Understand how search works in Google Play

We show you the most relevant apps first. To determine an app’s relevance, we consider:

• What device you’re using. We recommend apps that are available and work well on your device.
• Your location. We only recommend apps that are available in your country/region.
• The page you’re on. For example, when you visit the “Kids” tab, we recommend apps for kids.
• What you searched for. We use the words in your search and synonyms to determine if you’re looking for a specific app or a type of app (such as “racing games”). Then we use data and other signals about apps to determine which ones best meet your search.
  • When your search is narrow, like the name of an app, we try to show that app.
  • When your search is broader, like a search for “photo editing,” we show multiple apps. We use the other factors described here to show ones we think you’ll have a good experience with. We may also show suggestions from Play Books.
• The app’s relevance to a broad audience. For apps with a narrow audience, we may only show the app if we’re confident it’s what you’re looking for.

We may also personalize your results after your search. For more info about how Google personalizes its services and privacy controls, go to the Google Privacy Policy.

We show you high-quality apps that perform well and give you a good user experience. To evaluate an app’s experience, we consider:

• The experience within the app itself
• Its appearance in the Play Store, such as the app’s icon, title, screenshots, videos, description, and links
• The customer support the developer provides
• The app’s visual design and user interaction patterns
• The ads experience inside the app (if applicable)
• If the app provides the expected functional behavior, content, and features
• If the app provides the expected compatibility, performance, stability, and responsiveness

To help you find apps, we suggest search terms that will give you good results.

Before you start to type, suggestions are based on your recent search history in the Play Store.

As you type, we offer search suggestions to help you search effectively. These suggestions are based on search query patterns of all of Google Play’s users.

Developers can pay for their app to show in clearly marked sections of Google Play through advertising. Ads are always marked with a label like “Ads” or “Sponsored.”

In addition to the factors described here, we consider:

• Mature content: Google Play may filter out mature apps from non-mature search queries.
• Standards review: Some searches may show results that are specific to your location and have been reviewed for certain standards. For example, for searches containing “Covid 19,” “coronavirus,” and other related keywords, the app’s content is vetted in concert with Trust & Safety and Global Affairs & Public Policy and partner governments and non-governmental organizations around the globe.

Google Play uses details about ebooks and audiobooks to decide which ones show up when you search. For example, we use details from the publisher, such as:

• The name of the book
• The language in which the book is published
• Maturity scores
• Genre
• Content of the book

We also use details like:

• Format (for instance, audiobook or ebook)
• Book characteristics
• User feedback (such as ratings and reviews)

To make it easy for you to find books, we choose which books show on a page, how many books show, and how they appear. We consider many factors when we organize books, including:

• Relevance: We show books that are relevant to the page you’re on or what you searched.
• Quality of the title: We show books that have high-quality content and get good feedback from other users.
• Editorial value: We curate recommendations based on what’s noteworthy and interesting.
• Ads: When publishers advertise their books on Google Play, we make sure the ads are well marked.
• User experience: We show books that users have a good experience with.
• Series: For book series, we group titles in the series together. The order might change based on what you searched. Books in a series are also grouped by format.
• Genre groups: When you search for a genre, we group results based on popularity, novelty, or sub-genre