URX has announced a new beta App Search API which enables developers to find and link users directly to relevant actions inside other apps. With the API, developers can use deep links to help users with what’s next as they use their devices.
For example, say you are reading this article on your ADM mobile app (shameless plug, we know!) If we had integrated the URX App Search API, you could find a deep link to the URX app and go to the app to learn more.
Maybe you are using your fantasy football league app to finish up your roster for the week. With the URX App Search API, the app could then let you know the closest sports bars that are showing the games.
It’s all about predicting what’s next for users and providing that information in a relevant and timely manner.
How it Works
The URX engineers have been building a knowledge graph on top of the content that exists within apps. They have been crawling and indexing linked data about apps to build an understanding of where entities exist, how they’re related to each other, and how they can be acted on.
The App Search API lets developers access this graph with specific details about the user’s context (e.g. location, keywords, time, intended action). The API then replies with the deep links and other meta data of relevant apps that the developer can present to the user. In a nutshell, you make a call to their API, and they can return results in either JSON or HTML format to display however you want to do so.
Their graph includes apps that use Google, Twitter, or Facebook tags. Developers don’t have to worry about which standard another developer implements to link to them, the API takes care of that.
URX also gives developers control over how to display results, depending on if someone already has an app installed or not. You could decide to only show results for apps already installed on a device, or you could give the user the option to head to the mobile web.
The URX App Search API can provide a new way for apps to get discovered at precisely the right time. Contextually relevant discovery is especially helpful for niche apps that provide a lot of value in specific situations.
Developers can sign up for
the beta now. In the coming weeks, the first integrations will be released, and URX will be posting sample libraries and SDKs.