What You Need To Know About Firebase App-Indexing By David Iwanow

#SMX #22A @Davidiwanow

Firebase App Indexing

What you need to know about

Firebase App-Indexing


•  Involvedinsearchsince2007•  Focusedon•  App-Indexing•  App-StoreOptimisation•  AppDownloadCampaigns•  ResponsiveDesign•  TechnicalSEO

•  SEOProductManagersinceJuly2013

Who is this guy?


JoiningBlueGlassLondonasDirectorofStrategy

Who is this guy?


What’s New in App-Indexing?

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Google App-Indexing becomes Firebase App-Indexing


•  Introduction

•  Technicalimplementation•  Metatags/API/XMLSitemap

•  CommonPitfalls

•  Errorstoexpect

•  ResultsachievedwithApp-Indexing•  Increasedappactivity

•  App-installs

•  Increasedvisibility

•  MiniCaseStudy

•  What’snext?

App-Indexing topics covered in my session


Introduction to why App-Indexing



PhotoCredit:AlanLevine


Oftenyoucaneasilybeconfusedwhenlookingfortheofficialapp.Itisnotabadthingtohavemultipleappsbutoftenthedistinctionisn’tclear.

Current Play Store search experience could be better


Sometimesit’sjusttoomuchefforttoworkoutwhichappyouwouldneedtodosomethingsimple.

Current Play Store search experience could be better


Butwhichisthebestappforyourtaskyouwouldusuallydoonthewebsite?

Sometimes you want something specific


Googlestatethatmostusersdon’tuseallthe36appsthattheyhaveinstalled75%ofthetimeand1/3onlygetsusedonce.

Part of the issues is that apps get forgotten about


Whatistheprocess?1.  Startonhomescreen2.  Checkalternativescreens3.  Viewallapps

You then have to search for that app


Sonowyougototheappstoreandsearchfortheapp.Okgreatwealreadyhaveitinstalledsoweclicktheresult.

You still can’t find that app?


Nowyouareabletoopenthatappyouwerelookingforandyoucangetstarteddoingwhatyouwantedtodooriginally.

Great work you finally found the app


YoucannowsearchviaGoogletoseeifyoualreadyhavetheappinstalledandopenfromtheSERPs.

App Indexing cuts out several steps in the process


Why I think it’s important PhotoCredit:KatieSayer


App-Indexing has deep integration with Google SERPs


•  About48hoursforApp-Indexingresultstoshowforusersafterdownloadingyourapp

•  Usersthatre-engagewithyourapptheyarelesslikelytouninstall

•  Usersthatre-engagearelesslikelytouseacompetitor.

Process for users is fairly simple…

Doyouhavetheapp?

Yes

OpeninApp

No

InstallApp OpenWebsite


•  ForbrandedtrafficthenApp-Indexingcanbealifeline

•  Usersdon’tseeaggregatorsoraffiliatesnow

•  CTRisnotashighasIwouldhopedependingonthequerybutit’sgreatforbranding

You can get these types of branded results


TherearethreemainbenefitstoApp-Indexing•  Branding•  Personalisation•  RankingImprovement

Which result would capture your attention?


YoucanthinkofApp-Indexingaspersonalisedresultsonsteroids!

Remember that App-Indexing can influence ranking

#13 #10


App Indexing Technical Implementation Guide



PhotoCredit:WillScullin


Pros:•  Checkpagestryingtoindex•  DoneeasilywithoutappupdatesCons:•  2weekdelayincrawlingandshowingin

SERPs•  Competitorscanseewhatpagesyou

aretryingtoindex•  CustomschemeURLsaresupported

butarediscouraged

Meta Tags

<linkrel="alternate"href="android-app://com.smx.london/day/2/?country=uk&language=en"/>


Pros:•  Linkedtouseractionswithinyour

app(engagement)•  Competitorscan’tseewhatpages

youareAppindexingatscale•  Appshowsinautosuggest•  ReadytouseNowonTapCons:•  Supportfromyourmobile

developerstoupdateyourapp

App-Indexing API


Pros:•  AllyourURLsareinoneplaceyou

wantGoogletocrawlCons:•  Youmighthavetorebuildyour

websitesXMLSitemaplogic•  Sitemapsarepronetobreaking•  Yoursitemapsjustgrewbigger

Add Deep Links to your XML Sitemap


•  GoogleSuggestsyouwanttodoatleast2outof3togetthemostimpactfromApp-Indexing.

•  MypersonalpreferenceisusingMetaTagsandsupportedbyApp-IndexingAPI

•  DiagnosingerrorswithAPIistougherandifyouscrewupsomethingyouneedtoreleaseanappupdate.

Which option should you do?

Myperceptiononimpact

MetaTags XMLSitemap API


Common Pitfalls of App-Indexing



PhotoCredit:JamesMarvinPhelpsPhotoCredit:Keith


•  NotallappswerebuilttosupportDeepLinkingbutthatwillchangeovertime

•  Appmaynothavepreviouslyneeded404errorpages

•  Itmaysurfacealotmoreedgecasespreviouslyignoredbydevs

App Indexing will create 404 pages in your app


•  Yourappprobablydoesn’thavealotofpagesyourdesktopsitehas

•  Apploadtimeisnowmuchmoreofanissueasloadtimewasn’tmeasured

•  Howwouldyoudealwithuniversallinks?

Consider what is the user experience?

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What crawl tools or crawl errors you can expect?



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CustomsearchconsoleforAppIndexingthatallowsyoutofetchdeeplinks.Twooptionsfortestingthelinks:1)  GooglePlayAPK2)  UploadyourAPK

Fetch as Google to Test your App Indexing


•  AsperdesktopfetchasGoogleyoucandrillintoyourURLtoseeamoredetailedreport.

•  Youcanseehereisasuccessfulcrawlresultedinthepagerenderingcorrectly.



•  PleasemakesureyouactuallycheckhowGoogleviewsyourapppage.

•  ItemssuchaspopupsforGooglebotcreatescrawlingissues.

•  Googlebotisgettingsmarterbutdon’tmakeittoohardforthem!



•  YoucanexcludespecificpagesfromtheApp-IndexingorappnotificationsfromshowinginAppsearchresults

•  Createanoindex.xmlfileandreferencethenoindex.xmlinyourapp’sAndroidManifest.xmlfile

Control Indexing (advanced Android only option)


•  NumberofApp-Indexingpagesindexediscontinuingtogrow.

•  PageswitherrorsasthatwillholdyourApp-Indexingperformanceback.

•  Beawaretheerrorreportinginthecrawldashboardisnotthemostaccurateorcurrent.

Crawl Status Reports can help you understand traction


•  NumberofAppIndexedPagesdoeshaveanimpactonyourApp-Indexingperformance

•  ThenumberofpageswitherrorshasanegativeimpactonyourApp-Indexingperformance

Crawl Status Reports can help you understand failures


Search Analytics can help you understand impact

Source:GoogleSearchConsole(excludingTablets)


•  Packagenotfound–Googlecouldn’tfindyourAPKinGooglePlayStore•  Urlunsupported–failedtolaunchtheapplication•  Contentmismatch–textdoesn’thavetobeidenticalbuttopicshouldbe

thesameandusershouldbeabletoaccomplishsametaskasonweb•  OverusedURLs–YouscrewedupandmappedalltheURLstoonepage•  Backbuttonviolation–requiresthatauserbeabletoclickbacktoSERPs•  Removedfromindex–pagesinyourappthatdon’tmeetstandards

Major App Crawl Errors


Results achieved with App-Indexing



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App-Indexing via API has some benefits


Remind users they have your app installed


App-Indexing helps with branding a bit


Having trouble ranking for locations?


Having trouble ranking for head terms?


Prompt users to open your app to answer their query


Ifusersalreadyhaveyourapptheyhaveaseamlessexperienceintoyourapp.Thiscanbeimportantifyouhaven’tyetbuiltaresponsivewebsiteoryourresponsivewebsiteexperienceislackingfeaturesyourappalreadyhas.

Process when they have your app installed

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•  Shownifyouaredoingappindexingbuttheuserdoesn’tyethavetheappinstalled

•  Youcanonlytrackclicksonbuttonandnotinstalls

•  ClickingcurrentlyshiftsyouawaytothePlaystorebutitseemsGoogleistestingkeepingthemintheSERPs

