The Visibility Crisis in Mobile Advertising
Modern
This is exactly what a leading global fashion and lifestyle brand encountered — and it’s a challenge thousands of marketers are quietly battling and most don't know it can be fixed.
The Real Reason Meta Ads Conversion Rates Are Low on Mobile
Advertisers often assume low mobile conversion rates mean users aren’t engaging, but the real culprit is often in-app browsers. You simply can't see your conversion rate.
Instagram and Facebook’s built-in browsers suppress referrer data, block scripts and prevent GA events from firing — making conversions vanish from reports. The customer journey is not being measured and you have no visibility into the actual performance of your campaign.
Why Google Analytics Isn’t Tracking Instagram and TikTok Ads
This fashion brand ran mobile ad campaigns focused on Instagram and TikTok to drive awareness and in-store visits. Engagement was high. But in Google Analytics? Only ~10% of the expected traffic showed up. So why such low visibility?
Brands are realizing that Google Analytics isn’t tracking Instagram ads correctly when clicks open in the Instagram browser instead of Safari or Chrome.
The
- Measure ROI of paid social
- Attribute traffic by channel or creative
- Optimize ad spend
If your Meta, TikTok and other social media ad traffic isn’t showing in GA, it’s likely because the social media browser strips referrer data and blocks tracking scripts.
Why? Because in-app browsers:
- Suppress referrer data
- Block GA and tag scripts
- Don’t preserve cookies for cross-session tracking
In short: they break marketing attribution.
Stop Facebook and TikTok Links from Opening in the App Browser
To solve the issue, the fashion brand turned to URLgenius, a platform known for SDK-free app deep linking with a powerful hidden feature: smart browser routing.
Wondering why your Meta or TikTok ad isn’t tracking conversions? The culprit might be the in-app browser — when links open inside Facebook or TikTok, analytics and tracking often break.
URLgenius detects the app environment and routes the user to Safari or Chrome, the device’s default browser, instead of the embedded one.
Restore Conversion Tracking with Smart Browser Routing
Once implemented, the brand saw immediate improvements:
- Full traffic visibility in GA
- Restored conversion tracking
- Data-driven creative and budget decisions
- Better alignment across marketing and analytics teams
No SDKs. No code changes. No delays.
The Takeaway: If You Can’t See Your Traffic, You Can’t Optimize It
With tighter budgets and higher stakes, brands need to make every click count. If your social ad traffic isn’t showing up in analytics, the in-app browser is likely to blame.
URLgenius helps brands regain control over mobile link behavior — improving tracking, attribution, and results.
Easy Optimization for External Browsers
What to try it? It only takes a few minutes to set up. When you create your URLgenius link, you can optimize for external browsers simply by turning on a switch in your app link settings. The URLgenius platform will then automatically optimize your link for this use case.
Pro tip: In addition to increased reporting visibility, some websites also display and function more optimally in Safari and Chrome when compared to in-app social media browsers. This is an added benefit of optimizing your links for Safari and Chrome vs. staying in the in-app browser.
Get started by testing one of your campaign links in the URLgenius Link Composer or contact us at info@urlgeni.us.
Check out these additional posts on measuring social media ROI via Google Analytics and why linking out to external browsers is key: