How to Generate Mobile App Links That Open Social Media and E-Commerce Apps from Linktree

Published on November 29, 2023

Did you hear the news?! URLgenius has won Best Influencer Marketing Technology at the 2024 Global Influencer marketing Awards! Proven to increase commissions immediately by 2-5x or more, read on to learn why influencers and affiliates are flocking to the URLgenius platform!

URLgenius Named Best Influencer Marketing Technology at the Global Influencer Marketing Awards

Linktree

has emerged as the tool for content creators, influencers, small businesses, nonprofits, and everyone else to consolidate multiple links into a single, easily shareable single link that forwards users to a consolidated menu of clickable online destinations.

The way it works: sign up for the platform, create the destination buttons for your Linktree link (Instagram, Facebook, Amazon storefront, etc.), and add the proper link to each corresponding button. Once you’re all set up, the protocol is typically to add your custom link to the bio of each of your social media accounts.

Of course, the objective here is to send your followers to other social apps to follow and engage with, or even to an e-commerce app like Amazon. Think of your Linktree as a one-stop shop for all important things related to your brand or business.

With that being said, what’s the use of incorporating such a magical tool if the links don’t take your current or prospective followers directly to the destination app? Let’s say, for example, that one of your buttons is linked to your YouTube channel, and one of your Instagram followers is looking to visit your channel and subscribe. Okay, so they click on the designated YouTube button. But wait—why is it not taking them to the app? What’s with the login page stuck in the Instagram app?

In this post, we’ll be answering this question while providing you with a solution: URLgenius deep linking. The links you generate with us have the capability to open the destination app—but more on that later. Oh, and did we mention that we’ve included a step-by-step tutorial on how to create these links?

Learn more about what we mean when we talk about mobile app deep linking in this informational YouTube video!

Let’s get started!

Why are My Linktree Links Not Opening in the App?

You'd think that all app links would take users directly to the destination app, right? Unfortunately, that isn’t quite the case.

The culprit that stands in the way of smooth app-to-app linking as a default is something that we in the industry call the “walled garden.” The walled garden creates “friction” when clicking on a link, i.e. it keeps users in the current app they’re using while prompting them to manually log in to their account at whatever destination they’re meant to visit.

To break it down simply: the walled garden is what’s keeping you (and other users) within the “walls” of the current app you’re in while preventing the link clicked from taking you directly to the app you’re already logged into. This is the case with virtually any app-to-app linking situation—whether Instagram to Facebook, Facebook to YouTube, etc.

And yes, this is quite a major problem for you. Why? Because whether you’re sending your users to your YouTube channel or to your Amazon storefront, they’re going to have to log in to their account in order to like, subscribe, engage, follow, purchase, or whatever else your objective is in the context of placing your Linktree link in the bio of your social account.

When it comes down to it, no one wants to log in when they’re already logged into their app! Beyond being an inconvenience, a lot of us have a tendency to forget our passwords, and in the go-go-go world that we live in today, the likelihood of “I’ll do it later” instances increases exponentially (a lot of times translating into never doing it instead).

Fortunately for you, URLgenius has exactly the right technology for you—whether an influencer, affiliate, or anyone else for that matter—in the form of our trusted and patented deep linking technology. When you replace whatever problem link (let’s say a link to Facebook for the time being) you are dealing with a URLgenius Facebook deep link, followers will be sent directly to your page in the app itself.

Note: Here we have used our own URLgenius Linktree (featured on our Instagram bio) as an example to show how each button directs you straight to the corresponding app. Check it out!

The best part? Creating one of these links is as easy as 1-2-3! Let’s dive in, shall we?

Learn how mobile app deep links in your social media bio can increase by 2x-5x in this video:

Youtube Video

Step-By-Step: How To Create a Linktree Link That Opens in the Correct App

For our example, we’ll be creating a deep link from the URLgenius Linktree menu button labeled 'URLgenius|Facebook' that sends users directly to our Facebook page in the app.

1. Enter the specific web URL to the desired app page

The first thing you need to do is navigate to the specific page with your web browser and copy the link from the address bar. Then, you paste the link into the box provided on the URLgenius home page. When pasting the link, notice the Facebook icon is highlighted— this tells you that URLgenius understands the type of link you just pasted.

Notice the app address for that page on iOS and Android devices—it's just showing you that information to let you know the link is going to the right place. You should also know that the end of your URLgenius link can be changed to match your campaign so that it is easy to find later, or you can just use the random characters that are already there.

2. Compose your Linktree button deep link

Now click “Compose,” which takes you to the settings page where you can copy and replace the existing link behind the Linktree button. To test the behavior of the link, scan the QR code, or email it to yourself or someone on your team. To go back and get your Linktree app deep link later (or look at the app-open analytics) just click 'Console' from the menu.

Notice that there are advanced features on the settings page— this is also where you can see clicks and the number of app-opens.

3. Brand your app deep links (optional)

You can use your brand's domain for your Linktree app deep links. Just choose a word and set it up as a subdomain by creating a CName record (ask your web team). See the instructions in the settings for your URLgenius account.

Let URLgenius Help Keep Your Linktree Marketing Fruitful

More followers, more engagement, more $$$— need we say more? It’s time to maximize your Linktreee marketing efforts with app deep links today.

At URLgenius, we're here to help! Contact us with questions at info@urlgeni.us about Facebook app deep links and QR codes.

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