1、Exploring the Deep Linking Frontier Boldly Go Where No Mobile Partnership Has Gone BeforeContents1What is deep linking?How deep linking worksDeep linking“standards”231Challenges4Conclusion53What is deep linking?If youre a partnership professional,chances are youve heard the buzz term“deep linking,”p

2、articularly in the web world.The first time,you may have scratched your head,or even Googled it in the privacy of your cubicle.And like many of us,you got an intuitive sense of what it was,why it was better than just dropping your users off on your homepage to fend for themselves,and how it helped y

3、our website conversion rates.Back in the early days of the internet,when web-based deep linking was rare,folks viewed websites as hierarchical structures.Think of it this way:in the physical world,users have to walk through the main entrance of a drugstore and eventually make their way to the shelve

4、s they want.If they could be“deep linked,”they could have instead magically transported themselves straight to the cough medicine aisle Star Trek-style.4Deep linking:A virtual transporter?Beam us up,Scotty!Fortunately,our thinking eventually evolved toward more direct routes.Like Star Trek,web deep

5、linking let us beam our users directly in front of the virtual cough medicine aisle.Deep linking in the website world has been ubiquitous for years now.In fact,you would be marketing pariah if you still systematically dropped users off on your main homepage instead of the product page of the item yo

6、u were just advertising.The website world has become,well,more actual weblike,with product pages deep in your website interwoven into the fabric of your ads,emails and other websites.Why does mobile take us back in time?Unfortunately,when it comes to mobile app deep linking,its not been a smooth jou

7、rney.Like Kirk,Spock,and McCoy in Star Treks “All Our Yesterdays”episode,web and apps seem to be stuck in two timeframes,with app deep linking staying stuck in the past.Mobile app deep links,in theory,share the same principles as web deep linking so why isnt the app world as interconnected as the we

8、b world?In fact,even if you have the app installed,why does clicking on a link still sometimes land us on the mobile website?5The deep linking experienceMobile app deep linking may initially appear confusing,but its actually relatively straightforward.On its facade,app deep links such as Impacts Tru

9、eLink provide a single link to a referring partner that can link out to the optimal location(to the right product or offer page)and environment(to the mobile web,mobile app or app store)for a given user.See how it works in the schematic diagram below.WHAT IS MOBILE DEEP LINKING?Launch app,deep linke

10、d to productDeferred Deep Linking6The deep linking experienceA well-orchestrated musical experienceThe following example of deep linking between the Spotify and Ticketmaster apps gives you an idea of the improved experience that deep linking brings to the user:Users who are listening to a particular

11、 band get shown a C2A for that bands shows in their geographical vicinity via data coming from Ticketmaster.The user can select a date and when they click through,they are deep linked into the seat map“page”within Ticketmasters app to make a purchase.It is a seamless user journey optimized for conve

12、rsion.7The deep linking experienceBlame the past for the present confusionMuch of mobile deep linkings perceived complexity is a relic of confusing legacy architectural decisions from mobile platforms of the past.Fortunately,platforms have gotten their act together,and the mobile world is in a far b

13、etter place today.Mobile deep linking is poised for widespread adoption.And no wonder who would say“no”to major mobile deep linking benefits such as increased user engagement and conversion rates?Deep linking is known to drive more engaged traffic into your app,which drives better business results c

14、ompared to the mobile web.Consider the following statistics:Compared to mobile web,in-app conversionrates areCompared to mobile web,in-app average order value(AOV)is3x140%higherhigher Sources:Criteo Global Commerce Review,Branchs The Agile Approach to Building an Effective Mobile Growth Stack Point

15、A to Point B:It just worksRecapping how linking works in the web worldDoes“uniform resource locator”roll off your tongue?Do you understand how hypertext transfer protocols work?Its ok if you dont.However,living on this planet for a while,you do intuitively understand how a“URL”works,and know that“ht

16、tps:/”before that URL helps the browser point you in the right direction.When you click a URL,you expect to be taken to a website.The more specific the URL,the more specific the page you expect.For example,if you click ,you anticipate being directed to the homepage.If you click expect to be taken to

17、 a specific product page within the site.And if you click might expect that product page to open with a preloaded coupon.Of course,when youre in the midst of browsing and jumping from one site to the other,youre not focused on the actual URL string taking you from virtual Point A to virtual Point B.

