Deep linking myths debunked

“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’s is not obvious how you can leverage them, and implementation is not as transparent as documentation states. As a result, a lot of myths around the topic.

Vitaliy will show how you can use deep links to create an excellent onboarding experience, get more organic installs with app indexing and referral campaigns. In the second part, we will talk about the technical details of deep links implementation, different standards, corner cases and what are the missing parts of the deep linking ecosystem that you will have to build on your own.

The talk will be interesting for Android and iOS developers who don’t want to spend days trying to figure out the best way to implement deep links and product managers who want to learn how deep links can help their apps grow organically and retain existing users.

Transcript

1. Vitaliy Zasadnyy Head of Mobile @ GetSocial DEEP LINKING MYTHS DEBUNKED
2. @zasadnyy Hey bro, what should I check in Amsterdam?
3. @zasadnyy Hey bro, what should I check in Amsterdam? Open Foursquare, search “Fun”, go to 2nd result
4. @zasadnyy Hey bro, what should I check in Amsterdam? Check EYE museum http://4sq.com/igxow0
6. Vitaliy Zasadnyy Head of Mobile @ GetSocial DEEP LINKING MYTHS DEBUNKED
7. Product Manager Public Speaker GDG Lead @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 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
27. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes Deep link to in-app content Link click No Open the web page DEEP LINKS
28. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Deep link to in-app content Deep link data lost Link click DEEP LINKS
29. @zasadnyy Deferred Deep Links Contextual Deep Links
30. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Deep link to in-app content Deep link data lost Link click DEEP LINKS
31. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Deep link to in-app content Link click DEFERRED DEEP LINKS
32. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Deep link to in-app content Link click CONTEXTUAL DEEP LINKS Click context Who? When? Where?
33. #1 THE ONLY USE CASE IS CONTENT DEEP LINKING
34. @zasadnyy CONTENT DEEP LINKING It’s cool… yeah
35. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Link click CONTEXTUAL DEEP LINKS Deep link to in-app content
36. @zasadnyy PERSONALISED ON-BOARDING 77% Higher Day 1 retention
37. @zasadnyy REFERRAL CAMPAIGNS 25% Conversion on referrals
38. @zasadnyy ANDROID INSTANT APPS How to keep context?
39. @zasadnyy APP INDEXING
40. @zasadnyy FIREBASE APP INDEXING
41. DEEP LINKING ENABLES BETTER UX
42. #2 IMPLEMENTATION IS EASY
43. @zasadnyy DEEP LINKING STANDARDS
44. Just Links WEB
45. Just Links MOBILE Universal Links App Links iOS Android URI Schemes Facebook App Links Chrome Intents WEB
46. 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
48. YOU HAVE TO SUPPORT ALL STANDARDS
49. @zasadnyy Deep Link
50. @zasadnyy EDGE CASES
51. @zasadnyy “IMPROVED” ANDROID BROWSERS Amazing presentation about Android browsers https://goo.gl/jbHLx6
52. @zasadnyy LOCKING USERS INSIDE THE PLATFORM
54. 400+ combinations
55. MAINTENANCE IS A HELL
56. #3 DEEP LINKS ENABLE RICH ANALYTICS
57. @zasadnyy LINK FUNNEL Impressions Clicks Open / Install
58. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes Deep link to in-app content No Deep link data lost Link click DEEP LINKING
59. @zasadnyy App installed? Yes No Deep link to in-app content Link click DEFERRED DEEP LINKS ?
60. @zasadnyy ANDROID 1 [id]:[data] referrer=[id] 2 INSTALL_REFERRER=[id] 3 4 [data] [id]
61. @zasadnyy ANDROID REFERRER • Some apps remove referrer parameter • INSTALL_REFERRER may be delayed • INSTALL_REFERRER may not arrive • Google Play Install Referrer API
62. @zasadnyy IOS 1 [fingerprint]:[data] 4 [data] [fingerprint] 2 3
63. @zasadnyy IOS FINGERPRINT • Not accurate • Cookie based matching
64. @zasadnyy IOS 2 [fingerprint]:[data] [cookie id]:[???] 6 [data] [fingerprint] [cookie id]:[device id] [cookie id]:[???] 1 [cookie id]:[device id] 5 3 4
65. DEFERRED DEEP LINKS ENABLE RICH ANALYTICS
66. #4 I WILL HAVE TO BUILD IT ON MY OWN ?!
67. @zasadnyy and more…
68. SUMMARY
69. @zasadnyy ECOSYSTEM 3 Concepts 5 Standards 400+ Combinations 30+ Edge cases ? Custom solution for deferred deep links
70. IT’S GONA BE HARD
71. @zasadnyy Imagine a web without URLs… “That’s how mobile landscape can look like without deep links - VentureBeat
72. @zasadnyy @zasadnyy Questions? Dank u wel! getsocial.im