Has anyone got Firebase app indexing to work?

Question

After the implementation, I am able to successfully confirm that Google Bot can index my app through Android Studio testing (Tools > Android > Google App Indexing Test). And per Google Search Console, over 200 pages of my app have been indexed. But here follow the problems

• Fetch as Google always fails
• Firebase app indexing test fails.

If the app is installed, then clicking on a Google Search result will open the app. But if the app is not installed, it goes to the website (i.e. no install button in search results).

Everything else with Firebase works: app invite, deep linking, analytics.

So I am asking, has anyone out there actually gotten Firebase App Indexing to work? And if so, how REALLY?

My app is one Activity with a Spinner where users choose content by selecting an item from the spinner. And a Fragment is populated when the user makes a choice. And of course to index, I call AppIndex.AppIndexApi.start(client, getAction()) when the Fragment is populated and I call AppIndex.AppIndexApi.end(client, getAction()) when the user chooses a different content… and repeat start-end.

Also instead of using Digital Asset Links I am associating my app with my website through the Search Console.

Answer 1

Few things:

Fetch as Google always fails. Firebase app indexing test fails.

You might need to check robots.txt for your website to not prevent Google bots to crawl your APIs.

If the app is installed, then clicking on a Google Search result will open the app. But if the app is not installed, it goes to the website (i.e. no install button in search results).

To achieve the app installation flow shown in the following screenshot, you actually need to implement Web App Manifest on your site.

_{(source: google.com)}