Deep linking

What is deep linking?

Deep linking can directly send users to a specific in-app content. Using deep linking as a mobile marketing strategy is an excellent way to bring users into the app and drive conversion.

Imagine you are an e-commerce app marketer planning to run mobile ads to promote your new shoes. If you do not use a deep link, the people who click on the ad will have to be directed to the App Store, even if they already have the app, or to the web page. This is not only irrelevant to the new shoes the ad promoted, but it also fragments the overall mobile user journey. In comparison, a deep link will guide the users directly to the in-app page where the shoes are promoted. In this case, the users can find the information about the shoes straight away and ultimately have a higher chance of buying the shoes.

To sum up, a deep link works like a web URL in a mobile environment, as it contains additional data to take users to a target in-app destination.

Why is deep linking important?

Marketers can benefit in various ways by generating a campaign with deep links.

Create a seamless user experience

With just a single click, deep links lead users to land on the very page they intended, significantly reducing the friction within the app. This can save the user's effort to manually navigate around the app and create a seamless user experience. Also, deep links make the transition from a mobile web (or an app) to the marketed app much easier and smoother.

Boost conversion and retention

Directing the user straight to the content they were looking for leads to a lower bounce rate and higher engagement, which can ultimately boost conversions. Deep links can also make users return to the app more often through various mobile activities such as ads, social media, or mobile search engines. Deep links can also be used with app push notifications to make users come straight to a promotion page.

Track data for user insight

With the help of an MMP, deep links can be tracked to collect extra data points on how campaigns performed and, as a result, gain more understanding about the users and their mobile journey. Marketers can use this insight to enhance their user acquisition strategy further.

Deep linking in mobile marketing

To use deep linking in mobile marketing campaigns, you should first understand how deep links work.

There are three types of deep links; URI scheme, universal link, and app link.

• URI scheme: URI scheme is the most traditional method of deep linking. Each app can register its own 'scheme' (e.g. airbridge://), and a scheme enables a link to identify the app. The rest of the link's path designates the specific location within the app.
• Universal link: Universal links are deep links used only on iOS. What makes universal link special is that each app should be registered with a domain (e.g. www.airbridge.io). A domain is a unique address that can be used to verify each app.
• App link: App links are like universal links but work only on Androids.

Understanding the different types of deep links is important because using the wrong kind can lead the users to the wrong destination or cause the deep link not to work as intended. This can give the users an unpleasant experience and decrease the campaign performance.

To avoid the hassle and incorporate deep links as a part of a great mobile marketing strategy, marketers can consider using MMPs such as Airbridge. Airbridge can empower marketers to create, customize, and manage deep links to optimize mobile marketing campaigns. Also, marketers can track and analyze user data with Airbridge deep links for additional insight. To find out how you can use Airbridge to set deep linking campaigns, find out more about Airbridge's deep links.

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