TL;DR

• Store redirection and deep links stopped working on X for iOS in early November due to changes in X’s internal WebView.
• App-scheme and App Store redirects were blocked, leaving users stuck on a blank screen.
• This resulted in a significant decline in conversions from organic posts on X.
• The issue was isolated to X iOS and didn’t affect Android or Safari.
• You can recover your flows by using an https fallback or a controlled landing page powered by AppsFlyer’s Deep Linking Suite.

X broken deep linking and redirection – what happened and how to fix it

Deep linking and redirection are designed to be seamless for the user with zero friction. But just recently, they were neither… 

A sudden and consistent failure surfaced on X (formerly Twitter) at the beginning of November, when deep links on iOS stopped opening apps or the App Store. The disruption resulted in no less than an 86% drop in conversions from Organic posts on X.

AppsFlyer’s proactive monitoring identified the problematic store redirection early on and found a quick-win solution that was released immediately.

What exactly happened and how was it resolved? Let’s dive in.

What did end-users experience and why?

According to AppsFlyer’s data, iOS users who tapped on a link in a tweet that was supposed to direct them smoothly to an app, saw their in-app browser freeze on a blank screen. 

With deep linking and deferred deep-linking working properly, it should have opened the app or redirected them to the relevant store (if the app was not installed). There was neither a fallback nor an error message. The end result was a broken flow, a frustrated user, and immediate drop in conversions.

The root cause of the problem was X’s internal WebView, the embedded browser X uses to open links inside the app.

A recent WebView update introduced two important behavioral changes:

While using Standard Universal Links is still possible as a method to open the app, it is strongly recommended not to go down that path as it can lead other flows to stop working. Bottom line: Whether the app was installed on the device or not, it was a dead end for end users, resulting in critical business impact for advertisers and app developers.

The problem was limited to X iOS because each major app maintains its own WebView with its own logic.

This restrictive behavior was introduced specifically in X’s iOS WebView and did not impact other apps on Android or Safari. 

Solution alternatives

For obvious reasons, the state of linking in X is a no-starter as it carries immediate business impact.

To address this, there are several possible solutions. In this blog, we’ll focus on two (but know that there are more options):

Option 1: Fallback store redirection when an app is not present and is based on https:// web URL.

• Pros: Handles the ‘app not installed’ scenario , preventing broken flows for new users. A good fit if your focus is to acquire new users to your app.
• Cons: Doesn’t work well when you have existing users you’re trying to re-engage because it means they’ll have to go through the store before their app is opened. An extra step in the process could result in a lower conversion rate, leading to a negative business impact.

Option 2: Maintaining an intermediate landing page on your own website allowing you to take back full control of the flow.

• Pros:
  • You can use the preferred method for opening the app for existing users from a security and performance perspective (Universal Links).
  • You can use a smart solution like AppsFlyer’s Deep Linking Suite backed by OneLink technology to manage your links, measure, and attribute this traffic to app conversions. Our suite allows you to redirect to the app if the user has the app installed, or to the store if they don’t.
• Cons:
  • Adding another step in the process for store redirection may lead to a lower conversion rate for new users. That said, based on AppsFlyer’s data (like in this example), marketers who built the landing page correctly generated a performance lift. Just take into account that you would need to invest time and effort to do it right. Putting together the new page experience, A/B testing the colors, CTA, messaging, etc. So, although it has the potential to increase conversion, it requires more work that might not have a priority given it was an existing flow that is broken out of nowhere.

OneLink flexible solution for your alternative of choice

AppsFlyer’s deep linking and redirection suite of solutions has got you covered with its OneLink technology.

If you’d prefer to use option 1, you can set up your URI scheme as an ‘https://’ based scheme, rollout a new version of the app to the App Store, and set up the link with af_dp. This option is not recommended because of the cons mentioned above.

For option 2, using OneLink technology with its social app landing page feature is a good option. Not only will you cover both UA & app re-engagement with OneLink to support new and existing users, but also you can customize the landing page’s creative to showcase your most engaging content. And the best part is that it’s a fully managed AppsFlyer’s capability, so you don’t need any developer help. It’s completely self-serve.

