With Android nearing 80-percent share in global smartphone shipments, according to market intelligence provider IDC, more small businesses are turning to Android app development to gain visibility.

Investing in app development can help small businesses boost brand awareness and affinity, especially if the apps are useful, valuable and functional, according to an Inc. article. And since Google engineered Android, customers often turn to it for optimal performance of Google’s own apps–involving Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Now, YouTube and others–according to the Android website.

Here are some of the other factors leading of increased visibility with Android app development:

Google Play. Gain visibility thanks to the worldwide reach and rapid growth of Google’s app store, Google Play, which has a billion downloads per month (and growing) and gets apps in front of millions of users in more than 130 countries and territories across the world at Google’s scale, according to Android’s Developers website. Google Play is preinstalled on more than 400 million devices worldwide, a number growing by more than a million every day. And Android users have downloaded more than 25 billion apps from Google Play, growing at a rate of more than 1.5 billion per month.

Small businesses gain visibility from new users who personalize their devices with apps, games and other Google Play content. Meanwhile, existing users return regularly to see what’s trending and new. Ease of use of Google Play can also get visibility for apps, with downloading new apps being extremely convenient and fast: Google Play pushes apps to the user’s devices instantly, over the air, without needing cables or syncs.

Easy sharing. And while other operating systems only allow sharing of content via a few basic choices, Android can move content through any installed app with sharing capabilities, according to Business Insider. And the engagement of sharing means more people involved with a company’s Android app.

Customizable storefronts. Another way to increase visibility is through an app’s storefront, which is a product details page — a rich and colorful page for promoting an app, highlighting its ratings and reviews, and showing what the app can do.

The product details page is the one page where app users come to easily find out everything about an app. When they see an app listed in search results, top charts, category listings, and collections, one tap takes them directly to the product details page. And Google Play makes sure the product details page looks great on phones, tablets or in a Web browser.

Link web users directly to the product details page from outside Google Play, such as from a website, an ad campaign, reviews, social media posts and more.

Choice of targets. Work to ensure a company’s app gets visibility with its target audience. As an open marketplace, Google Play allows publishing whenever app owners want, as often as they want and to the customers they want. They also can distribute broadly to all markets and devices or focus on specific segments, devices or ranges of hardware capabilities, according to Android’s site.

Anticipated growth. With the recent introduction of Android Wear, which will work with Android-enabled phones, the possibilities are endless. Consumer-facing apps–such as Software Developers India’s Obstacle Trainer, which helps people train for obstacle races–benefit from Android’s large user base. Meanwhile, enterprise-oriented apps–like Schedule Ninja, which helps with team schedules and work projects–can use Android’s openness for customization and streamlined distribution in the business world.

The continued growth of the Android platform in size and technical capability makes it a great time to invest in Android app development to gain greater visibility for any small businesses.

Software Developers India’s team of more than 200 mobile and Web developers design applications from scratch, develop entire software systems tailored to the problem domain and ensure compatible processes. The company has an extensive Android and iPhone app development portfolio, and the company also provides website design and apps for Google Glass and smart watches in more than 40 countries. Software Developers India is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Melbourne, London and India. For more information, please visit www.softwaredevelopersindia.com or contact them directly at 408-802-2885 or team@sdi.la