appindexing
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Google search on Safari mobile to display results for iOS apps
By the end of October, you might notice that doing a Google search via Safari on an iPhone or an iPad returns results with deep links to iOS apps. That's because Mountain View has given developers the power to do so -- they simply have to add Universal Links to their iOS apps and integrate with the Google search SDK. The company first brought app indexing to Apple's mobile platform back in May, but only the Chrome browser and the Google Search app could dig for info from within applications: Safari had no access to the feature. As we've mentioned, though, those Safari deep links won't start rolling out until late October, and you can only get them when doing a query if you've already installed iOS 9.
Google Search on iOS picks up a new feature from Android
Google has included contextual search results (links to content from installed apps, not just web pages) for Android users since 2013. Today, iOS users will be able finally be able to do the same. Following up on its reveal during the I/O event last week, Google explained on the Inside Search blog that the company will populate search results with in-app content for both the Google App and Chrome on iOS devices starting this week. So if you tell your iPhone, like in the example below, "I need a reservation at Bombay Cricket Club" Google will return a link to the OpenTable app that takes you directly to the Bombay Cricket Club's reservation page.
Google's Android search now pulls content from apps you haven't installed
Thanks to Google search on your Android phone, you can not only bring up search results from the web, but also content from apps that are installed on your phone. Soon, however, that capability will be extended to apps you haven't downloaded at all. Google has announced today that thanks to its app indexing efforts, you may now start to see Play Store suggestions in your search results that'll lead to relevant content. So, for example, say you're searching for "Michelin star restaurants" on your phone. You'll not only get the usual search results for that, but also see suggestions for apps like OpenTable or Yelp if you don't already have them installed. If you do install them, the first thing you see when you launch them is a list of, yep, Michelin star restaurants in your area.
