What's new on Google Play 2023?

Constant updates and features from app stores can be both a headache and a great opportunity for developers and ASO specialists - let's see what's new on Google Play 2023.

Google I/O 2023 is an annual developer-focused conference hosted by Google to discuss the development of open-source technologies and Google services. 2023 was no exception, and Google's presentation was very eventful, where developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) played a central role.

As specialists in app promotion and optimization, we are most interested not in how the Pixel 7A looks but in how the rules of the game on the Android mobile app market will change.

AI and content generation

AI will not only be implemented in various apps from Google but will also be part of the Google Play Console. With the help of the latter, it will be possible to create content using artificial intelligence. AI will help create metadata - short and long descriptions for applications, based on data provided by the developer. It looks like an AI assistant with which you can use suggestions and generate a draft of the application data for the store.

AI will rely on functionality, target user and brand voice, etc. But don't put your duties as an ASO specialist on the shelf immediately, Google promises that this will not replace a person since the generated content must be tested and optimized.

AI and SERPs

Another point of active use of AI will be to highlight the best features of your application and convey them to users with its help(i.e., help will be both for the developer to highlight your game or app from its strengths and for the user to help him to find your app).

The User Feedback Summary is a new feature that is currently only available in English but will be expanded before the end of the year. This display of the average opinion of users about your game or application will be in the search results in the “What users are saying” block.

User Acquisition

Google has announced several key changes regarding user acquisition on the app page, from search results to custom listings:

• custom store listings (CSLs) for different user segments have been available since last year (you can create up to 50 custom lists). Now, in addition to customizing the app page by country, you can include categories such as Inactive Users and Google Ads Companies. These innovations will allow developers and ASO specialists to influence the retention of users because we are talking about the re-engagement of users who have deleted the application or have not used it for at least 30 days. And the ability to link a specific version of the app page with Google Ads will improve the path of the user who came to the page through advertising.
• the new machine translation from Google Play is now available for ten languages from Google Translate and will translate the app metadata and put it on the store. This makes the localization process easier and more accessible for ASO specialists and developers.
• expansion of advertising content. Google promises to expand the possibility of advertising for various types of content, events, and offers. At the moment, about 25,000 games have access to advertising opportunities; in the future, this number will increase.

Monetization on Google Play 2023

A wider range of tools for monetization. Google is now offering to experiment with in-app product prices, depending on the market in which they are presented.

• Featured Products will expand your monetization options by allowing you to sell products directly from your app page on Google Play. This completely repeats the functionality of in-app purchases on the App Store. The icon, name and its price will be displayed here.

• Subscription updates so you can offer different auto-renewal and prepaid plans.
• New secure payment methods in the store are aimed at preventing fraud and fraudulent transactions.

Featuring and app quality

At the Google I/O 2023 conference, attention was also paid to the quality of the application, namely, those factors that are taken into account by the platform for app promotion.

App quality factors:

• core value (usefulness/interesting solutions) and going beyond the usual.
• user experience (how simple and easy it is to use your application)
• technical quality (how well the application works on the target devices)
• privacy and security (level of confidentiality and security)

Presence factors on the Google Play store:

• accuracy and attractiveness of the application in the search results
• promotional materials (relevant and understandable benefits for the user).

The Spotify application example was provided by Google itself as a sample application page design.

Google Play 2023 for ASO specialists

The way how these updates will affect the practice of optimization specialists, we will see in the near future. But for now, it’s definitely worth updating your knowledge and getting to know all the innovations with the help of certification from the Google Play Academy. This will allow you to update your approach to optimizing the application, its text, visual part, as well as promoting applications and attracting users. In the meantime, you should use all the features of special pages from Google Play, remembering that keyword indexing occurs only on the main page of the app in the store. Consider in-app purchases as a means not only for monetization, but also for promoting the application.

What else is new?

In addition to global trends work in the world of mobile applications is greatly influenced by the rules and restrictions of stores. It is also worth mentioning the current changes on Google Play, which were not announced at the conference, but already affect your work with applications.

1. New account deletion policy. Apps that allow you to create an account should now be able to delete the account (and the data associated with that account). It will come into force in 2024.
2. Strict regulation of user reward practices in the context of ratings and reviews. Google introduced a new policy on May 31 this year to prevent artificially boosting ratings or reviews and motivating users.
3. Testing of the new Google collection continues, which is a collection of apps from the store called “Other apps to try”

Google Play continues to keep up with the times and this year we can say for sure that the use of AI will become an everyday matter, but still far from a complete transition to machine solutions. For ASO professionals, this store continues to create both new opportunities and new challenges. App optimization must and will follow the new rules, because the level of competition in the Android application market is higher than ever.

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