Apple appears to have made some significant improvements to the way App Store searches work in the recent weeks. The search is returning more intelligent and relevant results whenever a keyword search for an app is conducted, reports TechCrunch.
Several developers, including Tapbots’ Paul Haddad and Contrast’s David Barnard began noticing changes to App Store search results starting in early November. The reports notes that a major algorithm update occurred on November 12.
App rankings for search results now appear to take into account factors that go beyond simple keyword listings, like partial keyword matches and competitor brand names. For example, a search for “Twitter” now brings up relevant apps like Tweetbot, which wasn’t the case previously.
“It’s also the first time the App Store has ranked apps for keywords that are not in the title or the “keyword,” slot, we understand.
For developers searching against their own app name, what this change means is that they’ll now see a number of competing apps that didn’t show up before, and an overall expanded list of matches.”
AppFigures CEO Ariel Michaeli told TechCrunch that the App Store uses a new suggestion function that takes into account the “essence of the app,” putting more emphasis on on-page components.
Apple could make further improvements to search on the App Store by utilizing metrics like whether an app was featured, positive reviews and press mentions from the web, and overall usage statistics.
