I don't quite understand app indexing
Ok, so I understand that if I have a website and an application that roughly displays the same content, application indexing can be used to open links to the website in the application (if the user has installed it).
To do this, deep links are provided on web pages that specify the URI for the application and content. It also lets Googlebot know about the connection to the webpage so that it displays information in search results, etc. (T. E. indexing
). You can also specify intent filters that process website URLs so that links to your site can automatically open the app and display content there without even opening the web page in a browser.
The part I'm having a problem with is that in an Android app, you add code (which can be automatically generated by Android Studio) that "goes the other way".
for example
@Override
public void onStart() {
super.onStart();
// ATTENTION: This was auto-generated to implement the App Indexing API.
// See https://g.co/AppIndexing/AndroidStudio for more information.
client.connect();
Action viewAction = Action.newAction(
Action.TYPE_VIEW, // TODO: choose an action type.
"Main Page", // TODO: Define a title for the content shown.
// TODO: If you have web page content that matches this app activity content,
// make sure this auto-generated web page URL is correct.
// Otherwise, set the URL to null.
Uri.parse("http://host/path"),
// TODO: Make sure this auto-generated app URL is correct.
Uri.parse("android-app://com.magnuswikhog.adrlibrary/http/host/path")
);
AppIndex.AppIndexApi.start(client, viewAction);
}
So what is the purpose of this code? It looks like it does it differently compared to per-site-to-app intents, and I'm not quite sure why you need this? If I only implement deep linking and URL handling, users will be able to open the app instead of a web page, no need to AppIndex
.
Basically, is this Google's way of collecting statistics on how app users are using screens with the corresponding web page? If so, what impact does this have? This affects the ranking of the apps (and / or the ranking of the site?). Is it necessary to implement this if I implement all the other parts of the application indexing?
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Ok so it seems that I am confusing App Indexing and App Links. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, as even Google seems to use the terms interchangeably and not strictly - for example, if you select Tools -> Firebase App Indexing Test
and the test fails, when you click Learn More , you are taken to a page referenced 90 % of app links, and at the bottom at the bottom - one small paragraph about app indexing.
This is what this paragraph says:
Add Indexing Firebase Apps
After adding Android App to your app, you can add your Firebase app indexing code to the activity to get re-engagement in your app from additional Google Search features including autocomplete suggestions and in-app search. Learn more about indexing Firebase apps in the Firebase App Indexing documentation.
So, it looks like app indexing is not directly related to App Links, and in a sense it is a completely different feature.
Also, looking at the Firebase documentation , here is finally some real information about the target of indexing:
User actions in the log
Google Search takes into account the actions of users who accept public and private content of the application and uses this to improve the ranking of search results and suggestions. Register user actions in your application to improve the user experience when searching for content in your application.
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