Google Search app now indexes iOS 9 apps with deep links to open content surfaced from apps, Safari to also show app content by end of month
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat :
Context & Ripple Effects
This extends a rollout Google has been staging all year: it first brought iOS app deep-link results to the Google app and Chrome in May (deep-link content from iOS apps) and formalized them as a ranking signal back in February, when apps with indexed deep links started ranking higher (mobile-friendliness and app indexing as ranking signals). The new step is two-fold: iOS 9's app indexing support means the Google Search app itself now surfaces content that lives inside apps, and Safari — Apple's own browser, previously outside this pipeline — will show app content by end of month.
First-order effects
- iOS developers whose apps support deep linking get their in-app content surfaced directly in Google Search results and soon Safari, without users needing the Google app or Chrome — expanding reach beyond Google's own iOS surfaces.
- Apple's decision to let Safari show app content means Google's indexing pipeline now touches the default iPhone browsing experience, changing what a search tap can open for every iOS 9 user.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft responds on the same battlefield: Bing's November iPhone redesign adds deep links and leans into app-integrated search (Bing for iPhone redesign with deep links), making app indexing table stakes for mobile search engines rather than a differentiator.
- App publishers face pressure to implement deep linking or cede mobile visibility to competitors whose apps are indexed — mirroring how the February ranking signal already rewarded indexed apps in web results.
Third-order effects
- If Safari-native app surfacing holds, the boundary between the open web index and the app ecosystem erodes: search rankings effectively govern which apps users open, giving search engines leverage over app discovery that app stores traditionally controlled.
- The pattern points toward indexing standards becoming a competitive requirement for OS-level features — platforms that expose app content to rival indexes gain search utility but shift discoverability power away from their own store gatekeeping.
The trend: Mobile search is absorbing the app layer, with deep-link indexing moving from Google-only feature to an industry-wide expectation that browsers and rivals like Bing must match.