring the link to the website of IMDb, Google would also feature the IMDb app result.

So, this goes according to what Google said once, “Sometimes the best answer is on a website, and sometimes it’s in an app.”

Does App Indexing Matter?

Here comes the big question – Does it matter? YES. The point demanding your attention is – app results are being included in mobile search now, and this inclusion in the Google search results is only increasing.

App indexing makes a few things very certain.

• Search experience is improved for mobile users. Indexing of apps widens the search potential. More is the content indexed, better are the results and the search experience of users.

• It brings greater engagement. By indexing your app, you can drive user engagement with your app via Google. When a Google search is done via an Android mobile device, the search results would display the deep links for your app.

Here are some reasons why you need to pay attention to app indexing:

1. Increased Competition:

Authority of apps is determined by Google using a criteria different from the one used to determine rank of websites. So, if you have a rank on the first page of Google search results, there is a risk that an authoritative app may take your ranking. So, the competition is now more than before. To have a satisfactory ranking on the SERP, you need to compete against websites as well as apps.

2. Low Barriers to Entry:

New websites have little advantage when it comes to SEO. Search engines prefer old websites having a higher authority, rewarding them with high ranks in the results. This factor serves as a barrier to entry for newly built websites, and has made the competition tougher for them.

However, app indexing reduces these barriers for new websites. If your app contains relevant content, you stand a chance to have your content featured right in Google’s first page of search results.

3. Better Marketing and Discovery of Apps:

According to Gartner, lower than 0.01% of mobile apps would be considered to be financially successful by 2018. Marketing of apps is accountable for a major part of this failure. With app indexing, consumers are more likely to discover and download your app, since the links to your apps are featured in a prominent place.

The 2^nd and 3^rd points make good reasons for you, as a marketer, to think about getting your app indexed.

What You Need to Do:

Keeping in mind the current scenario, here is what you need to do as a marketer:

1. Get your mobile app indexed

If you have an android app, get it indexed. If you are thinking how to index your app, there are a number ways to do the job. Here is a great source that can serve as a step-by-step guide for you to get your android app indexed.

As for iOS, the technology to index apps is not yet available widely. However, a few first steps have been outlined by Google, which you can find here.

2. Enhance mobile presence

Irrespective of your specific role, you should get obsessive about mobile as a technology worker or a marketer.

Conversion specialists need to leverage mobile’s potential for conversion optimization. SEOs need to detect the areas in which there’s room for improvement in mobile results. CTOs should come up with innovative ways to get better results with mobile users. Developers need to figure out the touch points between websites and mobile apps.

In a nutshell, mobile should be at the front and center of your marketing strategies. When it comes to marketing, the present and the future is mobile. And app indexing would help you leverage mobile in an effective way, which would eventually boost your traffic and conversions.

Besides, you need to realize that the industry of search and marketing via mobile, is not a static one. It’s dynamic, constantly in motion. We are heading to a bigger universe of mobile, which has an expanded potential of indexation, and where there’s a bigger need for optimizing mobile in all possible ways.