The recommended setup for iOS is through Universal Links. If your links were previously based on the URI scheme, you’ll need a one-time setup as follows:

• Update the OneLink template with the universal links team ID to trigger an AASA file update.
• Release a new version of the app and to the store and force an update so that app users will receive the updated AASA file.
• Ensure Universal Links domains match your OneLink configuration.

The bottom line

Deep linking and redirection should work everywhere, regardless of silent updates or shifting WebView policies. Clear detection of the issue, rapid validation and forward-compatible recommendations ensure that journeys remain reliable across platforms.
Want to learn more about the Social App Landing Page on X? Click here.

The post Why deep links stopped working on X for iOS and what you can do now appeared first on AppsFlyer.

As ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and other Large Language Models (LLMs) increasingly become the go-to source for answers, marketers are entering a new organic (and potentially non-organic) frontier, one where traffic originates from AI responses, not search engine result pages.

LLMs are not only transforming how users discover apps and content but also impacting consumer behavior. Recent research shows that users who engage via LLMs have higher intent and monetize better than search users. The conversational format feels like a soft recommendation rather than a sales pitch, driving stronger user intent.

However, it also surfaces new challenges: How do you influence, measure, and optimize discovery in these environments?

In this blog, we unpack how GenAI and LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude are reshaping discovery — and what it means for marketers. You’ll see which industries are leading the shift, why attribution is breaking, and how to turn AI-driven traffic into measurable growth.

AI-First industries: Who’s leading the shift?

LLMs are already delivering meaningful traffic to brands, but often without marketers realizing it because the traffic goes unattributed.

Based on these market trends, some industries are seeing a deeper impact:

• Legal & Financial Services: Users ask complex, trust-intensive questions that LLMs are best equipped to answer.
• Online shopping: LLMs drive traffic to retail and e-Commerce sites based on product page information. In fact, OpenAI has just announced its on-site checkout process which may reduce their website traffic and allow in-chat experience for completing the transaction.
• Healthcare & Insurance: AI chat becomes the first line of inquiry for symptoms, treatments, and coverage.
• SMB & SaaS: App discovery, product comparisons, and usage walkthroughs often show up in AI answers.
• Consumer Tech: Users rely on conversational AI for product reviews and recommendations.

In many cases, AI is now a more common entry point than traditional search, with some brands seeing 5–10% of top-of-funnel traffic driven by LLMs, even when not labeled as such in analytics.

The challenges of optimizing for LLMs

Unlike traditional SEO, LLM visibility is harder to crack and even harder to measure.

There are three core challenges:

1. No visibility into rankings: You can’t “rank check” a ChatGPT response. There’s no way to know how often you’re cited.
2. Inconsistent linking: Some models link, some don’t. Others paraphrase your content without attribution.
3. Attribution is broken: Many AI clicks show up as organic traffic, obscuring the true source in analytics tools.

Together, these gaps make AI optimization feel like you’re flying blind.

How to measure the impact of AI 

To overcome these challenges, brands must adapt their content and measurement strategies:

• Write for AI: Prioritize concise, clear answers. Use questions, summaries, and bullets. Repeat keywords multiple times. Treat your content like it might be quoted out of context. Things that work well include pricing tables, integration breakdowns, trial proposals, product walk-throughs, comparison pages, and so on.
• Track proactively with UTMs: Use UTM parameters on URLs likely to be picked up by LLMs, such as forums, docs, partner content, and public knowledge bases.
• Bridge the visibility gap with web-to-app attribution flow: Turn invisible clicks into measurable insights. If you can attribute the users in your app or website to an LLM engagement, you will be able to understand and optimize the user journey based on lower funnel actions.
• Use deep links wherever possible in your owned and earned media: LLMs collect data from social networks and across the web. When you place links in these placements, make sure they’re deep linking into the app so that, if a user has the app, they’ll have a contextualized and seamless experience — resulting in higher engagement and conversions. Examples include your website, social group links, YouTube videos, influencer campaigns, referral programs, affiliate links, bio pages, and more.
  

Note: deep linking can be complex, so make sure you use the right tool for it (more on this in the next section).

• Use website schema markup: Structured data helps LLMs understand and cite your content correctly. For example, adding FAQPage or Product schema in JSON-LD format can boost discoverability in AI-generated answers.

This markup should be placed in the HTML of your site — typically in the <head> or at the bottom of the <body>.

