So many things about mobile remind us of the early days of the Web, or at least the Web since Netscape. From the simplicity of design to the walled gardens to the rate of growth and excitement, the aroma of 1998 is undeniable. And search is no exception.
And like search on the desktop, everyone is looking for a better, more relevant way to do things. Like Google’s PageRank helped separate them from the competition – and still does – the question of what’s good search on a mobile device has yet to be answered. Google will do their best to figure it out and make a significant play thanks to the shear gravitas of the brand and how it defines online search to so many consumers.
But as mobile users scour their devices for the best user experience possible, application stores are taking off as a key platform. All criticism of BlackBerry aside, searching for apps has real promise to help companies elbow their way into the mindscape of a lot of users.
There’s no data that we know of to support this opinion, but thinking that a growing number of people connect the dots when asking, What’s a good site for news?, by heading to their mobile device’s app store for an experience that’s amenable isn’t much of a stretch.
So, the question Are app stores the new search engines? seems legit. And as such, does an entirely new discipline of SEO follow suit? And then does spam bring up the rear?
Apps are delivered to users by popularity by default. The number of stars an application has can undoubtedly float them to the of the mountain or sink them to the bottom of the sea. So, the undeniable practice of outsourcing positive reviews is bound to happen, assuming it’s not happening already.
As app stores continue to gain steam for a growing number of users, rethinking search – and spam – are inevitable.
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