Google search is always changing, but thankfully those changes are usually for the better, like today's announcement of "app activities" in search results.
Soon when Google search users look for the name of an app or service, if that app is integrated with Google+ app activities, detailed information will be displayed to the right of search results.
App activities will initially be available for music and movie apps that include Deezer, Fandango, Flixster, Slacker Radio, Songza, SoundCloud and TuneIn.
The feature is rolling out on desktop search (no mobile for now) "over the next few weeks," according to a Google+ blog post.
Going deeper in search results
Google's Director of Product Management for Google+ Seth Sternberg wrote to developers this morning that "When users search for your app, they often want to go deeper and see what in-app content fellow users find interesting."
"Today we're making this possible by bringing app activity to Google search results," he continued.
Searching for Fandango, for example, will now display a list of movies that are popular among Google+ users to the right of search results. Clicking on a movie there will take searchers directly to that movie's page on Fandango.
Previously, that space on search results could be occupied by a brief summary with an image and a recent post if the app that was being searched had a Google+ page. But the new app activities integration contains much more information and can help users get to the page they want more quickly.
Developers can learn more on Google's development blog about how to integrate app activities into their Google+ profiles so that they show up in search results.
One downside could be if users go straight to the page they were looking for from Google's search results, they'll skip that site's main page and miss all the featured content and ads there. It will be interesting to see the various ways that different apps handle this feature.