Example:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [{
    "@type": "Question",
    "name": "What is the best budgeting app for freelancers?",
    "acceptedAnswer": {
      "@type": "Answer",
      "text": "BudgetPro helps freelancers manage cash flow, taxes, and savings through smart automation."
    }
  }]
}
</script>

AppFlyer’s OneLink: What is it and how can it help?

OneLink is AppsFlyer’s deep linking and redirection solution. It solves a complex problem, the result of multiple combinations of where a link can be placed on the Internet and what happens when you click on it, which depends on factors such as the platform, OS version, browser, app, and others. 

For example, some browsers open apps directly while others require a fallback. For your app, you might want existing users to open the app directly and new users to go to the App Store. You need to differentiate between these two groups.

OneLink abstracts all this logic and ensures that once a link is clicked, it always works. And on top of that, it measures the parameters you set up on the link upon creation. That is the reason it is a great option to solve the LLM challenges:

• Deep link as many users as possible to the app.
• Measuring the results of web-to-app user journeys.

Deep link users into the app using OneLink EVERYWHERE

You want LLM to use your deep links. The main reason is that you get high-quality traffic for free without any extra hop in the user journey. To do so, you should spread your link publicly in any Owned or Earned Media channel you have. Some examples can be your website, social groups links, influencer campaigns, referral programs, and links you share with affiliates, bio pages, and the like.

When you use OneLink in these placements, you’re buying yourself insurance that no matter who the user who clicks on the link is, and where it is placed, the user gets the right behavior. Be it opening the app (optimal), or installing the app, and after navigating to an in-app content based on the deferred deep link value. That is another parameter that the link carries and is being passed back to the app after installation, so that the app knows to tailor the first-time user experience.

Ultimately LLMs prefer OneLink because of its robustness rather than a simple iOS Universal Link or a URI scheme. With OneLink, it understands that it can handle multiple experiences.

Web-to-app with OneLink: Turning AI mentions into measurable conversions

AppsFlyer’s OneLink also solves the attribution problem for AI-generated traffic in web-to-app flows, which are very common in the app industry.

Here’s how it works:

1. User asks an AI assistant for a recommendation. For example, “What is the best personal finance app for freelancers?” The LLM replies with your link.
   

Incoming URL: https://your.website.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com

2. User clicks on the link. OneLink uses a Smart Script or Smart Banner on your site to translate the incoming URL params into an attribution link and places  it behind a OneLink that is agnostic to the platform, browser and OS.

Generated OneLink: https://yourapp.onelink.me?pid=chatgpt

3. Once the OneLink is clicked, it:
   
   • Sends existing users directly into the app to a specific in-app content based on their LLM searches.
     
   • Routes new users to the correct app store by identifying their device, OS, browser, and platform.
     
   • Measures the source that led the user to install or open the app, in this case, the LLM tool.

This data is available in AppsFlyer’s raw data reports for analysis and optimization purposes. Now you can look at your funnel, compare the performance of the LLM with other LLMs or with other owned and earned channels, and invest the resources where it makes sense.

The bottom line

LLMs are fast becoming the new gateway to content, apps, and products. However, they also bring uncertainty in visibility, traffic source, and user intent.

To succeed, marketers must:

• Treat LLMs like a new organic channel
• Use deep links and a deep linking solution to measure their effectiveness
• Use structured content and schema markups
• Tag AI-discoverable links with UTMs

GenAI is wide open. With the right setup, you can stop guessing, start measuring, and optimize a critical part of your business.

The post Measuring the unmeasurable: Attribution in the age of GenAI appeared first on AppsFlyer.

Firebase Dynamic Links (FDL) has been a comprehensive solution for deep linking in mobile apps. But with Google announcing its deprecation, many developers and product teams now face a challenge because they must find an alternative. Once you find a solution, you need to understand how to migrate from FDL to your new solution. 

This guide will walk you through the challenges in the migration process, highlighting key considerations, strategic steps, and best practices to help ensure a smooth transition.

What you need to know

According to Google, app developers must migrate from Firebase Dynamic Links before August 25th, 2025, as the service will be shut down, and they will need to adopt alternative solutions like App Links, Universal Links, or third-party deep-linking providers. Existing links will continue to work until the shutdown, but new links can no longer be created. Developers should also export their link metadata and consider updating their apps to handle changes in deep-linking functionality after the service is discontinued. Link metadata export can be invaluable for your migration once you select your alternative.

