Google Play To Rank Mobile Apps With Better Quality Higher

Developers of mobile apps better beware -- Google has just recently revealed that it is now deploying an update to its Google Play app store that will rank quality apps higher compared to those “buggy” titles. Sure, quality is such a broad descriptor, but when it comes to apps on Google Play, the word will refer to apps that experience fewer instances of crashing, and lesser bugs and other performance related problems.

The reasoning behind the update to Google’s app ranking algorithm is of course to guarantee that the rankings of best performing apps are improved, and in the process, increasing their chances of getting discovered by consumers. Google came to this decision after noticing that about half of the 1 star reviews on its mobile app store were about issues related to an app’s performance stability and consistency.

It is no secret that we now live in an empowering age wherein whenever we are not pleased with a certain product or service, we let everybody know about it. The same is true for mobile apps, and users often are a very vocal bunch -- they will not hesitate to leave negative feedback when they are not satisfied with an app’s performance, in the form of low star ratings and bad reviews.

It goes without saying that an app that accumulates a considerable number of low star ratings and bad reviews will have its ranking affected. But other apps can work around this hurdle by being super popular. As long as they attract an adequate number of downloads and installations, they will still likely remain in the charts. Google obviously wants to fine tune this, and along the way, encourage developers of apps to actually also fine tune their creations, because if they do not, the rankings of their apps will suffer. 

For sure, Google has had to come up with a criteria of sorts from which it can base its screening process for which apps are considered quality and which are not. As mentioned earlier, the occurrence of app crashes play a key part, as well as how operating an app can affect the mobile device’s battery. Also, how many times an app has been uninstalled could also be an indicator. 

There is no doubt that there are a lot of good mobile apps on Google Play, but far too often, they get buried by other better marketed apps that have lesser quality. But with the newest update, there is hope that the really good ones will be more noticed.