What is Deep linking and why you should use it?

These days almost everything can be done using a smartphone whether it is booking a ticket or operating a business. When people rely on mobile applications so much that it becomes vital to optimize the application for improved user-experience. This, in the long run, will help in holding the users & customers for a long time.

Most developers focus on app optimization techniques like UI/UX design. However, they miss a crucial & important thing- Deep Linking.

Mobile App Deep Linking is a small tool that can significantly improve user engagement. But this important marketing & engagement tool is being used by a few applications. Deep linking is not a new concept in mobile app development terms and has been here since iOS 2.0 but became an essential trend in app development in recent years.

Deep linking can be very useful in enhancing the overall user experience

Let’s have a Look.

Mobile Deep Linking

Essentially, Deep Linking requires one to build a direct link (URL) which helps users access the actual app content within the app. It is the best tool used to guide the user profoundly into the app using a defined URI address. Suppose, you have shared a product on multiple social media platforms for marketing purposes. Now, it depends on you how you want to welcome your customers:

• By making a wrong move and offering a puzzled approach to search for the product so that they finally refuse to complete the purchase.
• Or redirecting them to the specified product quickly in a click to help them place an order instantly.

We believe that you’d prefer the latter approach.

Deep Linking enables the developers to create a link to push users to a specific page within the app rather than directing them to the website page of the same app.

This way, deep linking reduces the time it takes in locating a particular in-app product. The customer’s app journey and experience can be made easier and convenient through deep linking. Without setting the deep links for an app, the user experience will go down delivering the negative results in acquiring new users, because the user will have to search the product manually. And if you have a large inventory, then it becomes extremely difficult to find a product by searching.

Different Types of Mobile Deep Links

Deep Linking makes it easier for a user to locate an in-app product without spending extra time and energy. It might look like a simple tool but there are three different types of deep linking used by the app developers.

• Traditional Deep Linking

Traditional deep linking redirects the user to a specific in-app location. It allows a user to directly access the relevant content within the mobile app. This is also known as standard or universal deep linking.

But the limitation with traditional deep linking is that it only works if the user has already installed the app on his phone.

If the user does not have the application then the link will lead to an error message.

• Deferred Deep Linking

We know deep linking is an intelligent move to pull-off conversions. Now, imagine what happens when the user does not have the app installed? While traditional deep linking leads to an error message or an actual web-page, deferred deep linking forwards the user to the app store and ask to download the specific app. Then it redirects the user to the marked content immediately after the app installation.

Deferred deep linking helps the developer in getting more application downloads.

• Contextual Deep Linking

Contextual deep linking works almost similar to deferred deep linking with an added data storage function. It is also known as on boarding deep linking. It collects the user data while navigating them to the app installation. Contextual deep link caches the user demographics such as who shared the original link, the user was being redirected to which in-app location, and a lot of custom user data.

It is beneficial for both users and app developers because app developers can create a more personalized and better user experience. Moreover, other significant features can also be built along with content linking such as a personalized message for the user, personalized welcomes and referral program. The onboarding process of collecting user data might differ based on the installing platform like Google Play Store, the Apple Store, a Facebook campaign, or any other source.

Why Deep Linking is Important in App Development

You must be wondering:

Why it is vital to implement deep linking in app development?

Deep linking is a strong analytics tool but also enables a smooth and more satisfying user experience including increased engagement and growth rate. It allows a user to experience a seamless app journey and diminishes the unnecessary swirls with improved possibility of app installation. Along with increasing the downloads of the application via sophisticated campaigns, it allows the user to move onto application just in a click. Learn how deep linking can be used to boost your app development:

• Increased In-App Sign-ups

Among plenty of available apps, getting active users onto an app is a tough nut to crack. Most of the users only download the app and never use it.  Implementing a sign-up tool via contextual deep linking in the app development helps in identifying the active users and just app installers. Because just getting app downloads cannot improve your business growth rate. It has been discovered from many surveys that the users who receive the very first contextual experience are more liable to be active app users.

• Improve User Retention Rate

Merely downloads will not add value to your business but active app users will. We understand that being an app developer you want that every installed app is used actively by users. Sadly, the real scenario is different. Mostly, people install a new application in curiosity to check its functionalities. As they get along with all the app features their excitement and interest go down.

So when you know why your users are leaving the app: Do you let them go? Don’t you want to keep them active?

Deep linking is a way to gain more active users by targeting the same audience from time to time with improved user experience. Deep linking helps in following up with the users after a certain time interval to keep them engaged with the app. Many research reports say that a deep-linked app has more chances of getting back the users than a non-deep linked app. Using deep linking user retention rate can be improved, say the experts.

• Great Revenue Generation

The ROI of the app can be improved using contextual deep linking by getting the app traffic directly to the desired in-app location. Deep linking allows app developers to create a shortcut to access the in-app offers and make a purchase. A higher revenue generation can be achieved when deep linking is used correctly according to the events. The in-app content can be promoted on the user activity feed with great offers with a direct deep-link to the specific product page. This makes it easy for a user to buy the product without searching it on the app. The contextual deep link directs the user to a relevant in-app page creating more chances to get conversions. 

• Improved User Experience

Time is valued by everyone, an app which offers a time-saving approach in locating a specific page is preferred by the users than an app requiring multiple steps. The first one can be achieved with deep linking. Deep linking intensifies the user experience by offering them better UX and an easier way to get to a specific location. This way you can imprint a great impression of your app.

• Enhance App Marketing

We have understood how contextual deep linking creates a personalized user experience. For the marketing, user engagement is required, for user engagement better-personalized experience is required, ultimately personalization is the key. Marketing outcomes are enhanced with a better-personalized user experience. Customers are more likely to spend their money on a product when they receive a customized coupon code for the same. Contextual deep linking can be utilized to identify the preferred product choices of the user as it collects custom user data. For creating better chances of conversion, offer a discount on a particular product category. This way you can capture the great conversion rates. Mobile deep linking reduces the overall sales cycle by directing the user straight to the sales page instead of following the long route from the homepage to the product page to the cart page and finally to the payment page.

Deep linked mobile ads are also a good marketing strategy to follow up with the user’s relevance.

• Offer Campaign Analytics & Insights

Contextual deep linking is a great way to analyze user’s behavior. It creates more opportunities for the app developer to fetch the analytics of the user’s choice and preferred links. Then the app can be optimized according to the target user base.

Let’s summarize this on a note that deep linking is a vital tool for improving sales through mobile apps, particularly for e-commerce businesses. The techies have realized the importance of implementing deep linking in app development to enhance user experience and generate more conversions. To prove the crucial existence of deep linking in the development industry, let us tell you that many of the leading E-commerce applications are leveraging this tool. For example, you must have seen the online advertisements of  Amazon, FlipKart, Myntra, & more. When you click on these ads, a direct deep link will take you to the specific in-app location where you can see the product itself. These companies are levering Deep Linking quite extensively and it has resulted in more sales for them.

Many Mobile App Development Companies are following this trend. For implementing deep linking in your application, you can contact your app developer.