Planning your migration

Before implementing, you need to start with the end in mind. 

First, you need to be ready before August 25th, 2025. Hence, understand your app release cycles and app version update trends. How long does it take for your app to be updated among all users?

Second, you need a clear picture of your current setup and what your new solution must support:

• Assess your current usage:
  • Which user flows rely on them? Things like first-time user experience during onboarding, referrals, app promotions, paid campaigns and more.
  • How are links getting generated? Manually, inside marketing tools, backend APIs, in-app content sharing, etc.
  • How is it measured? Which source drove the clicks, engagement, and conversion?
• Define your requirements — a critical step to avoid surprises with cost, API limits, or performance when you look for alternatives.
  • Here is a list of potential needs:

• Cross-platform deep linking – iOS and Android in a single link.
• Deferred deep linking
• Branded link domains
• Campaign-level measurement and analytics
• QR code support
• SDK performance and integration complexity
• Estimate volume and scale
• Daily/monthly link generation and the processes to do so (automatic vs. manual).

Firebase alternatives

1) Use a linking niche provider solution

Third-party provider offering specialized deep linking services with advanced features like cross-platform support, branded links, and basic analytics.

2) Do it yourself

You can build and manage your own deep linking solution, with full control over customization, but it requires development time and maintenance.

3) Work with a mobile measurement partner

A platform that combines deep linking with app attribution, offering centralized tools for measuring and optimizing user engagement across marketing channels.

Comparing the alternatives

Implementation checklist

1) Choose your alternative

Use your requirements to shortlist and test potential solution providers. Start with a small POC to evaluate the integration experience and core features.

2) Configure your deep linking

• If you choose a third-party provider, you should manage the configuration, including the branded domain, certificates, and DNS CNAME.
• Update app manifests and entitlement to ensure that you’re associating the app with Universal Links (iOS) or App Links (Android) and allowing deep linking.
• Integrate your provider’s SDK into your mobile app(s).

3) Create a link mapping strategy

Map each FDL type or use case to its equivalent in the new system. Document this logic clearly for developers, QA, and support teams. 

One important consideration that can impact the level of effort is the Time-to-Live (TTL) of the link based on the use case. For example, you might have links that are valid for the 28-day campaign you used in push notifications. This campaign may be in progress, but it’ll be concluded by the deprecation date. Sorting out what links should go through migration will impact your plan and timelines.

4) Translate the links from the Firebase format to the new format

Translating the links might sound simple but it requires planning. After you map out your links, you know what data scheme and granularities they support. Now you have to understand what parameters on the new link are supporting the same functionality.

There are several options:

• It’s only a different name. This is easy because there’s 1:1 mapping.
• It’s not supported out of the box. In this case, you’ll need to create a custom param.
• It’s supported on a different granularity level. In this case, you’ll have to determine the right granularity to report on.

Be aware that some tools help in the translation and can streamline the whole process.

5) Implement redirect handling

If possible, set up redirects from your old FDL domain to your new link domain. This may require control over the domain used in your Firebase project. 

If you own the domain, you can set up a redirect to the new domain.

If you don’t own the domain, there are several things you can do:

• Switching to a custom domain in Firebase for deep links if possible.
• Creating a proxy server to handle the redirects.
• Communicating with users to update old links manually across channels.

6) Update application code

• Integrate the new SDK.
• Update link parsing and routing logic based on the new SDK functionality.
• Maintain backward compatibility with legacy links if needed.

7) Phased migration

Like any other feature rollout in your product, doing it gradually can reduce the risk of breaking flows. It is recommended to start with links that are lower risk and/or lower traffic.

As you start the migration process, you might discover behavior that is different from expected. This means you’ll have to evaluate what to do and ensure that you follow the same principles moving forward.

The more flows you stabilize, the higher the confidence you have and you can add more use cases to the mix till you come to completion.

8) Test, test, and test!

Testing is a critical part of the implementation. The more you test, the higher the confidence.

What to test?

• iOS and Android, across OS versions
• Fresh installs, updates, and re-engagements.
• Different link types (web, app, SMS, email, QR codes, etc.)
• Edge cases like offline access or link-sharing apps

Optimizing your flows

A thorough flow review is  a good opportunity to clean up old flows, fix things that don’t perform well and fund new ideas for improvement.

