14 DAY TRIAL // Google has added yet another dedicated search engine to its main search page. You can now restrict results to just mobile applications. If you're looking for a particular game or productivity app, you'll be able to find the places that host them via the new "Applications" filter in the left sidebar.
Google has been slowly adding applications to search results in different ways, but it now has a dedicated search engine.
It started with a mobile OneBox which would display direct links to app store pages for certain queries. The feature made the most sense on mobile devices, but that doesn't mean it won't be useful on the desktop.
Earlier this year, Google started supporting metags and microdata for apps and encouraged app stores of all kinds to start using them, to make the life of search engines and users alike easier.
It started using those metatags to customize the search entries for apps, adding ratings, price, and similar useful details. But those rich snippet results were still intertwined with regular search results.
Now, it's making it easier to focus entirely on apps with the "Applications" filter available under the "More" link. The results will come almost exclusively from app stores, either the official iTunes or Android Market, or third-party ones.
It's not the first time Google has done this, dedicated search engines like "Recipes" also rely on microdata. As websites start adding support for more microdata tags, as standardized by the Schema.org website to which most big search engines adhere to, more of these specialized search engines will show up.
What's more, Google is not even the first to add a dedicated app section to its search engine. Earlier this summer, Yahoo debuted App Search, a specialized tab which would enable users to more easily find the apps they're looking for.