Bonus feature App-Indexing Install Widget

BlueArrowIconCredit:designedbyFreepik.com


Results observed with App-Indexing



PhotoCredit:JamesMarvinPhelpsPhotoCredit:maf04


Not as many searches end with a click on install button



•  AlargerappinstallbasemeanspotentiallymorepeoplemayseeApp-Indexingresults

•  Canbesupportedby•  Appdownloadcampaigns

•  ASOcampaigns

•  App-Indexingtrafficcanalsobeinfluencedby

•  Competitors

•  AdWords

Remember App-Indexing doesn’t live in a silo



•  TypicallytheInstallButtonlinkhasthehighestvisibility

•  App-Indexingresultsdon’talwaysshowhigherthanotherorganicresults

•  App-Indexingresultsdon’talwaysshowtoallusers

App-Indexing organic visibility can be volatile



Case Study



PhotoCredit:JamesMarvinPhelpsPhotoCredit:PutnamEco


•  GoodApp-Indexingresultscanshowanaverage+1.01to+1.52higherpositioninSERPs

•  GreatApp-Indexingresultscanshowanaverage+2.51to+3.88higherpositioninSERPs

What does App-Indexing results look like?



Comparing individual keywords results not as significant

AveragePositionforTop15AppTerms

Source:GoogleSearchConsole


ItwassomethingofamythfloatingaroundthatiOSusersdon’tknowwhatApp-Indexingisandwouldneverclicktheappresult.Thenumberislowerbuttheaveragepositionit’sshownisalsoslightlylower.

Do iOS users even know what to do with App-Indexing?



Almostallthetimesyourappinstallbuttonwillbeshowingwillbeonbrandterms.Lowamountofimpressionsbutit’sinterestingjusthowmanycompetitorsyoushowwithandwhatcompetitorsandwhatCTRyoucangetoninstallbutton.

When does install app button appear?

AppInstallButtonClicks



Thefirstfourappphrasesperformfairlyclosely.ThestrengthofyourbrandimpactboththesearchvolumebutalsotheCTRofthefollowingterms•  Branddownload•  Brandinstall

How does CTR change on brand terms for install button?

Brand BrandApp BrandAppDownload

AppBrand BrandDownload

BrandInstall

Brand1 Brand2



Ifoundthatyourdataqualityisheavilyaffectedifyoudon’tusethecountryfilter.Thismakesanalysisforglobalappsmoretimeconsumingbuttheoutputisfarmoreaccurate.

When doing analysis make sure you use the country filter


A Global View on App-Indexing Visibility



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YouhavetosetupmobilesearchenginesforeachOSandtablet&mobile.Youcanthendefineyourappandthebenchmarkapps(competitors)thatyouwanttomonitor.

SearchMetrics has an App visibility report you can setup


It’snowpossibletogainabitmoreinsightonhowyourappisperformingcomparedtoyourcompetitors.ThesetupofwhatkeywordsandcompetitorstotrackisstillabitclunkybutwithmoredataI’msurethiswillimprovewiththeadditionofsuggestedkeywords/competitorstoinclude.

SearchMetrics are surfacing some insights at scale


What’s next?



PhotoCredit:JamesMarvinPhelpsPhotoCredit:PaulCarmona


•  GoogleApp-IndexingforiOS9+requiresimplementationofUniversalLinks

•  Previouslyitonlyshowedforlogged-inChromeusersnowitwillshowforlogged-inSafariusers

•  GoingforwardiOSApp-Indexingdoesn’trequiremetataggingjustrequiresapp-to-siteassociation

•  GoogleApp-IndexingwilldropsupportforolderiOS7-8

Google App-Indexing for iOS supports iOS9+


App Only SERPs are coming to a device near you


•  Searchresultscouldbeinfluencedbyotheruserswithsimilarapps.

•  Searchresultscouldbeinfluencedbyuserswithsimilardevices

•  Competitorsmightbeshownlessifusersmoreengagedwithinyourapp

•  Desktopexperiencecouldbeinfluencedbyyourmobileappusage

App-Indexing will expand as adoption increases


Aroundmid-June2016GooglePlaywillstartrollingoutacross•  AcerChromebookR11/C738T

•  AsusChromebookFlip

•  GoogleChromebookPixel(2015)WithmoreChromebookssupportedlaterin2016

Play Store & Android Apps coming to Chromebooks


GoogleismakingitpossibleforyoutosoonenjoyApp-Indexingbenefitswithoutactuallydownloadingthewholeapplication.

Instant Apps will benefit App-Indexing


•  ProgressiveWebApps•  Offlinefeatures

•  Offlinestorage

•  Addwebapptohomescreen

•  Accessyourphone’scamera

•  Pushnotifications

•  SupportedbyChrome&Firefox

•  RequiresHTTPs

•  GooglecouldshowtheminPlayAppstore

Progressive Web Apps blur line between Native & Apps


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What You Need To Know About Firebase App-Indexing By David Iwanow