Google aims to Bridge Gap Between Apps and Web

Android users will be able to search the content stored inside apps using the Google search app. Currently, the search app only hooks into data collected from websites and cannot look inside apps like Wikipedia or Flixter.

Google is working on a feature called "app indexing", which was announced last year in October, to give app makers ability to connect their apps to Google search engine.

According to Lawrence Chang, a Google product manager asked developers, "Wouldn't it be cool if you could give your users the choice of viewing your content either on the website or via your app, both straight from Google's search results." 

"Today, we're happy to announce a new capability of Google search, called app indexing, that uses the expertise of webmasters to help create a seamless user experience across websites and mobile apps."

According to Chaesang Jung, a software engineer with Google, "Let's say that a user is searching for a movie. With app indexing, Google will begin to include deep links to apps in Android search results. When the user taps on the 'open in app' deep links, the app opens up directly to the movie in question."

According to Timesofindia, Google has announced that it is already working with several app makers including those who manage AllTheCooks, AllTrails, Beautylish, Etsy, Expedia, Flixster, Healthtap, IMDb, moviefone, newegg, OpenTable, Trulia, and Wikipedia apps. But the company wants more app developers to join the app indexing programme.

The app indexing has some obvious benefits for users, it is very important to Google and its future. Google dominates the world of web. It has over 70% share in the worldwide web search market, and consequently gets lion's share in money spent on web advertising. But in the world of mobile, Google is not dominant.

According to a report by Flurry on Tuesday, smartphone and tablet users in the US spend only 14% of their time on the mobile web. The figure last year was 20%. In comparison, 86% time users are inside apps.

Author Venkatesh Yalagandula Follow us Google + and Facebook and Twitter