Google Play Search Results Will Now Feature Sponsored Ads For Developers

The next time you visit the Google Play store to download an app, you’ll likely be greeted with an ad or two.

In an effort to increase consumers’ discovery of new apps and bolster developer payout, Google announced today that it would begin piloting sponsored search results on Google Play.

“We are always looking for new ways to help you get your apps in front of potential new users,” the company says in a blog post directed at app developers. “Search ads on Google Play will enable developers to drive more awareness of their apps and provide consumers new ways to discover apps that they otherwise might have missed.”

Under the pilot program, when one of the more than a billion Android users searches for an app topic in Google Play, the top result may be a sponsored post.

A similar practice is already used in the company’s web search results. A quick search of “pizza” on Google resulted in two ads at the top of the page.

Starting in the next several weeks, Google will begin to display the sponsored ads for a select group of Google Play users. The company plans to revisit the pilot after a few months to determine whether or not it should be expanded to all Android users.

A New Way to Promote Your App on Google Play [Google]

[H/T Business Insider]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist