A Smarter App Store Search Engine ⇥ techcrunch.com

In happier App Store news, Sarah Perez reports for TechCrunch that Apple has launched a massively reworked search engine:

According to multiple sources, including developers who tracked their own rankings, as well as app store analytics firms, the change that began November 3 included several adjustments. Apps are now ranking in search results on a mix of contextual keywords for the app, including partial keyword matches, along with competitor brand names and other matches.

It’s also the first time the App Store has ranked apps for keywords that are not in the title or the “keyword” slot, we understand.

Historically, Apple’s search efforts have been pretty awful. This is a big step in the right direction, and I hope they apply a similar amount of work to the Maps search engine.

Of note, I’m not entirely sure if this revamped search engine has made its way onto the Mac App Store. Queries like “photo editor” kept high-quality apps such as Acorn and Napkin buried below low-quality, poorly-rated apps.