In 2020 the use of Mobile Deep Linking is vital for every Marketing project and operation.
Thanks to Deep Linking and its applications on mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets, you can take full advantage of all the possibilities offered by the internet to boost your campaigns, and improve your net earnings.
Deep Linking offers many opportunities, especially on mobile environments, which is why talking about Mobile Deep Linking is possible today.
In this article we will talk in detail about the topic offering food for thought and details to better understand the opportunities offered by this technology.
First let’s see in more detail what Deep Linking is.
What is Deep Linking?
Deep Linking involves the use of specific links – called Deep Links.
The Deep Links are inserted within an internet page or a website and create a direct link to the internal pages of another site/app, etc.
For example:
I can insert in the homepage of my site a deep link that refers to the specific page of an Amazon product (an internal page.)
This practice is very useful because with a simple click the user can enter into a specific page bypassing the homepage and any intermediate pages.
With this premise it’s easy to understand that Deep Linking is a tool with truly extraordinary potential for the marketing aspect.
In fact, through Deep Linking it’s possible to redirect users to landing pages created specifically for a product or for a promotion, consequently increasing the possibility that the user can interact with your content without any distraction whatsoever.
Usually a normal path could be this:
Homepage -> Intermediate Page -> Page Dedicated to your service.
In this case, simply clicking on the Deep Link will take your users to the Dedicated Page.
In addition to the great time savings and efficiency of this system, Deep Linking has many other benefits and advantages that we will analyze in the course of the article.
Deep Linking can be used on Desktop and PC, but its real strength is located in applications and on Mobile.
We will now talk about another important difference.
Universal Link & Deep Links
Deep Links are the redirect URLs that are used during Deep Linking, however other types of Links also exist.
Browsing the internet and continuing to inform you on this topic, it is likely that you have already heard of Universal Link.
What is the difference between Deep Link and Universal Link?
Deep Links are special URLs that, as we have explained, can redirect users to an internal page of a site or an App.
Deep Links use URI Scheme. The abbreviation URI stands for Uniform Resource Identifier, and identifies a code used to distinguish and recognize a specific part within an address.
Through the URI Scheme the Deep Link is able to allow the connection to an internal page of an Application correctly installed on its device. The deep link is able to ignore the home page of the app and to redirect the user within the internal page without interference.
However, there are other types of Links called Universal Links that stand out from the Deep Links.
Universal Links are a technology specially created by Apple to adapt deep linking to their devices.
According to Apple, Universal Links are safer and more performing for their needs.
Universal Links have been implemented since iOS 9 Version and have replaced the normal Deep Links.
Universal Links have functions very similar to Deep Links, they differ only in these aspects:
– Deep links use the URI Scheme
– Universal Links do not have redirects.
– Universal Links are a series of web pages to locations in-app .
For this reason, when a user clicks a Universal Link, the iOS system redirects the user to the corresponding App page (if installed on the device). In this way the user will view the web page directly from his app, improving the browsing experience.
Despite this implementation, Universal Links did not replace Deep Links using the URI Scheme.
In fact, these URLs have limitations:
- Universal Links are powerful, but unfortunately they don’t work everywhere yet.
- Universal Links can easily broken and be disabled! If this happens the user will always be redirected to the website URL until they upgrade their app or reset.
- Universal will not work if you paste the link into the browser URL field.
- Universal Links don’t work when entered into Safari. If you copy & paste a deep link into the browser address bar it will not work.
- Universal Links are really useful but only if you have already downloaded and installed the app on your device.
- Universal Links cannot be triggered via Javascript, unless it happens in the same user action.
For all these reasons, Deep Links are still used and chosen, somehow preferred to Universal Links in Mobile Deep Linking.
Deferred Deep Linking
What is Deferred Deep Linking?
Only the most important part to fully understand Mobile Deep Linking.
A Deferred Deep Link is a deep link that opens to a specific location within the app, after a user first installs and opens the app on her/his device, or when the app is installed and you have configured the Android App Links/iOS Universal Links.
For current users, i.e., who already have the app installed, a deferred deep link acts just like a deep link by directly opening to a specific location within the app.
For new users, a deferred deep link is persisted until after they install the app. Then on first app open, the user is sent to the same specific location within the app.
