Deep Linking

A deep link is a URL that opens directly to a specific screen inside a mobile app — bypassing the app's landing / onboardingGlossaryOnboardingThe first-time user experience that guides new installs from app launch to the "aha moment" — where they understand the product's value and become more likely to ret... flow — and gracefully falls back to the App Store / Google Play if the app isn't installed. Without deep linking, every click from outside the app lands the user on the home screen, where they have to navigate to find what they came for. Conversion suffers; retentionGlossaryRetention (D1 / D7 / D30)The percentage of users from a cohort who return to the app N days after install. D1 = day-1 retention, D7 = 7-day, D30 = 30-day. The single most important non-reven... suffers; intent gets lost.

iOS implementation: Universal Links. HTTPS-based links that the iOS system intercepts when the linked app is installed. Configured via the `apple-app-site-association` file hosted at the website's root, declaring which paths route into the app. The same URL works in three modes: opens the app if installed, opens the website if not installed, can be shared / pasted naturally.

Android implementation: App Links. Conceptually identical — HTTPS URLs verified via the `assetlinks.json` file on your website's root. Android handles the same fallback / install / web behavior.

Deferred deep linkingGlossaryDeferred Deep LinkingA deep-link mechanism that preserves the intended in-app destination across an app install — the user clicks a link, installs the app, and opens directly to the inte... is the trickiest case: the user clicks a deep link, the app isn't installed, the user installs the app from the store — and the app needs to remember the original destination and route there on first open. The mechanism: the MMPGlossaryMobile Measurement Partner (MMP)A third-party attribution provider (AppsFlyer, Adjust, Singular, Branch, Kochava) that adjudicates which ads drove which installs across multiple ad networks, with i... captures the link click before install (via fingerprint, attribution token, or device-level signal), the user installs, the MMP SDKGlossarySDK (Software Development Kit)A packaged set of code, libraries, and tools a developer drops into an app to add a capability — the integration unit for attribution, analytics, ads, and monetizati... in the new app retrieves the deferred destination on first launch and routes the user to it.

Why deep linking matters for retention and attribution

• Retention: users who land on their intended content first-sessionGlossaryApp SessionA single period of continuous user activity in an app, from open to close (or background past an inactivity timeout) — the atomic unit on which most engagement metri... retain 2-3× better than users who land on a generic home screen.
• Attribution: deep-link metadata (campaign, creativeGlossaryAd CreativeThe visual and audio content of an ad — video, image, copy, sound. The single most important variable in modern mobile UA, lifting IPM and lowering effective CPI., source) is preserved through the install, enabling fine-grained source tracking even for installs that came via organic-looking channels (email, pushGlossaryPush NotificationA message delivered to a user's device from your app's server — the single biggest re-engagement lever in mobile, when done well, and a fast path to uninstall when d..., web).
• Cross-channel UX: email / push / web / ad clicks all route consistently into the right in-app destination.

Mature mobile-first apps treat deep linking as foundational infrastructure, not a feature.