In the digital marketing domain, deep links have a special position and role to play. Deep links are the type of URLs that navigate users to a particular page on a website or mobile application bypassing the other webpages in the breadcrumb. They are highly effective in improving user experience, and allow businesses to shorten their conversion journeys for high-intent customers. Deep linking is done by specifying a custom Universal Resource Locator (URL) or intent URL that opens your app if it’s already installed, or re-directs a user to the App Store/install page if it is not downloaded already. Unlike normal links, deep links have a higher chance of generating a sale as they are hyper-personalized to the target user. Deep links can function in almost every marketing medium like SMS, QR codes, emails, or social media. Thanks to their ease of attribution, deep links can also assist in collating a wide amount of user data, including demographics and app activity. With the right mobile attribution partner, like Trackier Mobile Marketing Platform, deep linking can indeed be a game-changer for your business. So today, let’s learn about the benefits and deep link examples that can inspire your next campaigns!

Multi-Faceted Package in One: Benefits of Deep Links

1. Reduces Churn – Deep links allow a brand to instate its company identity throughout all digital communications, thereby adding a sense of trust in its ad campaigns. As they shorten the distance between mobile web-to-app, and vice versa, the increased ease of purchase improves user engagement and retention. 
2. Better Tracking – Deep linking provides valuable usage metrics, which in turn help marketers gain a deeper understanding of their audience’s preferences. For instance, knowing the region of residence and cultural affinity of your app users can help you craft personalized holiday season campaigns.
3. Improved User Experience – A single deep link is capable of taking your target users from one marketing channel to another. Regardless of the platform where they see your ad, all campaigns lead to your app. What it means is that you or your target audience do not have to navigate the digital maze to connect. 
4. Improve App Discoverability – There is a high chance that your app will be exposed to a wide range of audiences through deep linking, which eventually provides your business with better discoverability. 

Tailored for High Performance: 5 Types of Deep Links

Improving web-to-app transitions is the fundamental function of deep linking. But you can capitalize on them so much more, by simply adding new attributes into their analysis. You can tailor each deep link to suit specific cohort characteristics, KPIs, target devices, and stages of the customer journey. 

1. Traditional Deep Links – A typical, limited function URL that takes the user from the mobile web to a specific page in the app. Does not have the capability of re-directing traffic as per context.
2. Contextual Deep Links – These are the type of deep links that assess the specific attributes of the users like current location, purchase behavior, device, and other factors, to deliver the most appropriate campaign landing page. Contextual deep links help marketers give users a more personalized, targeted, and relevant experience after they open an app.
3. Universal Links – This is the type of deep links that are exclusive for Apple or iOS users. They link to content inside an app giving iOS users an integrated mobile experience.
4. Deep Link Website Navigation – This is a unique kind of deep linking technique that facilitates navigation within the pages of a website. This is very helpful as it allows users to reach their preferred content page in a mobile application without delay. 
5. Deferred Deep Link – This model is considered the best model to lead non-app users to download the app or initiate sales from a wide-targeting advertisement. In this model, users are navigated to or from the web content with preserved contextual information. This can happen even if the app is not downloaded. 

Deep linking has revolutionized the marketing field by connecting users with brands without any interruptions posed by technology, especially avoiding the traditional homepage route. It provides users with a unified experience across various platforms, ensuring that they feel equally valued. But as mentioned above, all of these features are subject to your ability to track and analyze these deep links. That’s why it is important to opt for a partner like Trackier’s Mobile Marketing Platform that allows you to create, customize, and attribute each deep link as per the nature of your campaigns.