Mobile app deep linking platforms like URLgenius enable your campaign managers to launch a page or a feature of your mobile app vs. mobile website. This deep linking capability is possible without SDKs or costly technical development. Marketers gain control over the consumer journey while they strive to optimize mobile app vs. mobile website conversion during mobile moments.
Pro Tip: Want to create a single app store link with attribution that goes to the right app store depending on the device clicking? See this post.
When it comes to reporting, many multichannel advertisers have made investments in analytics and attribution. Google Analytics for example is the most popular analytics solution with over 50 million site implementations by some estimates. Channel analytics applications for email, paid search and affiliate marketing are also heavily entrenched in the marketing operations of most companies.
What all these analytics applications have in common is the ability to append UTM parameters to a link for tracking and attribution. A UTM parameter is a word or a set of characters or tags added to a URL in this case a URLgenius link. When your URLgenius link is clicked, the tags are sent back to analytics solution and tracked. UTM parameters help you measure the effectiveness of your campaigns by understanding which marketing channels, campaigns or audience segments are driving the most clicks.
The URLgenius platform is designed to support UTM parameters for any analytics application for Web, channel or app. You can also append parameters for more than one analytics package to the same link.
As an example, here is a standard web URL with UTM parameters:
You have the option of including the UTM parameters when you compose the URLgenius link or appending them after the URLgenius link is created. Here's an example of a URLgenius link with the same parameters embedded in the link. Notice once again, the parameters are persistent upon redirect or click-through of the link:
And here's an example of a URLgenius link with parameters that have been appended vs. embedded. Click on this link and you'll notice the parameters also remain persistent upon redirect or click-through:
If the parameters are static or not changing an embedded approach could reduce user error. If the parameters are dynamic or changing based on keyword or audience segment they would need to be appended. Email marketing and paid search systems will dynamically append parameters your links (in this case a URLgenius link).
Mobile App Deep Linking and Reporting
When appending UTM parameters to URLgenius links, you should look in your analytics dashboard to see the results. Google Analytcs for example, lets you see data from custom UTM parameters in the campaign and traffic sources reporting.
You can also login to URLgenius at any time to understand how often your link is opening your app. We will also show you some basic referring URL data.
- Below is a chart example for daily clicks to your by date.
- The next chart below shows app opens by iOS and Android and by device (smartphone or tablet).
- A quick look at your app open rate helps you determine what percentage of people on your link hadvisitors have your app installed for iOS vs. Android.
- App store visits indicate those who have shown interest in viewing the content of the link in the app but do not have the app installed on their device.
- This next chart example shows app-opens by device and by state. These insights help you confirm the focus of your campaign geographically
- When checking analytics in the URLgenius dashboard, keep in mind that after a click, there is a one hour delay in reporting.
- We will send you an analytics update monthly automatically for your most popular links.
Related Best Practice: Update your social brand links with a deep linking platform like URLgenius. You will drive more app opens for Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, Messenger, Telegram, Spotify, SoundCloud, the New York Times and even Amazon and other shopping apps. We can even add your brand app to the URLgenius platform!