Most popular apps 2026: Global stats & rankings
Discover the top downloaded mobile apps of 2025, including Instagram and TikTok. Explore the latest global and country-specific stats now!
Topic: Mobile app development
Apple Ads: What you need to know in 2026
Apple Ads has evolved beyond App Store search. Learn how to structure campaigns and scale efficiently across Apple’s growing ad ecosystem.
Ready to level-up your mobile strategy? New consumer research and trends
In this webinar, Adobe shares what’s driving mobile app growth in 2025—and how real-time, personalized in-app experiences are converting users into loyal customers.
App Store vs. Google Play: Tailoring your ASO strategy for maximum impact
One ASO strategy doesn’t fit all. Here are platform-specific tips for optimizing apps on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
What is ASO? 7 fundamentals to app store optimization
Learn the essentials of app store optimization (ASO) to enhance app visibility, drive organic installs and lower acquisition costs.
Google unveils new ad tools and updates for mobile app developers
Google is introducing a series of updates to help advertisers "enhance creativity, diversify revenue and make data-driven decisions."
Google expands ways to reach new and returning app users and update in-app event tracking
New features help app developers and marketers work together better too.
Google drops mobile app properties from GSC, reminds site owners to remove G+ integrations
Google giveth, and Google taketh away -- or moveth. And the search giant is emailing Search Console users about these upcoming changes.
Apple gets into the SEM business with paid-search for app developers
The possibility of an AdWords-like paid search model for the iOS App Store was first raised in April in a Bloomberg Report.
Google App Indexing becomes Firebase App Indexing
Today at Google I/O, we expect an announcement that Google App Indexing is now part of their Firebase company and will be renamed Firebase App Indexing.
Searchmetrics study shows most apps are not utilizing Google App Indexing
While most top websites have apps, only 30% of those Android apps and 19% of those iOS apps have deployed App Indexing.
Google Search Console Analytics Report Now Shows App Install Button Data
Google launched a new report for those who verified their apps with the Google Search Console.
How Google May Rank Apps & App-Only Content
Google App Indexing API is a key SEO factor for Google to rank and determine the importance of the sections of your app, especially for app only apps.
Apple Updates App Store Search Ranking Algorithm
Did you notice the iOS app store search results have changed? Some have.
SearchCap: Google Maps iOS App, Apple iOS Deep Linking & Gay Pride Google
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Gay Pride Month Gets Google’s Support With Rainbow-Colored Images For LGBT Searches For the month of June, LGBT-related search terms will deliver a Google results page with a rainbow-colored heart and […]
Apple iOS 9 Deep Linking Promises Improved App Discoverability Even For Apps Not Installed
Apple introduces Deep Linking in iOS 9 for improved app discovery. Time for standardization amongst Google, Bing, Facebook and now Apple?
For Google, Apps Are First-Class Citizens, So Take Advantage!
Contributor Ian Sefferman discusses how you can help users to discover and re-engage with your app via Google search.
Yahoo Wants To Syndicate Search To 600,000 Mobile Apps
Flurry gives Yahoo massive mobile reach and developer access.
SearchCap: Google Image Bug, Bing Search Tests & App Linking
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Tests New Search Results Design & Top Navigation Bing is testing several new interfaces for their search results. The tests interface includes moving the top navigation below the search box, […]
Bing Quietly Rolls Out App Linking, Connecting Search Results To App
With Google, Facebook and Twitter heavily promoting ways to promote apps within search and ads, few are taking notice of Bing’s efforts on that front. Bing has offered Bing App Linking since at least March 2014 but no one has really noticed. App Linking works in a similar way to Google App Indexing but specifically […]
SearchCap: Google Drops Authorship Images, Updated AdWords Auction Video & App Indexing For All
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Drops, Google+ Circle Count From Authorship In Search Results Google’s John Mueller announced they are making a major change in the search results around authorship. Specifically, Google is dropping the […]
App Annie Adds New Tools For Better App SEO, Paid Visibility
App Annie, which offers app store analytics, is announcing new features and capabilities for mobile app publishers and developers this morning. The company is adding more ad network data and analytics; it’s also offering new tools to help boost App Store Optimization (ASO). Both of these are directed toward what might be called app-user acquisition […]
AdWords Mobile App Download Campaigns Get Deeper Reporting In Google Analytics
This week, Google added new reporting available for mobile app campaigns in Google Analytics. By linking AdWords and Google Analytics accounts and enabling auto-tagging, mobile app advertisers will be able to access more detailed performance reports about their campaigns in Google Analytics. New reports on mobile app campaign performance include day parts, destination URLs and […]
Apple’s App Store Search Engine Now Considers Misspellings & Typos
Sarah Perez at TechCrunch reports Apple has updated their App Store search engine to help with misspellings, typos and other “fat-fingered” searching mistakes. Sarah said she has “sources” that have confirmed these “App Store search engine changes went into effect a few weeks ago.” One example I can personally attest to is when someone searches […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 31, 2013
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: Google Testing New AdWords Site Search Extension A new flavor of AdWords form extensions has been spotted. It’s a site search box, and according to Google, this test is related to […]
