Google tests new way to promote apps on Play Store: What is it – Times of India

Google routinely promotes various games and applications within its app store — Google Play Store. Now, the tech giant is reportedly testing a new way to advertise apps and games on Play Store. According to a report by 9to5Google, the company is now testing a method where the apps surface directly on Play Store’s search section. Currently, if you tap on the search bar in Play Store, it brings up the keyboard and shows the four most recent queries. Moreover, the Play Store search history appears only after users enter a letter. On doing this, the search section shows the past queries related to the letter which is then followed by the autocomplete suggestions.

Google’s new way to promote apps on Play Store
As per the report, clicking the search bar of Play Store on a a device running version 33.0.17-21 showed three apps that were never searched by the tester before. In this case, all three apps that showed up on the Play Store search bar were games — Summoners War: Chronicles, Call of Duty Mobile Season 10, and Fishdom Solitaire.
The report couldn’t confirm if these apps were a part of paid promotions or they were suggestions recommended by Google. However, these games (except COD Season 10) were not visible in the ads-supported “Suggested for you” feed of the Games tab.

The latest Google Play System Update for November includes new features that will help users to discover the Apps & Games that they love and this new change is likely to be related to these new features.