Make sure to document these changes along the way. After everything is sustained, you can start improving and optimizing your flow to maximize your business success (LTV, retention, etc.).

The bottom line

Migrating away from Firebase Dynamic Links is a necessary step, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By carefully assessing your current setup, defining clear needs, and selecting the right alternative, you can ensure a smooth transition without losing valuable functionality. 

Whether you choose a third-party deep-linking provider, build a custom solution, or leverage a mobile measurement partner, the key is to plan and execute your migration in stages. 

Testing and gradual implementation will allow you to eliminate issues and optimize your deep linking strategy for the future. 

Keep in mind that the migration also offers an opportunity to streamline your user flows, enhance your app’s performance, and ultimately drive greater user engagement. 

By staying proactive and organized, you’ll ensure that your app continues to deliver seamless experiences even after Firebase Dynamic Links is no longer available.

Ready to migrate rapidly? AppsFlyer’s OneLink provides tools and services to help you complete the migration as fast as you need without compromising quality. Read more.

The post Break up with Firebase before it breaks you: Practical migration guide appeared first on AppsFlyer.

Over the past two years, the number of re-engagements from owned media campaigns surged, outpacing the growth we’re seeing in paid remarketing campaigns. With growth coming from both directions, marketers are actually mastering the art of combining these activities.

Customer loyalty is a growing priority for brands, with owned media playing a key role in achieving this goal. In a reality of strict ROAS targets and privacy-driven signal loss, leveraging 1st party data signals and deep linking technology in owned media is key to optimizing user experience and ultimately improving lifetime value.

In this blog, we’ll dive into some key data trends from the world of owned media and deep linking, including conversion rate benchmarks and growth rates, while offering some practical and common use cases.

Owned media growth trends

First, the facts. Deep linking and owned media usage are expanding across all major channels: SMS-to-app, email-to-app, QR-to-app, and web-to-app. Our data reveals a 64% increase in owned media conversions in 2024 compared to 2023.

As you can see in the chart below, the owned media charge is driven largely by web-to-app campaigns where conversions surged a staggering 77% in 2024 compared to 2023, with Finance leading the charge with over 200% year-over-year leap.

Web-to-app is driven by the rise of ‘contextual’ marketing, exemplified by the growing adoption of our Smart Script solution. When a deep link is used with Smart Script, the URL automatically generates a script that reproduces, in URLs and links, contextualized elements specific to the user’s journey. The result: a smoother transition from the web to the correct page within the app.

Clearly, more and more brands understand that the app is superior when it comes to driving lifetime value, and direct users to install their app — whether they were immediately driven to install the app from a web acquisition landing page (as web is often cheaper than mobile app inventory) or are existing users of their web site.

Shopping apps saw the biggest gain in email-to-app conversions, while gaming apps saw referral-to-app conversion more than double. The latter method is also a major contributor to lifetime value since players who were referred by a friend are far more likely to make a purchase.

Referrals encourage players to invite friends from within the game by offering an in-game incentive to both sides. Once friends get the invite via a messaging app and click on the link, they are automatically taken to the right app store to download the game. After launching the game, the new player will be redirected to the promised incentive.

The use of owned media and deep linking is not only on the rise across the globe (with the exception of Eastern Europe), it’s also the direction across industries — particularly in Entertainment, Books, and Finance — with multiple use cases in each industry. 

Owned media performance benchmarks 

The fact that owned media is experiencing such an impressive rise is no surprise when you examine the conversion rates. The ability to create great experiences with deep linking drives significant performance uplift in conversion rates — especially in the share of paying users, or re-engagement to purchase conversion rates.

According to our data, the conversion rate of owned media on average per category is almost double compared to paid media (which does not usually use deep linking); in every single category the gap is significant.

Just to name a few examples: Shopping apps in North America enjoy a 14.7% share of paying users in owned media compared to 8.6% in paid media. Finance in APAC see a 17.2% vs. 7.1% difference, while gaming apps in Europe are at 7.5% vs 2.2%.

A breakdown into owned media channels shows that email-to-app has the highest conversion rate at 17.7%, followed by QR-to-app and referral-to-app at 16.6% and 16.5%, respectively.

