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Try searching for "The Magazine" in the App Store. Shows you how well Apple's search algorithms work. App Store SEO is a black box, and I'm not even sure how Ma

Try searching for "The Magazine" in the App Store. Shows you how well Apple's search algorithms work. App Store SEO is a black box, and I'm not even sure how Marco would improve his ranking with a name like "The Magazine." *Note - iPad 1 can see the app in the App Store, but can't use it as it requires iOS 6.

danbee 14y ago
It is a bit ambiguous, but I found it by searching for "the magazine geeks".
- tstegart 14y ago
  I guess we'll find out how far Apple is behind Google when it comes to search. I couldn't find the ranking for "The Magazine" because it was too far back. But presumably as it becomes more popular, it should move up in the rankings. For example, when people search on Google, the pages that get clicked on move up in the rankings, until the most useful page it at the top. Hopefully, as people search for "The Magazine" and then download it it will move up in the rankings. But if it doesn't, it shows you how far behind Apple is. I think Google has done this for almost a decade.
chipotle_coyote 14y ago
I only partially agree. My suspicion is that the search algorithm -- like many text search algorithms -- drops articles, leaving only "magazine" as the search term, and then suddenly your algorithm is hosed. I think Apple should prioritize a title which, when you drop its articles, is an exact match for the search term, but I've seen other people argue that Apple needs to take into account popularity and star ratings in the result order, which they probably do. And at this point "The Magazine" isn't going to be nearly as popular as other things with "magazine" in the title. While I appreciate the Zen nature of The Magazine as a title, for search algorithms it may be the equivalent of naming your company "There" (a place I worked at briefly): it's very clever, but it's damn hard to search for.
- tstegart 14y ago
  I think its improving, its within a few screens of the top search results. Not sure if because its getting good ratings or more downloads or if Apple is adjusting the results so that people who search for "The Magazine" will actually find the magazine. Currently at 1:15 pm, Oct 11 its at #54 on the iPad and #39 for the iPhone.
gregcohn 14y ago
Thank you for making this comment so I didn't have to.

danbee 14y ago

It is a bit ambiguous, but I found it by searching for "the magazine geeks".

tstegart 14y ago
I guess we'll find out how far Apple is behind Google when it comes to search. I couldn't find the ranking for "The Magazine" because it was too far back. But presumably as it becomes more popular, it should move up in the rankings. For example, when people search on Google, the pages that get clicked on move up in the rankings, until the most useful page it at the top. Hopefully, as people search for "The Magazine" and then download it it will move up in the rankings. But if it doesn't, it shows you how far behind Apple is. I think Google has done this for almost a decade.

chipotle_coyote 14y ago

I only partially agree. My suspicion is that the search algorithm -- like many text search algorithms -- drops articles, leaving only "magazine" as the search term, and then suddenly your algorithm is hosed. I think Apple should prioritize a title which, when you drop its articles, is an exact match for the search term, but I've seen other people argue that Apple needs to take into account popularity and star ratings in the result order, which they probably do. And at this point "The Magazine" isn't going to be nearly as popular as other things with "magazine" in the title. While I appreciate the Zen nature of The Magazine as a title, for search algorithms it may be the equivalent of naming your company "There" (a place I worked at briefly): it's very clever, but it's damn hard to search for.

tstegart 14y ago
I think its improving, its within a few screens of the top search results. Not sure if because its getting good ratings or more downloads or if Apple is adjusting the results so that people who search for "The Magazine" will actually find the magazine. Currently at 1:15 pm, Oct 11 its at #54 on the iPad and #39 for the iPhone.

gregcohn 14y ago

Thank you for making this comment so I didn't have to.