Google has just announced that it will be bringing its paid search results feature to the Google Play Store, helping mobile app developers to improve the discoverability of their apps. The new feature will allow mobile developers to pay to have their app featured at the top of the search results for their chosen keywords, in a similar fashion to how web search results work right now. Initially, this will be launched as a small pilot program to a limited number of advertisers. The users of the pilot program will be people who are already running traditional Google search ads for their apps. After this pilot program the feature will be rolled out to a wider range of international advertisers. The ads will be delivered to a select test audience, but Google has not disclosed how this test audience will be selected. The search engine will be monitoring feedback over the course of the pilot program, and will be analysing the results produced by the advertising. It’s interesting to note that while advertisers can pay to promote their apps under this new system, Google will include the star rating for the app as a part of the advertisement. This means that advertisers will not be able to make up for poor quality through aggressive advertising. This system looks like it will be a good thing for advertisers and for users alike, and it marks an interesting opportunity for traditional website owners and app developers to grow their audience. If you are a business owner who has not entered the world of mobile advertising then now is a good time to do so. Mobile apps offer a great opportunity to keep your brand at the forefront of the minds of your customers, and it is relatively easy to make a value-added mobile app for most brands. Google Play has more than a billion users around the world, and has paid out $7 billion to developers in the last year. Whether you choose to release a freemium or paid app that will generate extra revenue, or provide your users with free tools to boost goodwill towards your brand, you cannot afford to ignore the huge potential user base that is out there in the form of Android mobile and tablet users. These users could become powerful advocates for your brand and your products and services.
27th February 2015
