June 2018 ASO Google Play Store Algorithm Update

Source: ASO Stack Slack conversation - Thomasbcn, Pablo Samper

As of the 20th of June, many Android developers noticed large and nearly total declines in daily download volume.

Since, official news from Google has surfaced.

According to the Google Play Store's blog, Google took action in order to improve the quality of apps surfaced for users (citing previous algorithm changes in the post, indicating that this was part of a systematic plan), and adjusted its algorithm at the end of June, 2018. Specifically, the Google Play blog referenced the following as the outcome of the algorithm update:

"Increased the importance of engagement and app quality in our recommendation systems and users reacted favorably to the changes."

Artem Lyatev of Appcraft also discovered a discussion thread in a Unity game developer forum that also touched on this issue.

Following the update, Google also suspended a number of apps. Moreover, discussions in the ASO Stack Slack community point to the update affecting the browse section of acquisition, such as similar apps.

The Bottom Line: Google's algorithm changes continue with a June 2018 update targeting apps with "lower engagement rates and app quality."

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