18、Rather,you understand the context in which youre invited to clickand develop expectations accordingly.Naturally,you might be disappointed if you clicked an offer for 50%off,only to be routed to the homepage and have to find both the toy and the offer yourself.If youre a patient person,you may dilige

19、ntly suffer through this ordeal but most people will just bounce.8Point A to Point B on mobile It should just work in mobile too,right?Likewise,as the world of mobile apps have become a part of our everyday lives,weve come to expect the same experience in mobile environments,despite the added comple

20、xity of moving between web browsers and applications.For example:When we tap a link and already have the corresponding app installed,we want to be routed to the right place within that app.If we dont have that particular app,we expect to be taken either to a mobile web page or to the app store where

21、 we can download the app.Or,even better,we might even be provided a choice:take us to the right page on the mobile web or to the mobile app in the app store so I can install it and continue on with my experience.Once weve installed and opened the app,we expect it to open not only where we thought it

22、 would,but also loaded with any credits,offers,or rebates we may have been promised along the way.Bonus points for personalization.This is the essence of mobile deep linking.As users,we usually experience this seamlessly.But as mobile partnership managers,we also recognize that theres a lot going on

23、 behind the screens to make everything work properly.9Engaged customers are high LTV customersUsers with a good mobile experience bounce around a lot less and convert a lot more when they are taken from a tailored ad or partner link into a relevant in-app experience with no hiccups along the way.Tak

24、e a look at this fascinating study by Branch.io.They found that users who were dropped off on the app homepage were significantly less engaged than users who were deep linked in the app.Users who were deep linked had a far greater likelihood of turning into a daily active user of the app,most likely

25、 because they enjoyed a better,more relevant user experience.And more daily active users often translates to higher lifetime value(LTV)users and a greater revenue potential for your business.30201001234Days since app installPercentage of users active everydayRetention RateBy Download LinkDeep LinkSt

26、andard Link10So how do those virtual transporters really work?So now you know how to answer“What is mobile deep linking?”and“Why does deep linking matter for my business?”Mobile deep linking is nothing more than enabling the smooth navigation between websites,webpages,apps,and app“pages.”Its smart l

27、inking behavior,much like how Star Treks transporters dont(usually)beam the crew into the middle of a wall or mountain.With deep linking,you are likely to drive more engaged traffic into your app and achieve greater revenue for your partnership program.But how does mobile deep linking work?Is it rea

28、lly harder to do deep linking on mobile?Lets take a moment to peek under the hood of these virtual transporters.1112How deep linking worksWeb v.app environments:Digging in to differences in deep linking The deep linking concept exists in both web and app environments,though their nomenclature and ph

29、ysics(or functionality,as were talking about the technical and not the sci-fi world)differ.In order to navigate smoothly between web pages,a browser needs an address.The URL is that address,and appears as either http:/*or https:/*.In an app environment,in order to navigate smoothly between apps and

30、different states within the app(“pages”),the device and destination app need an address too,particularly when“linking”into the app from the outside.Deep links provide the address that allows external applications to refer to a specific location within the app.While mobile deep links are in many ways

31、 analogous to web-based links,its also important to recognize their differences.13How deep linking worksDifferences between deep links on the web and in-app First,phones introduce an additional layer of complexity because:Mobile users navigate not just within a browser but between web browsers and m

32、obile applicationsMobile devices must identify which app(if it is installed)is the relevant one to openThere must be a way to contain conditional information(i.e.,what to do if the app is not installed)There needs to be a way to retain information between:the initial link clickthe visit to the app s

33、torethe installation of the appthe subsequent launch of the app(even if the user doesnt open it immediately)Second,theres no real concept of pages in an app.Though it may appear this way to the user,app“pages”are really just“states”of that application.So,much like how Star Trek transporters reassemb

34、le matter in the desired location,the app must assemble the app“page”on the basis of variable inputs about the users session.14Deep linking“standards”It is largely due to the differences between web and in-app,as well as the bifurcated systems between iOS and Android,that mobile deep linking has gro

35、wn so much more complex.In the following sections,we will review several of the most popular deep linking“standards.”Note that weve put the term“standards”in quotes here.Thats because a true industry standard is something thats planned,coordinated and agreed upon by different companies in an industr