As we can see in the data, owned media powered by deep linking is extensively used and delivers strong results. But for what purpose exactly and for whom? Let’s explore this.

Survey: Most common uses of deep linking      

A study conducted on behalf of AppsFlyer which will be published in March highlights the central role retention plays. Nearly 75% of marketers’ key objectives center on user retention and loyalty, including UX, re-engagement, and service quality.

A significant number of marketers, CRM / lifecycle managers as well as product managers rely on deep linking to deliver personalized user journeys. A deeper look into the results shows that deep linking usage can be divided into three main goals, across several teams (an explanation follows):

1. Functionality for product. A technical function that seamlessly directs users from point A to point B.

2. Stickiness for marketing and product. The objective is to encourage and keep users active. Marketers typically refer to this as engagement and re-engagement. In this use case, product and marketing teams seek to ensure top notch UX to drive key retention and loyalty metrics, such as time in-app and engagement. From a marketing perspective, the goal here is to generate purchase intent.

3. Revenue generation for marketing and monetization teams. In this third goal, CX serves a short-term strategy. The facilitation of the user journey is primarily intended to encourage the user to take specific action to drive immediate profit and maximization of revenue. In this scenario, purchase intent already exists and the challenge is to remove any obstacles between that intent and the potential purchase.

While these three categories are relevant across all industries, each has its own characteristics. The type of service, and consequently, the LTV cycle, varies between a finance or news app, which rely on long-term usage, stickiness, and other categories like travel for instance, where brands often look to secure a one-time conversion. Clearly, in both cases, CX is vital. 

Key takeaways

• Significant growth in owned media. Over the past two years, owned media conversions have surged by 64%, with web-to-app campaigns alone up by 77% in 2024, outpacing traditional paid remarketing efforts.

• Deep linking drives superior conversions. Leveraging deep linking technology creates personalized, contextualized user journeys that nearly double conversion rates compared to standard paid media approaches.

• Channel-specific strengths. Among owned media channels, email-to-app leads with a 17.7% conversion rate, while SMS, QR, and referral channels also deliver strong performance.

• Many benefits across industries. Deep linking is crucial not only for enhancing user retention and loyalty but also for generating quick revenue, making it a versatile tool across sectors like Entertainment, Finance, and Gaming.

The post New performance data reveals owned media + deep linking reigns supreme appeared first on AppsFlyer.

As a product manager, you’re constantly seeking tools to enhance your app’s user experience. Firebase Dynamic Links has been a popular choice when it comes to engagement strategies, but its deprecation offers the opportunity to find an alternative that better aligns with your specific needs. Let’s delve into what you should consider when choosing an alternative.

Understanding your needs

First, it’s crucial to understand what you’re looking for in a Firebase Dynamic Links replacement. Start by evaluating your current pain points and identifying areas where you need improvement. Are you looking for better cross-platform support? More accurate analytics? Enhanced deep linking capabilities? By clearly defining your needs, you’ll be better equipped to evaluate potential alternatives.

Core functionality: Deep linking and analytics

At the heart of any Firebase Dynamic Links alternative are two core functionalities: deep linking and analytics. Your chosen solution should excel in both these areas.

Deep linking capabilities are essential for creating seamless user experiences. Look for a solution that offers robust features allowing you to direct users to specific in-app content across all systems and platforms – iOS, Android, and web. This functionality can significantly enhance user engagement and streamline the path to conversion.

Analytics is equally important. When it’s time to understand the impact of your link performance, you’ll want to analyze results across various channels. Your chosen alternative should provide detailed insights into engagement metrics, helping you make data-driven decisions while optimizing your user flows.

Technical considerations

Beyond the core functionality, several technical factors come into play. Migration flexibility is key – consider how easily the solution migrates with your existing tech stack. A platform that plays well with others can save you time and resources in the long run.

Scalability is another key factor, especially if you’re anticipating growth. Your chosen solution should be able to handle increased traffic and data without compromising user flows. This ensures that as your app grows, your tools can grow with you.

Lastly, don’t overlook the importance of analytics and reporting capabilities. We already talked about that but it is worth repeating from the technical side. Comprehensive analytics and customizable reporting features are essential for gaining insights into user behavior. Look for solutions that offer detailed dashboards and the ability to create custom reports tailored to your business goals.

