I think something did change there. When I opened up google play a couple of weeks ago the stuff I saw first was under the banner "Free Series Starter". I had never noticed that before, but I could be wrong and I just never noticed it. Anyway, I asked them (via chat) how to get my books on that page. The guy couldn't tell me but I did get an email back a couple of days later that it was the algorithms. I put their email to me below. I poked around in the books on that page (50 of them) and best I can figure, they had a lot of reviews. One had 800! On Google play! My mind wobbled a little at that. About 50% of the time now (I'm not keeping an exact count) when I open google play it gives me that Free Series Starter at the top.
I don't have any advice, not really, sorry. You can only check to see your book in your country so you can chat with them and make sure it is showing properly in other countries, they will check that for you. You can also ask them via chat for any advice for the algorithms. They may not be able to tell you anything, but when ever I needed their help I have always been #1 in the queue for chat so it isn't a huge time sink.
Sorry for your troubles.
The email:
Please know that the number of the books can be displayed on a particular page on Google Play store is limited and Google is aiming to offer customized and personalized experience on Google Play so, each user will see different titles on their respective home page based on their preferences.
Further, the listing of books on Google Play store is an automated process which runs on a predefined set of algorithms and the process cannot be altered manually. Hence, we will be unable to manually add books to a particular page on Google Play store.
In an effort to enrich your catalog coverage on Google Books and the Google Play store, I'd like to encourage you to review the books in your Partner Center account and make sure to provide as much information as possible on the Metadata and Settings tab. Complete metadata makes it easier for readers to discover and search for your books, and may also improve your sales.
If you'd like to experiment with pricing, you can add new prices with start and end dates, or submit a spreadsheet with promotional prices. Also, if you're interested in using some other Google products to help promote your book, especially if you have a website of your own, consider using AdWords and YouTube!
Naturally, different strategies are effective for different books, so I encourage you to consider what would work best for yours. We'll also do our part to continue to grow Google Play's user base.
I hope this helps. Please feel free to reply if you've further questions or concerns.
Best regards,
