Both well-known companies and new app developers are failing to let content from their apps show up in search results for users of Google, Bing, or other search engines, according to a new report on mobile search engine optimization (SEO). While mobile app SEO is a new area, companies shouldn’t be afraid of getting their feet wet. That’s because those who dive into the mobile app SEO pool now could see increased app traffic, engagement and conversions.
In a study of the 100 most visible websites in Google US searches, SEO software company Searchmetrics found that 84% offer an Android App, but only 30% of these had implemented support for Google App Indexing (also called deep linking), which lets Google index and show relevant pages from their apps in its mobile search results. And iOS apps fared even worse–of the 88% of sites in the analysis that offer an iOS app, just 19% supported deep linking.
Google and other search engines are increasingly displaying mobile apps as results to user mobile search queries, but only if the app developer has enabled app indexing. Google App Indexing has been available on iOS since May 2015, requiring iOS 9, while it has been offered on Android since October 2014. In its developer console, Google offers a training walk-through on how you can enable it for your app.
Mobile app SEO benefits
Once you’ve enabled Google app indexing, your app users will see pages from your app alongside traditional web results, if Google considers your app content relevant to their search queries. For example, if a user searches for information about a specific product, then app indexing lets Google display a link to the product landing page from your app instead of the landing page on your company website. Phone or tablet users will then jump directly from the search results to your app, so this can be an important engagement opportunity for app marketers.
App owners who have enabled deep linking for their app can also potentially attract new installs through search. For instance, if a searcher has not installed your app, your app content could still show up in Google’s search results as a suggested app they should consider installing via the Google Play store if the content is relevant to their query.
“Many companies have invested heavily in apps, yet on average 20 percent of the apps a person installs on their device are only ever opened once,” said Marcus Tober, CTO and founder of Searchmetrics. “App indexing is a fantastic opportunity to drive more traffic and potentially even conversions. If your app supports app indexing, Google has indicated that it could potentially appear more prominently in searches.”
Despite the benefits of indexing for mobile app SEO, Tober says that “probably fewer than a third” of app owners are making use it. Among the companies most likely to allow mobile app indexing are online clothing retailers–most of which offer some type of mobile app. Among those retailers with an Android or iOS app, almost a third (31% and 32% respectively) have enabled app indexing.
In order to test which domains in the top 100 most visible sites have implemented app indexing or app deep linking, Tobias says that Searchmetrics checked the source code of the homepage and two of the best performing subpages. These top pages were then considered representative of the site. In the source code check, the domains were examined for the most common variations of implementing app deep linking, such as for the corresponding code in the html “head” tag.
You can read the full Searchmetrics report, which including its 2016 US App Indexing findings here. Not coincidentally, the report coincides with the company’s launch of new mobile app SEO features, which allow you to track how your mobile apps perform in paid and organic searches and compare them to competitors’ apps. You can analyze both mobile and tablet search performance for Android and iOS apps down to specific regions, see performance rankings for more than 700 mobile and local search engine combinations, and weekly lists of mobile app SEO “winners and losers”.
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