I wanted to know which one is easier to implement. In the branch app indexing method is it required to implement app content sitemaps?
Full disclosure: I'm the Branch.io team
The way Firebase and Branch implement app indexing is fairly similar. In fact, Branch uses exactly the same methods for indexing as Firebase does, and adds some additional functionality on top. Branch acts as a wrapper for your own website, or as your full hosted website from the perspective of Firebase. So, when it comes to indexing with Google, you index a Branch link whereas Firebase requires you to submit your own site.
From the perspective of a developer, assuming the only thing you're trying to do is app indexing, Branch is slightly simpler to use and gives you rich analytics about the traffic from this channel but neither one is a lot of work. However, both platforms also provide other features that may sway your decision. If you're doing any sort of content sharing (i.e., your users create links to post on social media), Branch gives you app indexing basically 'for free' in the same library, whereas Firebase would require you to implement both features separately.
Both tools are free to use.
Offers a lot of features (of which app indexing is just one), all implemented to a 'fairly good' level. This makes the Firebase platform an attractive choice for a small, new app that needs a lot of basic infrastructure and doesn't necessarily plan to require advanced functionality later on.
On Firebase, App Indexing for Android apps is implemented via integrating the Firebase App Indexing SDK and making a verified link between your website and your app (usually via Digital Asset Links or the Google Search Console). The 'Firebase App Indexing' SDK is actually just Google's old App Indexing SDK that's been rebranded and repackaged in a peculiar way.
You then register content items inside your app using the SDK and cross your fingers in hopes that Google will index them — there's no feedback on the process. App Indexing for iOS apps is based on crawling URLs that have been enabled for Apple's Universal Links. There is a Firebase App Indexing SDK for iOS, but to be honest I have no idea what it does. We've never seen any benefit or change to indexing behavior on iOS when it's integrated. On both platforms, you need to already have a live website, because every piece of content inside your app must also correspond to a specific URL on your site.
A best-in-class, enterprise-grade tool for growth attribution and content sharing, used by many of top apps like Pinterest, Airbnb, Jet.com, etc.
Branch is based around the concept of a single link that works everywhere, on all platforms, and intelligently redirects to the appropriate destination. Every time your users share content or view a piece of content in your app, that action generates a link. Since Google's search index is really just a huge collection of links, this is a perfect match.
On both Android and iOS, Branch de-dupes your app's links for any that point to the same content, packages up the result into an 'app content sitemap' (you don't have to do this yourself if you're using Branch links — it's automatic as soon as you enable the feature) and ships that sitemap file over to Google. In addition, since your links are hosted by Branch, there is no need for you to have an existing website, and you also get access to things like iOS Spotlight Indexing. Branch is compatible with iOS Universal Links by default, and we take care of verifying the connection between your web content and your app. We also monitor the links so we can give you feedback on if/when Google decides to index your content, and so that you can pull out reports on traffic that comes in through app indexed links.
On Android, in addition to the approach above, the Branch SDK helps you to identify pieces of content inside your app and submit them to Google for indexing. This is exactly the same approach as Firebase uses, except since the traffic still goes through a Branch link, you get additional data for attribution and analytics.
Feel free to read the full Branch Google App Indexing integration guide for more details!
Of course, implied in all of this is the assumption Google actually cares about your content enough to display it in search results. They seem to be getting better about this, but at the moment it's still very much a black box without much feedback to you as the developer. At Branch, we're trying to provide as much insight into the process as we can, so at least if your content isn't being indexed by Google you'll know that instead of being left wondering.