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Google?s Android Web notifications inch toward eliminating need for apps

Google?s move to offer push notifications on mobile Web sites for Android users, in its latest mobile-friendliness initiative, is unlikely to immediately lead to the demise of mobile applications, even though the updates will look and feel like regular app updates.

The offering of Chrome push notifications on both desktop and Android by sites including eBay, Facebook and Pinterest and Beyond the Rack was announced one day before Google?s move to factor mobile friendliness into its mobile search rankings took effect. The move, occurring over the next few weeks, could set the stage for other strategic plays while making ChromeOS a more interesting option for those looking at smaller Chromebook-style laptops.

?I don't believe this will eliminate the need for an app, but we're getting close,? said Vincent DiBartolo, vice president of technology for Big Spaceship. ?Native code is still better at rendering complex graphics or handling complex interactions ? for example, games ? although Google is advancing on this front as well.  

?Mobile Web access to photos, contacts, gyroscope, and mic are all still in various stages of unsupported,? he said. ?Apps will still thrive where they make sense, but that space is shrinking.?

Clicking to Web site
The notifications will look and act like those sent from applications, Google said in its blog. The only difference will be that a click will take the users to a Web site instead of an app.

As with an app, users will be asked to opt in to receive messages from a Web site.

Creating the look and feel of an app on mobile Web.

In another change, developers can add a pop-up banner that users can click on to add the site to their home screen. 

The change aims to free Android developers from having to decide whether a native app?s engagement potential beats a mobile Web site?s reach, Google said.

Most brands that rely on notifications as part of their communications plan have built an app to service consumers.  

?If the premise is that users are drowning in apps, providing yet another means of staying communicating with a brand is likely only going to be engaging as long as the novelty lasts,? Mr. DiBartolo said.

?But in classic Google fashion this is setting the stage for bigger strategic moves that we can only guess at.  For instance, this makes ChromeOS a more interesting and tempting option for those looking at smaller Chromebook-style laptops ? such as students, grandmas and grandpas,? he said.

Notifications on the Web likely would be identical to those in an app.

?I would suggest they shouldn't be different, and Google probably doesn't want them to be,? Mr. DiBartolo said. ?Google would prefer if the user couldn't tell the difference.  

?Practically speaking, though, Google will likely attempt to limit their utility while they iron out the kinks and establish a mindshare with users and brands.  

?Notifications will be very targeted and very lightweight, built around quick interactions that would be considered overkill for an app,? he said. ?Think more ?notify me of updates to this article? on Huffington Post than ?click to read 30 updates? on Twitter.?

Google?s move to factor mobile friendliness into its mobile search rankings means that marketers with sites that fail to render an easy-to-navigate experience on mobile may lose their top placement in Google?s search results. The implication could be a large amount of traffic loss as some sites show roughly 50 percent or greater skew towards mobile traffic. 

Although apps have surged in popularity since their emergence in 2008, critics increasingly complain about how requiring the user to open or download an app interferes with efforts to create seamless mobile experiences. 

Different aims
While the provision of notifications to Android users appears to be another part of Google?s mobile-friendliness push, the underlying aims in the two initiatives are different.

Personalizing the mobile Web.

?On the surface these two announcements might seem at odds,? Mr. DiBartolo said. ?One makes apps more useful and the other makes them less relevant. Apps aren't going anywhere soon, so for the meantime search revenue has to be minded." 

In the meantime, Google?s notifications move illuminates the ever-changing nature of the mobile space.

"Mobile apps account for the largest amount of mobile browsing, and were the reason that mobile browsing overtook desktop browsing in 2014,? said Zach Baze, senior vice president for strategy and content for IMM, Boulder, CO.

?Ideally, you should have a solution to provide customers the content they want in the format they choose."

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York