Mobile users account for 48 percent of the world’s population. If counted in terms of numbers, 3.8 billion people in the world own and use a smartphone.
On average, smartphone users spend 3 hours 15 minutes on their smartphones every 24 hours.
Making your website responsive for smartphone users is one thing, and dedicating a whole app to cater to their needs is another.
Our mobile devices are present in our hands or pockets most of the time; using them for browsing the internet is so much more convenient than logging onto a desktop or a laptop for the same purpose.
From shopping to reading books, people use mobile phones for various purposes. According to research, people use nine apps per day, on average.
People have many apps on their mobile devices, but they only use a few of those. An average user has about 80 apps on their phone.
If your app is well optimized and resourceful, people will use it and share it with their friends and family.
Your mobile app, being well optimized, should also be engaging for the users. An engaging app will keep your users glued to itself, and your users will spend a considerable amount of time using it.
Optimizing an app is not only about beautifying its layouts and fonts; a more important aspect of app optimization is mobile deep linking.
Mobile deep linking is a term many of you might still be unaware of. But it’s not something new or complicated.
In this article, you’ll get to learn about the following
- What is mobile deep linking
- How to implement it
First, let’s take a look at the definition of mobile deep linking
Mobile Deep Linking
Mobile deep linking is also known as mobile app deep linking. It opens up a specific page in your app through a URL present on your website or inside another app.
These deep links make it easy for the users to access specific pages in your app. If implemented correcting, deep links can be a great tool for app optimization and enhancing user experience. They can also result in an increased conversion rate for you.
It is just like including the URL of a specific web page of your website so that users can land directly on it.
Think of it this way, If a blogger has written a great review about one of your products and has included a link at the end, where will you want this link to lead the people who click on it?
The answer should be “ on the page in your app that holds that particular product.”
If a user is directed to the homepage in your app, chances are it’ll take them a lot of time to find a particular product in it.
A deep link will help the user in landing directly on the product in the app, and there’s a greater chance that they’ll buy this product.
Deep linking also ensures that your app doesn’t get outrun by the competition because almost 2.56 million apps are available on the Google play store. The success of your app depends upon how well optimized it actually is.
There are several deep linking strategies; some of them are
- Getting directed to a specific screen in one app by clicking the link present inside another app.
- Getting directed to a screen in an app by clicking on an advertisement.
- Getting directed to an app through a push notification.
- Getting directed to an app through a web link.
- Getting directed to an app through an email.
- The link present inside an SMS directs you to an app.
Another aspect of deep linking is synchronizing your app with the search engine, enabling users to view mobile apps in search results when using a mobile phone.
Deep linking generates different results under different scenarios.
The two scenarios we’ll discuss in this article are:
- If the app is installed on the mobile phone.
- If the app is not installed on the mobile phone
Let’s start with the first case scenario
When the app is already installed on the mobile phone
Let’s assume you are looking for a good fiction book; you open a browser on your mobile phone and search for best-reviewed fiction books. The search engine shows you a couple of results, but the “Goodreads” content link for best fiction books is at the top.
You are already an avid user of Goodreads and thus have their mobile app installed on your smartphone. The “Goodreads” search result is showing a link to content present within the Goodreads app. If you click on this link, Google or any other search engine that you are using will redirect you to the Goodreads app installed on your mobile phone.
In some cases, you’ll be given an option to choose between the browser version of Goodreads and the Goodreads app.
As soon as you choose the app option, your Goodreads mobile app will be launched, and you’ll be directed to the content page you requested within the app.
When the mobile app is not installed on your smartphone
You use the browser version of Goodreads often to look for books that have good reviews on them. You have also heard about its mobile app, but you never got around to installing it.
When you search for best-reviewed books in the fiction category in your mobile browser, several results are displayed, and the second result is the link to the Goodreads app. Since you are already using the web version of Goodreads, you decide to give its app a shot. After you click on the Goodreads app’s link, you’ll be directed to the Goodreads app in the google play store.
Benefits of mobile deep linking
- It enhances the user experience.
- It Improves user engagement.
- The app becomes more visible to potential users.
- It increases the number of app installations.
- It improves marketing strategy.
- It results in more conversions.
- It generates more leads.
Types of Deeplinking
There are three main types of deep linking
- Standard mobile deep linking
- Deferred mobile deep linking
- Contextual mobile deep linking
Standard mobile deep linking
Standard deep linking is also known as universal linking. It directs users to a specific screen inside the app. It only works for the users who have the app installed on their smartphones. The problem with this type of deep linking is, it shows an error to the users who don’t have the app installed.
If you use the standard deep links, you’ll lose the chance to engage more users in your app.
Deferred mobile deep linking
Deferred deep linking directs the users with installed apps to a specific screen in the app, but the difference is, It directs users to the download location of the app if they don’t have it installed.
Deferred mobile linking is considered superior to standard mobile linking. The reason being that it helps in increasing the number of app installations. Deferred linking increases the visibility of the app.
Contextual mobile deep linking
Contextual mobile linking is also called onboarding. Mainly it is used to gather information about app users. This data is then used to enhance the user experience and marketing tactics.
This data can include information regarding the GPS location of users, the time they spend on the app, how they navigate the app, and much more.
Bottom Line
Mobile phones are the preferred device of users when it comes to browsing the internet. Businesses should focus more on tips and techniques to improve the experience of mobile users.
Mobile apps are a good investment for businesses to increase user engagement. Solely owning the app will not help a business in improving user engagement. Learning Mobile deep learning is a crucial factor for their success.
Deep linking not only improves user engagement but also helps in generating more leads and conversions.
Have you tried deep linking for your mobile app? What are the results you generated?
