Goo.gl short links can now link to apps that a user has installed

We told you this morning that Google is now rolling out iOS app indexing in search, but now the Mountain View company has come out to make another, related, announcement. As of today, goo.gl short links can now work as a single smart link to your content, capable of sending users to your Android app, iOS app, or your website…

Assuming you’ve taken the necessary steps to set up app indexing for your Android and iOS apps, users who click a goo.gl short link will be sent directly to them if the end content can be found within your app. Otherwise, users will be sent to your website. It’s a nice touch as the app and web worlds continue to converge, and Google says that links that have already been made are already set to go.

As Google puts it:

Starting now, goo.gl short links function as a single link you can use to all your content — whether that content is in your Android app, iOS app, or website. Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to set up App Indexing for Android and iOS, goo.gl URLs will send users straight to the right page in your app if they have it installed, and everyone else to your website. This will provide additional opportunities for your app users to re-engage with your app.

This feature works for both new short URLs and retroactively, so any existing goo.gl short links to your content will now also direct users to your app.

In case you didn’t know, you can head over to goo.gl to make some nifty short links. Google says that developers that would like to take full advantage of this feature should integrate the URL Shortener API into their app’s share flow.