There are millions of apps available in the Google Play Store and so discoverability is one of the major problems that face developers and distributors. Now it looks like Google is adding more tools to help people look for apps that they want or need and to help developers position their apps in the proper category. They are now letting developers add tags to their apps to improve categorization and searchability. Now, all we need is to see how it will change the user-facing part of the Play Store.
9 to 5 Google says that for the past week, developers have been getting prompts in their Google Play Console to add tags when describing their apps. They have a list of around 150 tags to choose from and you are allowed to add up to 5 tags per app. They also already have suggested tags based on your app description and if they got it right then your life will be easier. But if they mis-tag you then you have search through all 150 of them and maybe also consider changing your app description since there may be something wrong there.
These tags are simply an extension of the already existing categories. It will help Google to properly put your app where it needs to be and it will also improve your searchability and discoverability. It can also help you fine-tune your app listings instead of just relying on the app description, which as we mentioned earlier, can sometimes miscategorize you for one reason or another.
You will be able to add the tags when you go to your app then store listing then categorization and manage tags. It advises you to “choose tags that are most obviously relevant to your app.” You are also advised to only edit it when there are major changes to the app’s content or functionality. Otherwise, you should just let it be as it is and don’t tinker with the tags once you’ve chosen them.
Now as to how that will look like to the Google Play Store user looking for specific apps, we don’t know just yet. They have not yet indicated when we will be able to see tags and click on them to see all that are under that specific tag. Us ordinary users will have to wait and see.