Russian Search Engine Yandex Gives Mobile App Developers Free Real-Time Analytics Tool
Russia’s largest search engine Yandex has released its Yandex Metrica for Apps, a free analytics solution available to mobile developers worldwide. According to the announcement, the new analytics tool has been designed to work on Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms, providing real-time reports on the search engine’s own apps. “We wanted a reliable, as […]
Guardian: Google “Inside Source” Not Optimistic About iOS Maps App Approval
Citing “sources at Google familiar with its mapping plans,” the UK Guardian website reports what amounts to anxiety that Google’s forthcoming mapping app will not be approved by Apple: Sources at Google familiar with its mapping plans say they are “not optimistic” that Apple will ever approve a dedicated Google Maps iOS app. Though the […]
Reports: Google Incredibly Didn’t Anticipate Being Dropped From iOS 6 Maps, “Scrambling” To Create App
The latest twist in the tale of Google Maps coming back to the iPhone and iOS 6 devices is that Google apparently didn’t anticipate that it would be dropped by Apple as a mapping data provider. As a result, it’s lost time needed to create its own app. If true, that’s a pretty surprising lack […]
The Good & Bad Scenarios About Why Google Hasn’t “Done Anything Yet” About Google Maps For iOS
Today, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt said his company hasn’t done anything yet to bring Google Maps to iOS as a standalone app. That seems to contradict Google’s statement last week about wanting this to happen, as well as the company’s central mission. But negotiations and contract issues yet to be revealed might be a […]
New iOS 6 App Store Search Results Look Like Chomp
Earlier this year Apple acquired Chomp a site and app dedicated to app search and discovery. That purchase was a signal that Apple was going to revamp its app store. That overhaul has apparently happened in iOS 6, which will become available to the public later this year. Some developers are now seeing new-look app […]
In Chomp, Apple Gains A Social Search Engine For Apps
Reported first by TechCrunch last night, Apple has paid a reported (but unconfirmed) $50 million for Chomp and its roughly 20 employees. Chomp offers both iOS and Android apps and a desktop site and is dedicated to solving the problem of app discovery. Chomp can either be described as a search engine for apps or […]
New Android Market Better, Offers Movie Rentals
Perhaps the best thing about the new and improved Android market is movie rentals. For others it may be books and still others may like the easier app discovery. For me it’s movies. The online Android market has had movie rentals but they haven’t been available directly on the phone until now. The new Android […]
deCarta Challenges Google With Free Mapping, Local Search Tools Aimed At Mobile Developers
Today at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, deCarta announced a set of free developer tools intended to challenge Google Maps and Places. I received a briefing last week and was impressed by the suite of products and tools, which include the following: White Label Maps Application White Label Local Search Engine Maps APIs […]
Honeycomb Puts Android 3.0 Tablets On Nearly Equal Footing With iPad
This morning Google showcased the features of its new tablet-optimized version of Android: Honeycomb. Danny live-blogged the press event, Honeycomb represents a dramatic improvement over Gingerbread for tablets in several respects. The UI is the most obvious example, as well as developer tools on the back end. There are some distinct UI differences between Android […]
Google’s John Hanke Speaks About New Mobile Incubator
Last week I wrote briefly about Google’s John Hanke’s move into a new role, based on a Forbes interview with him. Yesterday I got to speak directly with Hanke about his “new gig,” as they say. The former CEO of Keyhole came to lead the “geo team” (Maps, Earth) at Google after Keyhole was acquired […]
Foursquare’s Crowley Can Feel Foursquare Fatigue, Has Plans To Fix It
Feeling Foursquare fatigue and perhaps wondering what’s the point of checking in at times? Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley sometimes feels it too — but he’s got plans to keep you interested. More on that as well as turning Foursquare into a “product building machine,” from my interview with him last week. Why Check In? I’ve […]
Google Analytics New Features: Intelligence Engine, Custom Alerts & More
Google has just announced a number of new features for Google Analytics, including more powerful reporting capabilities, greater customization options and a new “intelligence engine” that Google says can help search marketers drive smarter data insights. Here’s a rundown of the new features, and why they’re important.
Google Maps Adds Multiple Search Support & Layers To Mobile
Google announced a new feature for Google Maps and a new feature for Google Maps for Mobile. The first feature allows you to plot multiple searches on the same map. This comes in handy when you want to get driving directions, plus plot the various gas stations, golf courses, supermarkets and so on, along the […]
Google AdSense for Mobile Applications Goes Into Public Beta
Google had been testing AdSense on mobile apps for the iPhone and Android in a kind of private beta with roughly 10 partners, including Pandora, Shazam and Urbanspoon. Now the program is opening up to apps developers and publishers who meet some criteria (among them, a 3 month commitment, 100K+ page views). Google said that […]
Google Finally Releases Google Mobile App For Windows Mobile
Google has announced the much anticipated release of the Google Mobile App for Windows Mobile. To get this app on your Windows Mobile device either go to https://www.google.com/mobile/winmo/ on your browser or visit https://m.google.com on your mobile phone. Here is a video of it in action: This currently works for Windows Mobile users located in […]