In this image you can see the flow of a Deep Link correctly configured with the Deferred Deep Linking system. The flow refers to an Android device.
In this other image we repeat the flow for iOS devices.
If you are interested in finding out more how a Deferral Deep Link can be configured, this article will explain in detail every aspect, even more technical in terms of codes and programming.
You can discover everything you need in this article.
Why Use Mobile Deep Linking
Using Mobile Deep Linking is not simply useful for using technologies that allow you to navigate more effectively between applications.
In fact, the use of mobile devices is higher than ever.
According to the latest statistics, these are the latest data on users of phones and tablets:
Their number is growing rapidly and further progressions are expected over the years.
For this reason, focusing on mobile devices is so important.
Developing new marketing strategies, evolving your projects, adapting to business needs is what makes the market alive, it is what can bring new results, new earnings and new perspectives.
Just think that the use of all these mobile devices inevitably leads people to also surf the internet and social media using their phone.
LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram are fertile grounds on which to focus to reach new customers and the use of Mobile Deep Link can lead people from these platforms to the internal pages of products or services that they could purchase more easily.
The use of Mobile Deep Linking brings many benefits for mobile users:
- Upgrade User Experience.
- Improve App Discoverability.
- Improve Marketing Strategies.
- Boost User Engagement.
- Increase App Penetration.
- Improve Downloads & Conversions.
How can you create a Deep Link?
If you are wondering how it is possible to create a Deep Link we have the answer.
Before creating Deep Linking you must first understand what it can do for you.
If you have a custom app, a personal app then you will need to configure a Deep Link in Joturl through the URI Scheme. To do this you will need to use the Joturl App Deep Link function and make sure you properly configure the behavior of these links.
If you own an App and want to deferred deep Linking you will have settings to correctly configure your deep links within the Joturl App Deep Link feature.
Within JotURL you can upload an infinite number of files, including universal links or app links.
You will be able to associate each of these configurations to your personal domains.
It’s very simple, each deep link is saved within a template and this template can be associated with your branded domains according to your needs.
The Easy Deep Link instead is used exclusively to improve the user experience.
Joturl will automatically recognize the redirection app through those currently supported by the platform.
Based on this you can decide whether to proceed by creating a Deep Link with the Deep Link App or with the Easy Deep Link.
Using JotURL creating the Deep Links is really within everyone’s reach, you don’t need to be an expert to be able to use such incredible technologies.
Let’s say you just want to improve your customers’ user experience.
In this case, it would be enough for you to create a Deep Link in a few minutes, without complex configurations to implement.
In this case the feature you have to use is the: Easy Deep Link.
First you will need to log into the JotURL Dashboard and create a new tracking link – or edit a tracking link already created previously within your projects.
Once you have entered the destination URL, your branded domain and all the notes you need, you will need to click the “Save and go to options” button.
In this way you will find a page with all the additional features that you can link to your tracking links.
Click on the “Easy Deep Link” button to access the Deep Link creation page.
Within this page all the default settings have already been completed for you.
In this way all you have to do is scroll down and click the “Save” button again.
Alternatively, if you want to set up and customize your Deep Links more, you can click on the App Deep Link item and manually select the settings that best interface with your needs.
As you can see, the tools are very complete and allow you to study the Deep Link from every point of view, establishing the type of actions and operations that can operate on the landing pages.
Thanks to the support of Open Graph installed on our platform you can boost and improve the graphics of your links by being able to check the preview of your content on the various social networks and on the Google search pages. In this way you can improve your Mobile Deep Linking for the best.
JotURL offers an incredible range of additional features besides the creation of Deep Links.
In fact JotURL can guarantee you:
- Branded Link.
- Conversion Tracking
- Retargeting Pixels
- Traffic Optimization Tools
- Link Monitoring
- Custom Visual QR Codes
- UTM builder & manage
- Link to Whatsapp Chat
- Multi-link into Instagram Bio
- 100% customizable CTAs
- Social Opt-in & Social Opt-in XL
- Webhooks & Zapier Integrations
If you want to discover all the secrets and exclusive features of JotURL visit our website and try our service now, there is a 14-day free trial where you can test the platform.
Cheers,
JotURL Team.
PS: If you like this article about Mobile Deep Linking, read this: Everything you need to know about Deep Linking & Joturl.
