Google launches Trial Run Ads for apps in search results to let users play before installing

It was only a matter of time before Google brought app streaming to search ads. In the next few weeks, ads in Android search results will allow users to take games for a test drive before choosing whether to download them. The announcement was among several Google is unveiling on Monday during its Developer Day at Game Developer Conference in San Francisco.

AdWords Search Trial Run Ads will start appearing in Google search results within the next few weeks. The ads will have a “Try now” button, in addition to a download button. Users who opt to try the app will be able to play the game for up to 10 minutes before deciding whether to download it from the Google Play store.

Google began rolling out app streaming in organic search results more widely on Android devices earlier this year, with the “Try now” option to preview an app before downloading it. With so few apps ever used after being downloaded (Google says it’s just one in four), the teasers are aimed at increasing the odds that users will stay engaged after the install.

In December, Google began testing Trial Run Ads through AdMob. The test-drive period in those in-app ads is just 60 seconds, however, compared to the 10 minutes of trial time available to users in the new search trial ads. While initially aimed at game developers, Trial Run Ads will be available to a wide range of apps.

There were a couple of other announcements for developers using AdWords to promote their apps at the conference Monday:

Portrait Video Ads in mobile apps will launch in a few weeks. Google says that than 80 percent of video ad views in mobile apps on the Google Display Network are watched vertically — whether the video was created for landscape viewing or not. Early testing has shown significant improvement in both click-through and conversion rates, resulting in lower cost per install and more installs from Portrait Video Ads, the company says.

Developers will also soon be able to target ads to users who have spent more than 30 minutes playing games or played an app that’s integrated with Google Play Games within the past 30 days.