36、y,and these companies are often competitors.They determine that the industry would be better off with a single approach in order for to encourage scalable adoption.This did not happen in the mobile app world.Standards are supposed to be platform-agnostic,and the major platforms have defined their ow

37、n individualized“standards.”20082015PresentURIs developedPHASE 1The early solution:URIs15The first iteration of mobile deep links is something called a universal resource indicator,or URI,and was introduced around 2008.This actually was a standard(not in quotes!)at the time because both iOS and Andr

38、oid adopted it.16URIs:Not a verywell-thought-through standardURIs are analogous to URLs since they simply represent the address for an app on a mobile device(e.g.,fb:/*will tell the operating system to open the Facebook app).When a user clicks on a URI,the operating system triggers the app to open t

39、o the specified state.There are two main issues with URIs,however,which is why they are mostly in use today either as backups or for old operating systems(iOS v9,Android v6).Issue#1:Poor user experienceFirst,a URI requires the destination app to be installed on the device.If the app is not installed

40、,then clicking on a URI will result in an error(Note:there are workarounds to this using secondary scripts,but they break with each new app update).17URIs:Not a verywell-thought-through standardIssue#2:HijackingSecond,there is no central registration for URIs,which introduces a contention issue if m

41、ultiple apps intentionally or accidentally claim the same URI scheme.Without any kind of arbitration mechanism,the operating system simply gives the user a choice among apps,in the form of a disambiguation box such as the one here.Imagine if you woke up tomorrow to discover that an upstart competito

42、r is claiming your brands URI,and now all users who click links with that scheme are given a choice between your app and theirs!To say the least,by relying on URIs,you introduce the possibility that users may continue on a different path than the one you intended.The“Next Generation”:App Links and U

43、niversal LinksJust as Star Trek 1.0 inspired Star Trek:The Next Generation,mobiles“standards”evolved.To help resolve the issues presented by URIs,around 2015,the main operating systems introduced new deep linking“standards“(the quotes return!):Universal Links on iOS 9+App Links on Android 6+Though t

44、hey functionally achieve the same thing,their underlying architecture,components and mechanisms(which we wont go into here)differ,to the confusion of mobile marketers and technologists everywhere.1820082015PresentApp Links&Universal LinksPHASE 219Universal Links and App LinksEnter mobile deep links

45、that look just like regular web URLsUniversal Links and App Links are simply URLs that point to both a web page and a location inside an app.When tapped from within a mobile device,the operating system will check whether the app is installed.If it is,with a little help from the app code,it will open

46、 to the corresponding location in the app.If it is not,it will open the equivalent URL in the phones browser.Since Universal Links and App Links are centralized by Apple and Google respectively,this approach also resolves the problem of multiple apps claiming the same address.Because web domains can

47、 only have one owner,it works by requiring app owners to upload a verification file to their web domain.That file associates various URLs to different apps.When a user clicks one of these links,the operating system can ping the verification file first(which is usually cached on your phone when you i

48、nstall or update the app),search for the app,and route the user to the appropriate location if installed.It also works the other way around.The app also acknowledges its associated domain through a mechanism called domain entitlements.This provides a two-way handshake and makes the architecture extr

49、emely secure since both app and domain confirm each other.To help you visualize how this works,see the diagram on the next page.20Universal Links and App LinksApp installedWebAppApp notinstalledOSOS identifies link,checks verification fileClick on Android or iOS deviceApp verifies the associated dom

50、ain through Domain EntitlementsApp Store21ChallengesThe trouble with tribbles is.While App Links and Universal Links incrementally improve the user experience,they have drawbacks as well:First,they offer no solution for whats known as deferred deep linking when a user without an app installed gets r

51、edirected to the app store,and then the app remembers what state to open once the app is launched.Second,since they dont pass through any gateway or redirection chain,it makes click tracking impossible(Note:Android still does allow custom URI schemes as fallbacks,so the issue is less critical on And

52、roid devices).To tackle each challenge,mobile partnership specialists may either build supplemental technology or partner with a third party.22Deferred deep linkingWait,theres more to deep linking?Yes as we mentioned,the mobile world contains this wonderful innovation known as deferred deep linking.

