Apple’s New Search Algorithms and Manipulating App Store Search Results
Sarah Perez, a writer for TechCrunch.com, has written two articles that chronicle the recent changes to the Apple App Store’s search engine and shed light into the possibility of Apple self-promoting apps. On November 13th, in her article, “Apple’s App Store Get A Smarter Search Engine” she describes what has changed in the search engine and what effects this has had on specific applications currently on the store. On November 16th, her article “Apple Appears To Be Promoting Its Own Apps In The iPhone App Stores Top Charts” details the possibility of a bug in the search engine optimization or of a manipulation to the top ranked application charts by Apple.
Search algorithms determine which applications show up first in the App Store and are therefore extremely important determiners for which applications are able to become recognized by users and continue to gain popularity through network effects and the rich-get-richer process. The popularity of any iPhone application has a heavy reliance on the network effect and the information cascade of users downloading the same, most popular applications by following the crowd and not necessarily which application has the most sophisticated technology or a superior function. Apple’s most recent change on November 3rd to their search algorithms appeared to give more intelligent and relevant results. Previously, search results came strictly based off of the title of the application or in a “keyword” slot. The new search results display more extensive and relevant results but also display a number of competing applications and a longer list of applications. The number of downloads for applications is now also less relevant in the search algorithm, as this previously inflated free applications over paid ones. The update to the search algorithm seems to have increased the possibility for a lesser-known application to gain popularity amongst users. This change to combat rich-get-richer effects can bring users a better experience, as the search results will provide applications that are more specific to the users needs. As we learned in class, Google uses PageRank, an algorithm that can be used to rank websites in search engine results based upon their respective importance. While Apple has updated its search algorithm, it still does not take into account many more complicated, data-intensive metrics, such as usage and pointers from the “wider web.”
Since Apple has updated its search algorithm on the App Store, there seem to be discrepancies on the top charts between different devices (even when checked at the same exact time). While this may be a bug, it seems that Apple may be inflating their own apps (such as iMovie, Numbers, Pages, etc.) on the top charts in order to gain more users. While some may find this artificial inflation unfair to an otherwise “free-market” on the App Store, Apple does run the market and therefore has a right to promote its own applications.
Sources:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/13/app-store-search-just-got-smarter/