Apple Tweaks App Store Search Algorithms

Ever have trouble trying to find a particular app on Apple's App Store? Ever wonder about the quality of the apps that fill up the search results when you're trying to find an app themed around a particular topic?

If you haven't tried using the App Store's built-in search engine recently, you should give it another shot. According to multiple reports, Apple has tweaked its search algorithms to give people more of a helping hand when they're searching for something that they might not know the actual name of, and the company has also tweaked the quality of the search results a little bit.

Take, for example, a simple search for the word "Twitter." Previously, you were unlikely to find fairly popular Twitter apps like Tweetbot and Twitterific within the top search results—which seems a little odd, especially when apps like Instagram (which has nothing to do with Twitter) show up instead.

Now, you'll find Tweetbot and Twitterific within the top results, and it's likely because Apple is now considering a number of new factors in users' searches. Apple's search algorithms now support partial keyword matching, and they'll also find an app even if a particular word a person is searching for isn't in an app's title or specific list of keywords, but still relates to that app in some way.

As TechCrunch reports, some app developers have seen quite a difference in their apps' searchability following Apple's tweaks. One developer noted that his app now ranks for around 70 more phrases or so than it did prior to Apple's changes. That not only bodes well for those looking for some increased traffic for their app, but it's also great for users who are really trying to find the best apps around a particular topic (even a niche one).

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"[It] made a huge change for us. [We went] from basically non-existent for the search term 'Twitter' to the No. 4 listed app," Tweetbot developer Paul Haddad told TechCrunch.

As an added byproduct, app developers searching for their own apps can now get a fairly comprehensive listing of competing apps, too—a quick, useful benchmark to see what else is out there, and how well your app might be doing in search results for other similar apps.