Privacy and security

In today’s privacy-conscious world, security and compliance can’t be afterthoughts. Ensure that any alternative you consider complies with regulations like GDPR and offers robust security measures to protect your users’ data. Look for solutions that take a privacy-centric approach, helping you navigate the evolving privacy landscape while maintaining engagement effectiveness.

Cost considerations

Finally, consider the cost-effectiveness of the solution. Evaluate the pricing structure and ensure it aligns with your budget while providing all the necessary features. Remember, the cheapest option isn’t always the most cost-effective in the long run. Look for flexible pricing tiers that can accommodate your current needs while allowing room for growth.

AppsFlyer: A comprehensive solution

When considering these factors, AppsFlyer emerges as a robust alternative that addresses many of these key considerations. As a unified platform for both deep linking and analytics AppsFlyer simplifies your tech stack, offering a single solution for multiple needs. Our team is also here to help you migrate smoothly, with step-by-step guidance along the way.

AppsFlyer’s CX & deep linking suite provides sophisticated deep linking capabilities across all platforms, ensuring a seamless user experience regardless of the device or operating system. This unified approach to deep linking can significantly enhance your retention and engagement strategies.

In addition, the advanced analytics tools in our platform provide highly accurate insights into user behavior and the channels users come from. This precision helps you understand user acquisition paths, measure in-app events, and determine which touchpoints are most effective, empowering you to make informed decisions to enhance user journeys and improve key product metrics.

One of AppsFlyer’s strengths is its extensive integration ecosystem. With over 12,000 technology partners, it easily integrates with a wide range of marketing and analytics tools. This flexibility allows you to create a customized tech stack that meets your specific needs without sacrificing functionality or efficiency.

For apps anticipating or experiencing rapid growth, AppsFlyer’s enterprise-grade infrastructure is built to handle massive scale. This scalability ensures that your deep linking solution can keep pace with your app’s success.

AppsFlyer also takes a privacy-centric approach, as the market leader for deep linking and measurement. In addition to staying compliant with all relevant global privacy regulations, we have the most robust security in place to keep your customer data safe with us. This forward-thinking approach can help future-proof your growth efforts. Lastly, AppsFlyer offers flexible pricing tiers to accommodate different business needs and scales. This adaptability ensures that you’re not paying for features you don’t need while still having room to grow.

Migrating from Firebase to AppsFlyer: A technical overview

If you’re leaning towards AppsFlyer as your choice, we’re here to support you. Here’s an overview of the migration process to help you understand what’s involved:

Step 1: Account setup

The first step is creating an AppsFlyer account and adding appropriate users with the right permissions. This is typically handled by the marketing team.

Note: For custom web redirection, you’ll need to list your trusted domains on the redirect allowlist before continuing. 

Step 2: App configuration

Next, you’ll need to add your app to AppsFlyer. This is also usually done by the marketing team. At this stage, you can optionally adjust the default 90-day re-engagement window to align with your definition of active users.

Step 3: OneLink template configuration

A crucial step in the migration process is setting up the OneLink template. This forms the basis of the redirection logic and app launch methods for deep-linking for all your marketing campaign links. Both marketers and app developers should be involved in this step.

Step 4: SDK integration

Your app developers will need to integrate the AppsFlyer SDK into your app. This SDK is the bridge between your app and the AppsFlyer platform, enabling deep linking and attribution functionalities. See the guides for Android and iOS SDK integration.

Step 5: Parameter mapping

One of the most important technical aspects of migration is understanding how Firebase Dynamic Links parameters map to AppsFlyer’s corresponding parameters. This ensures your links continue to function as expected after migration. Here are some key mappings to be aware of:

• Firebase’s ‘link’ parameter maps to AppsFlyer’s ‘af_dp’ and ‘deep_link_value’
• ‘utm_source’ maps to ‘pid’ (Media Source)
• ‘utm_medium’ maps to ‘af_channel’ (Media Source channels)
• ‘utm_campaign’ maps to ‘c’ (Campaign name)

Your development team should review the full parameter mapping to ensure all your current link functionalities are preserved.

