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TallManNY

macrumors 601
Original poster
Nov 5, 2007
4,838
1,812
So Apple is now going to get rid of Apps in the App Store using spammy names that have no connection to the App. So when we do a search for something we are more likely to find the thing we want and not get a page of Free to Play with In App Purchase Games. This is nice. But it begs the question. Why the HECK DID IT TAKE THIS LONG?!?!?!

Seriously, three minutes of working with the App store search feature reveals that it is terrible. There is no reason why an App needs to have a five hundred character name. So why not put this change into effect like in the first month of the App Store's existence? I'm sure the spam apps started right then. This would have taken, what, five minutes of coding.

Count characters in name.
If greater than 50, then reject name.
Done.

Crappy Apple App Store search feature now improves by at least 10%. Go out and have a beer, you've made Apple a few million bucks by improving user experience. You've made developers a few million bucks by improving discoverability of Apps by the customers who want them. Everyone wins.
 
I dont get it

The App Store search algorithm puts a very high importance on the name of the application. Some applications just filled their name with names of popular applications. So a shopping cart app would be called Candy Shopping Clash of Fantastic Facebook ...

This was obviously a scam practice and Apple is now rejecting applications that use it. They also promise to go through all of the existing apps and prune old, ugly and not up to date apps, raising the overall bar for quality. Let's hope they will go through with it.
 
The App Store search algorithm puts a very high importance on the name of the application. Some applications just filled their name with names of popular applications. So a shopping cart app would be called Candy Shopping Clash of Fantastic Facebook ...

This was obviously a scam practice and Apple is now rejecting applications that use it. They also promise to go through all of the existing apps and prune old, ugly and not up to date apps, raising the overall bar for quality. Let's hope they will go through with it.
You mean that any app that uses the name of another is getting banned..??
 
You mean that any app that uses the name of another is getting banned..??

No, applications with names longer than 50 characters are. To quote Apple:

Search is one of the most frequently used methods for customers to discover and download apps from the App Store. In hopes of influencing search results, some developers have used extremely long app names which include descriptions and terms not directly related to their app. These long names are not fully displayed on the App Store and provide no user value. App names you submit in iTunes Connect for new apps and updates will now be limited to no longer than 50 characters.
 
So Apple is now going to get rid of Apps in the App Store using spammy names that have no connection to the App. So when we do a search for something we are more likely to find the thing we want and not get a page of Free to Play with In App Purchase Games. This is nice. But it begs the question. Why the HECK DID IT TAKE THIS LONG?!?!?!

Seriously, three minutes of working with the App store search feature reveals that it is terrible. There is no reason why an App needs to have a five hundred character name. So why not put this change into effect like in the first month of the App Store's existence? I'm sure the spam apps started right then. This would have taken, what, five minutes of coding.

Count characters in name.
If greater than 50, then reject name.
Done.

Crappy Apple App Store search feature now improves by at least 10%. Go out and have a beer, you've made Apple a few million bucks by improving user experience. You've made developers a few million bucks by improving discoverability of Apps by the customers who want them. Everyone wins.
So, have you contacted Apple with your feedback/concerns?
 
So, have you contacted Apple with your feedback/concerns?

No. I'd rather vent here.
But seriously, everyone has expressed concerns about App discoverability. It is ridiculously bad.
 
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