Google Plus +1 an Google Play application?

Question

My question is regarding the Google Play +1 button now available inside Android apps. I managed to include a fully functional +1 button inside my app, however it takes an URL as a parameter to "+1", and my question is regarding which URL should I use.

Watching the Google I/O I saw that Google will recommend apps based on what your friends +1'd, so what I'm trying to archive is creating an +1 button that will have the same behavior as +1'ing though the Google Play app details page.

Should I use the Google Play URL? What else can I do?

Thanks for responding.

Fellow

The "easiest" way to figure out what URL Google Play is using internally to count the +1's would be to +1 the app your are interested in the Play Store, then go to plus.google.com/me/plusones which should show the entry on top and copy the URL from there. It will most likely be the Google Play URL. – Cryptanalysis

Answer 1

If what you want is to increase the +1 count in the app page, you should use https://**market.android**.com/details?id=your.pkg.name. Note it is market.android, not play.google. You can easily verify this with the way suggested by Scarygami.

+1 play.google.com/details?id= will still work if you just want your users to promote your app. But it is not clear that it will promote the app rank, which is probably the main reason to implement the +1 button in your app.

Amr

I can't find confirmation that the play.google.com addresses do not work for +1 updating, and I have these in my own apps and my testing shows them as updating the +1 numbers on the store listing page. I suspect that this may be Android version-dependent - maybe the older Android versions support only the market.android.com links, but the newer ones support both? Can you tell me how you came upon this information? TIA. – Leukocyte

I don't have any formal confirmation on this, either. I tested it with the PlusOne button from Google Play Services rev13. With play.google.com, the +1 counts shown in the button (with the inline format) does not match the counts on the app page. Clicking the button does not increase the +1 count on the app page, either. But with market.android, everything works fine. I am not sure why play.google works for you but not for me... It is either play service version dependent like you suggested or maybe play.google works but with a delay? – Amr

I should add that although my links worked, about a month ago the store removed 90 percent of my +1s, and when I inquired, they would not say specifically why. They did say in general terms that people can reverse their +1s, but this happened in a single day, so that's not a possibility. And, they said that they have procedures for removing +1s they think are due to "+1 spam" (new term for me) but did not say that this was in fact the cause. I have features in my app that encourage users to share on social media that use the play.google links, so maybe I should have used market.android... – Leukocyte

Can't believe Google doesn't merge these numbers. (Numbers are also different if you use http:// instead of https://) – Menchaca

using https://**market.android** show exactly the same number from App details page. Thank you – Find

Answer 2

Update: The Google+ button for Android apps on Google Play Store is now gone/phased out/discontinued.

Transferase

Any link that confirms this? – Parabola

greenbot.com/article/3107188/android/… – Transferase

Answer 3

I believe it should be your apps URL in the play store. This is in the form of https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id= . So if your apps package is au.com.lukesleeman.rpn the full URL is https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.com.lukesleeman.rpn

Stope