The Ultimate Guide to Mobile Deep Linking

Deep Linking  today, we do everything on our phones, from shopping to browsing social media to running our business. That’s why it’s more important than ever to optimize the user experience to keep users in your app longer, enjoy it better, and share it with friends.

If you’re trying to optimize your mobile app, I’m sure you’ve already played around with the layout, fonts, copy, etc., but there’s one thing you probably don’t have.

Mobile Deep Link

This detail can drastically improve the way users interact with your application, but few of them take advantage of it. I will show you what deep mobile linking is, why you need it, and how you can implement it yourself.

Let’s dive in.

What is mobile deep linking, anyway?

 

This allows mobile app developers to embed a specific page in an app instead of just opening it. If you were trying to sell a product, would you want users to land on the home page or be redirected to a more detailed sales page on the website?

The last one, of course.

By helping users navigate to a certain page in an app, you make life easier for customers by bringing them closer to the end goal.

Here is a visual of what the process looks like:

While this may sound simple, mobile tethering comes in three forms that you need to know. They include the following items:

Standard deep link

The deep direct link allows a user to access a specific application part. Also known as Universal Link. This only works if the app is already installed on the client.

The problem with traditional links is that when a user clicks on a link, it doesn’t open the mobile app but instead directs them to the browser version.

The app version will always be more streamlined and simplified if someone is on a mobile device. This happens if you search my Instagram on Google, for example, when the app is installed.

People who do not have the Instagram mobile app installed will receive an error or be redirected to a backup page.

Deferred deep linking

This form of deep linking works the same way as the standard link, except it will direct users without the app to the download location.

This is advantageous because it can help app developers and businesses acquire more customers.

Once the application is installed, the user will be referred to the place he was browsing in origin.

Please look at the Skip The Dishes app to see what I mean.

When users create their orders, they can download the mobile app for Android or iOS.

Deep contextual links

Contextual deep linking, also known as onboarding, is commonly used to collect customer information to personalize an app’s user experience.

Data such as demographic data, how users access the application, and more are saved.

The app integration process can differ depending on whether the user is installed through the Google Play Store, the Apple Store, a Facebook campaign, or another source.

For example, a mobile app downloaded through a Facebook ad may look different from one downloaded through a Google display ad.

The landing page can be customized through an in-depth view of mobile app development.

Just as the deep link returns users to a specific page deeper in the app, the detailed view matches the visual result presented to them as different from others.

URI schemes

Deep linking is only possible thanks to what is called URIs. Diagrams. These patterns are similar to how a website URL can direct you to a specific page on a website.

Custom URIs are easy for developers to set up (often created by default) and provide the ability to redirect users wherever you want.

The mobile customer journey and your app to deep linking

 

The mobile buyer’s journey is the individual user’s approach to finding, using, and sharing your app. It looks like the typical funnel used by a customer when purchasing a product with a few minor differences to be aware of.

This is how the different stages of the mobile buyer’s journey can be applied to deep mobile linking.

discovery

The first step of the mobile customer journey is discovering your app in the first place. Google indexes deep links from mobile apps, giving you more opportunities to rank and drive natural traffic.

Users can click on the search engine listing and open the link directly through the app instead of a web browser.

compare

Once users have narrowed their options, they will naturally want to find the best app by comparing it. They will look at the price, ease of use, and features.

Deep links allow you to take users to your app’s best features, your app reviews or customize the experience to make your app better than the competition.

Reducing the number of steps required to access important app features also reduces the risk of user bounce.

decision

The third step of the mobile buyer’s journey is deciding and committing to a single app.

keep

Once you start acquiring more users, you need to keep them. Standard deep and lazy links will help users return to your app when they are on search engines, social media, and other platforms.

This keeps them using your app more often.

The data that may be collected due to deep linking will help you understand why and how they use your mobile app.

• We call the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule, doubling down on this.
• This rule is visible everywhere and defines that 80% of the results come from 20% of the actions.
• In the case of mobile app development, users may only use a few features, and others take up space.
• You can hypothetically refresh the most used features and pages, which increases engagement and retention.
• Companies will miss out on such discoveries if they don’t use deep linking to gather information.

 

Why is deep mobile linking important?

 

I know what you think.

“Why should I bother with mobile deep linking?”

Let me explain to you.

 

This improves the user experience.

 

• If you can prevent the user from going through multiple steps instead of one, why not you?
• This is exactly what deep linking does and improves the user experience.
• Simplify users’ lives by using deep linking to get them where they want to go.

 

This increases customer retention and engagement.

 

Wouldn’t it be nice if all the users who downloaded your app stayed active for the whole year? Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

It has been found that 55% of users are unsubscribing after the first month of use. This means that almost half of the new downloads will be lost.

Examine mobile app user retention the same way you approach a website.

It is common for nearly half of visitors to leave a website and take no action.

Do you sit around doing nothing? Of course not!

A good SEO Specialist always implements strategies like pop-up messaging options and exclusive content to capture these users before they leave.

Once a user has visited your app, you can redesign it and use a different style of deep linking to improve their experience.

Improves the integration of new users.

When a mobile app uses a deep link form, such as a lazy approach, it can acquire more users. When a user navigates through the mobile browser version of your app, they are offered the choice or automatically transferred to the appropriate download location.

If you understand that users in a Facebook ad campaign regularly access a certain category of products, you can automatically boost them.

Also, Google users may want to know more about your business before they buy from you. You can use deep contextual links to direct these users to the page that details your company’s history.

Strengthen your marketing

Customization is the key. Contextual deep links allow you to personalize the user experience, which improves marketing results.

Take into account that 39% of consumers. Spend more money with a mobile coupon.

You can collect user data through deep contextual linking to discover which product categories they prefer and then offer them a discount for that behavior.

Similarly, deep mobile linking can increase conversion rates.

It forces users to access the sales channel more quickly. Typically this consists of:

1. The user lands on the homepage of your website.
2. They go to a product page and add a line item to their cart.
3. They visit the basket page to confirm their order.
4. Finally, they pay and verify.

According to Best SEO Expert Mobile deep linking can cut your sales funnel in half by helping customers get direct access to sales pages.

Take the example of the Seated mobile ticketing app. They increased their revenue by 10.6% and their open app rate by 8.8% with deep linking.

That is how 

First, they had trouble reminding users to complete their purchases and purchase tickets through the app.

They solved this problem by using deep link mobile ads. 

These targeted ads based on previous user activities would show relevant ads on other existing apps used by the customer.

SeatGeek noticed that they were getting thousands of new users a day and had to maintain them.

His team began creating ads for different audiences based on past behavior.