Debunking myths about deep links

Slides presented at Droidcon Berlin 2018.
Details: https://www.de.droidcon.com/Sessions/DEBUNKING-MYTHS-ABOUT-THE-DEEP-LINKS

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"Imagine a Web without URLs. That's how mobile apps world looks like without deep links." - VentureBeat.

According to AppSight data, only 41% of top Android apps have deep links implemented. Why? It is not obvious how you can leverage them beyond basic cases and implementation is not as transparent as documentation states.

In the first part of the talk, Vitaliy will show how you can use deep links to create an excellent onboarding experience, how to get more organic installs with app indexing and referral campaigns and more. In the second part, we will talk about the inconsistency in the deep links implementation on Android and iOS, technical limitations of App Links, Universal Links, custom schemas and what are the missing parts of the deep linking ecosystem that you will have to build on your own.

Do not expect step by step implementation guide, the talk contains learnings from 4 years of experience in building deferred deep linking platforms you can not find in the documentation.

Transcript

1. Vitaliy Zasadnyy Head of Mobile @ GetSocial DEEP LINKING MYTHS DEBUNKED
3. @zasadnyy
4. @zasadnyy FRUSTRATION
5. @zasadnyy MYTH
6. Vitaliy Zasadnyy Head of Mobile @ GetSocial DEEP LINKING MYTHS DEBUNKED
7. GDG Lead Public Speaker Head of Mobile @zasadnyy
11. BRIEF HISTORY
12. @zasadnyy First mentions… in courts 2006
13. @zasadnyy [deep lingk] noun 1.Digital Technology.A link that sends traffic to an internal web page with specific content.
14. @zasadnyy First mentions… in courts First mobile deep links 2006 2008
15. @zasadnyy
16. @zasadnyy First mentions… in courts First mobile deep links First app-to-app linking 2006 2008 2012
17. @zasadnyy
18. @zasadnyy First mentions… in courts First mobile deep links First app-to-app linking The boom 2006 2008 2012 2013-14
19. @zasadnyy MOBILE E-COMMERCE
20. @zasadnyy URI SCHEMES market://details?id=im.getsocial.demo reddit://r/androiddev
21. @zasadnyy
22. @zasadnyy eBay://launch?itm=360703170135 eBay://item/view?id=360703170135 iOS Android
23. @zasadnyy First mentions… in courts First mobile deep links First app-to-app linking The boom The standards 2006 2008 2012 2013-14 2015
24. @zasadnyy Android App Links iOS Universal Links
25. @zasadnyy UNIVERSAL (APP) LINKS https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=im.getsocial.demo https://www.reddit.com/r/androiddev/
26. @zasadnyy
27. @zasadnyy First mentions… in courts First mobile deep links First app-to-app linking The boom The standards The next big thing 2006 2008 2012 2013-14 2015 Now
28. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes Deep link to in-app content Link click No Open the web page DEEP LINKS
29. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Deep link to in-app content Deep link data lost Link click DEEP LINKS
30. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Deep link to in-app content Link click DEFERRED DEEP LINKS
31. @zasadnyy MYTH
32. #1 NOBODY CARES ABOUT DEEP LINKS
33. Source: @JakeWharton
34. @zasadnyy CONTENT DEEP LINKING It’s cool… yeah
35. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Link click DEFERRED DEEP LINKS Deep link to in-app content
36. @zasadnyy DRIVE WEB USERS TO APP
37. @zasadnyy DRIVE WEB USERS TO APP
38. @zasadnyy PHYSICAL WEB https://droidconde.gsc.im/1/app
39. @zasadnyy PERSONALISED ON-BOARDING 77% Higher Day 1 retention
40. @zasadnyy APP INDEXING
41. @zasadnyy FIREBASE APP INDEXING
42. EVERYWHERE DEEP LINKS ARE
43. #2 ANDROID GIVES ALL WE NEED FOR DEEP LINKS
44. @zasadnyy APP LINKS
45. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes Deep link to in-app content Link click No Open the web page APP LINKS
46. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Deep link to in-app content Link click DEFERRED DEEP LINKS ?
47. @zasadnyy THE MISSING BITS Landing page Redirection logic Temporary data storage API
48. @zasadnyy 1 [id]:[data] referrer=[id] 2 INSTALL_REFERRER=[id] 3 4 [data] [id]
49. @zasadnyy INSTALL REFERRER Some apps remove referrer parameter INSTALL_REFERRER may be delayed INSTALL_REFERRER may not arrive Google Play Install Referrer API
50. @zasadnyy WHAT IF …?
51. @zasadnyy DEVICE FINGERPRINTING
52. @zasadnyy 1 [id]:[data] referrer=[id] 2 INSTALL_REFERRER=[id] 3 4 [data] [fingerprint]: [id] [fingerprint]:
53. @zasadnyy DEVICE FINGERPRINTING Not precise GDPR The only way on iOS
54. APP LINKS API FINGERPRINTING LANDING REDIRECTION ORAGE UX!
55. #3 IMPLEMENTATION IS STRAIGHTFORWARD
56. @zasadnyy We’ll take care
57. @zasadnyy Ok, ok we’re back
58. @zasadnyy DEEP LINKING STANDARDS
59. Just Links WEB
60. Just Links MOBILE Universal Links App Links iOS Android URI Schemes Facebook App Links Chrome Intents WEB
61. Universal Links App Links iOS Android URI Schemes Facebook App Links Chrome Intents Pre iOS 9 iOS 9+ Never actually worked Android 6+ Android only
63. YOU HAVE TO SUPPORT ALL STANDARDS
64. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Deep link to in-app content Link click DEFERRED DEEP LINKS ?
65. @zasadnyy Deep Link
66. @zasadnyy EDGE CASES
67. @zasadnyy “IMPROVED” ANDROID BROWSERS Amazing presentation about Android browsers https://goo.gl/jbHLx6
68. @zasadnyy LOCKING USERS INSIDE THE PLATFORM
70. 400+
71. MAINTENANCE IS A HELL
72. #4 I WILL HAVE TO BUILD IT ON MY OWN ?!
73. @zasadnyy and more…
74. SUMMARY
75. Source: @JakeWharton
76. THAT’S HOW MOBILE CAN LOOK LIKE WITHOUT DEEP LINKS “ IMAGINE A WEB WITHOUT URLS… - VentureBeat
77. @zasadnyy ECOSYSTEM 2 Concepts 5 Standards 400+ Test scenarios 30+ Edge cases ? Custom solution for deferred deep links
78. TO AMAZE USERS WE HAVE THE POWER
79. @zasadnyy KEEP BUILDING getsocial.im @zasadnyy