53、A user who does not have the retailers app installed may see a great offer on a partners mobile website.When they click on it,the retailer may want to encourage the user to install the app(i.e.,“Hey,take an additional 5%off your purchase if you install the app!”).When the user installs and opens the

54、 app,they are taken to the location in the app containing the offer that they had originally found so interesting in the first place.Plus,for installing the app for the first time,they get an additional 5%off on top of the original offer to boot!To execute deferred deep linking on Universal Links an

55、d App Links,a solution must employ a version of device fingerprinting.What is device fingerprinting(which is sometimes called device snapshotting)?It sounds a little bit insidious,doesnt it?Sort of like the Borg from Star Trek:The Next Generation assimilating you into the Collective.Well,whether its

56、 called device fingerprinting or device snapshotting,its use in deferred deep linking is actually mostly innocuousnot Borg-like at all!23Deferred deep linkingHow does device fingerprinting work?How is it used?Any time a deep link is clicked,that link sends a trove of data to be saved on an external

57、server,including the clicked address and timestamp,the IP address,and the devices type,model,screen size,and operating system,and many more attributes all of which make up the device fingerprint.Upon app open,the app will ping the server to see whether any profiles match the same attributes(i.e.,hav

58、e we recently seen this same device fingerprint?).If there is a match,the app will load in the appropriate state and achieve the desired user experience.The diagram on the next page shows how deferred deep linking works.App installedApp openedExternal serverrecords devicefingerprintApp checks with e

59、xternal server to see what state to open24Deferred deep linking25Deep linking and click trackingSimple so far,right?Lets add another minor complication Okay,youve plumbed the depths of the Delta Quadrant of deep linking and gotten through it,so you can handle this interesting twist:in-app click trac

60、king.Executing click tracking and attribution on Universal Links and App Links is a bit more clunky,but still possible with additional technology.The challenge occurs when a user clicks one of these links and has the app installed the app will launch immediately,with no redirection.In such cases,sev

61、eral workarounds are available:Simulate a click after the app is opened,for example,by opening a webview that itself creates a redirectSend a request to an external server to record a click whenever the app is opened as a result of a Universal Link or App Link.Either way,to accurately track clicks,a

62、n extra step is necessary to understand what drove(and credit the source of)a particular event within and app.26Deep linking and click trackingTrueLink saves the day for mobile Impact leverages a combination of TrueLink,which simplifies the complexities of deep linking,with the magic of our page-loa

63、d API,which simplifies click tracking.This combination solution handles the messiness of determining not only if the app is being opened,but also if,when the app had already been open,a new session was started(such as when the app has been in the background inactive for more than 30 minutes).It orch

64、estrates all that complexity so your app developers dont have to.The best part is that your mobile partners dont have to do anything extra to get this all workingthey receive the same tracking URL theyve always had!Conclusion:Bringing it allback to Earth27Youve explored the furthest reaches and comp

65、lexities of the mobile galaxy now its time to come back to Earth.What does it all mean for you?Just as the consumer doesnt need to be preoccupied with the mechanics of HTTP requests,you and your partners dont need to personally juggle the complexities of mobile deep linking.The right partnership pla

66、tform can deliver a single link that does all the heavy lifting for you,which you can then pass to your media partners without concern for URIs,App Links,Universal Links,or proper click tracking.Everything from routing and tracking to fallback behavior should be handled behind the curtain and no ext

67、ra work for your partners it should just work.This is true regardless of the situation:app-to-app,web-to-app,web-to-store-to-app,or app-to-store-to-app.All scenarios should ultimately be able to direct users to a specific place in your app and track your partner referrals seamlessly.Either way,with

68、the right technology and a robust mobile partnership solution,you can rest easy knowing that your users will have an optimal experience,regardless of the device theyre using or if they have your app installed or not.You can simply enjoy the higher conversion rates,AOVs and greater purchase frequency

69、 of the in-app world.About RadiusRadius expands your capacity for managing partners and affiliates.It heightens your efficiency every step of the way,beginning with contracting,then tracking true performance,and delivering payment.We designed Radius to be versatile,so you can adapt it to your constellation of partners.It also offers immediate and direct access to your data so you can track whats working(or not),moment by moment.To learn more,visit or contact to schedule a free demonstration.Follow us for all the latest news and thought leadership: