Mobile Deep Linking for Apps – What? Why? How?

Branch Deepviews
Autogenerated app previews with deep links.
For desktop and mobile.
Mobile Deep Linking
What? Why? How?
https://branch.io

What is a deep link?

Headline
A deep link is a hyperlink that
instead of linking to a home
page is linking to a specific
website or piece of content.

HeadlineDeep links go deeper than just to the
home page because they contain all
the information to direct you to a
specific place.

Deep links go deeper than just to the home
page because they contain all the information
to direct you to a specific place.
On the web, deep
links have been
around for ages.

So why is mobile deep
linking such a big deal?

Headline
Whereas on the web I can share a deep link
to some piece of content, I couldn’t really
do this in a mobile app.

While websites have a standardized
document structure apps don’t.

To share a piece of content I have seen
in an app I would need to tell you what
app to download and where to click to
find exactly the content I saw.

Welcome

The same was true
for app developers
who wanted to
promote specific
content or a special
offer in their app,
through ads.

The same was true
for app developers
who wanted to
promote specific
content in their
app, such as a
special offer.
Clicking the ad on
the mobile web
would direct me to
a generic welcome
screen of the app
- or worse - to the
app store.

From there,
I have to find
the special
offer myself.

Even if it was a good deal, how likely am I to spend
time searching for it?

Fortunately, companies
like Branch have solved
this problem.

Once you have
integrated a few
specific lines of
code, you can
create links to the
content in your
apps and direct
users to any place
you want, even if
they first have to
install the app.

Here,
deferred deep linking
comes into play.

With deferred
deep linking,
clicking on a link
that points to
content inside
an app you have
not installed…

…will bring you
to the download
page inside the
app store.

After down-
loading the app,
you will directly
be routed to the
piece of content
you were expec-
ting — no search
required.

But wait! Theoretically, app stores are a barrier for
information and analytics.

After installing an app, the store won’t share where a
user originally comes from and what he is looking for.

In order to still direct
you to the right place,
deep linking solutions
use something called
device or fingerprint
matching to connect a
user before and after
they enter the app store.

Which brings us to
contextual deep linking.

With contextual deep linking you can pass information
through the app store, e.g. the referring information that
is required for deferred deep linking.

Contextual deep links can also transport
information about who the user is,

… where she is coming from,

… which ad campaign she clicked,

… which friend has referred her,

…or which promotion code she wants
to apply to her order.

With contextual
deep linking, you
can give users the
most personalized
and targeted app
experience possible,
especially when
they open the app
for the first time.

Beyond that, you are able to analyze exactly which
campaigns and channels are effective at converting.

Pretty cool, right?

So, how can I use
mobile deep links?

Add deep links to
your standard
share sheet
The app opens
directly to the
shared content
Users share the
links with friends
on any platform
Clicking takes the user
to app store if they
don't have the app
Content Sharing
Increase app sessions and reach new users

You define the reward
rules for new and
referring users
We automatically
attribute new users
to the referrer
Users share the link
with friends on any
platform
Rewarded Referrals
Convert web users to mobile

Add a smart download
banner over mobile
content
Deliver the user to
the same content in-
app immediately
Send users to the right
app store for their
device
Smart Banners
Track installs to give users a continuous experience

Use deep links for
ads on any
platform
The app opens to
the advertised
content immediately
Users go to the app
store if they don’t have
the app already
Deep Linked Ads
Track installs and reduce steps to conversion

Show an automatic
preview of the app
content in browser
Deliver the user to
the same content in-
app immediately
Send users to the right
app store for their
device
Deepviews
Experience app content before install

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Mobile Deep Linking for Apps – What? Why? How?

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