Step 6: Link creation with mapped parameters

Finally, using your mapped parameters and the OneLink template, you can migrate your link creation flows. AppsFlyer offers several methods for this:

1. Manual creation through the OneLink Management page
2. Bulk creation using the Bulk Links page
3. Programmatic creation using the OneLink API
4. Programmatic in-app generation using the SDK
5. In-app generation using the SDK
6. In-web generation using Smart Script
7. Manual link construction for long links

The approach you take will depend on how you’ve been using FDLs and your specific migration needs:

1. If you’ve primarily been using FDLs through the API/SDK (creating them programmatically on the fly):
   • Focus on adjusting your API calls to use AppsFlyer’s equivalent functionality.
   • This can be done gradually, allowing for a smooth transition.
2. If you have a large number of general short links created via the Firebase console:
   • In this case, you’ll need to recreate these links in AppsFlyer.
   • The bulk creation option in AppsFlyer can be particularly useful for efficiently setting up a large number of links while minimizing errors.

Considerations for a smooth migration

When planning your migration, keep these points in mind:

1. Involve both your marketing and development teams in the process.
2. Carefully review the parameter mapping to ensure all your current link functionalities are preserved.
3. Consider using our bulk migration option if you have a large number of links to migrate in the Firebase console.
4. Test thoroughly after migration to ensure all links are working as expected across different platforms and use cases.

While the process involves several steps, AppsFlyer’s comprehensive documentation and guided CSM supports can help streamline the transition, minimizing disruption to your app’s functionality.

Making your decision

AppsFlyer offers a comprehensive solution, but it’s important to remember that the best choice for your app depends on your specific requirements, budget, and long-term goals. Take the time to thoroughly evaluate your options, and don’t hesitate to reach out to potential providers for demos or trials before making your decision.

Consider how each alternative addresses your core needs in deep linking and analytics. Evaluate their technical capabilities, integration and migration options, and scalability. Assess their approach to privacy and security, and ensure their pricing model aligns with your budget and growth projections.

The right alternative to Firebase Dynamic Links is out there – it’s just a matter of finding the perfect fit for your unique needs. By carefully considering these factors and how they align with your app’s goals, you’ll be well-equipped to make a decision that drives your app’s success.

FAQs

To help you further in your decision-making process, here are some frequently asked questions about Firebase Dynamic Links alternatives:

The post Navigating Firebase Dynamic Links alternatives: A Product Manager’s guide appeared first on AppsFlyer.

A quick alert to our customers and others implementing Universal Links: There appears to be an issue with iOS 13.x, causing inconsistent behavior when users click on Universal Links. Sometimes a Universal Link works, and other times it fails.

The issue is difficult to reproduce and has been reported in several forums.

You can read more in this Apple Developer Forums thread.

What can you do about this?

AppsFlyer’s OneLink deep linking solution allows you to overcome this issue. All you have to do is add a URI scheme configuration to the link. With this configuration, OneLink will redirect users to the:

• App, if the app is installed
• App Store if the app is not installed 

Please use these settings: 

1. Set URI scheme to deep link users within the app (af_dp)
2. Set `af_force_deeplink=true` as a custom param

Note: If your app is not installed on a user’s device, and a Safari browser opens the link, an error message may appear. The user will be redirected to the App Store after dismissing the message. The error message is native to Safari and is therefore unavoidable.

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For more information on configuring the URI scheme, please see this Knowledge Base article.

The post Heads up: Erratic Universal Links behavior identified on iOS 13 appeared first on AppsFlyer.

With the vast share of its revenue coming from mobile, the recent Facebook earnings report has demonstrated once again that the social giant is a mobile-first company

As a company that adapted so well to the mobile era, it is no surprise that Facebook is the Number 1 media source among app marketers who want to drive both performance and scale in their app install campaigns according to AppsFlyer’s latest Performance Index.

What about measurement?

In its own messaging to advertisers, Facebook states that:

“Measuring Facebook campaigns by installing the Facebook SDK, or the SDK of one of its mobile measurement partners (MMP) better enables app developers to measure their app install campaigns.”

Check out Facebook’s own documentation on the subject.

The social network first introduced the MMP program at the end of 2012 to help facilitate its mobile advertising business. It was one of the key decisions that helped them adapt so well and so quickly to mobile.

MMPs were chosen based on their robust technology and ability to support accurate measurement at scale, their market penetration, and last but not least their level of security when it comes to data and privacy.

But since Facebook is so big in mobile, several non-MMP analytics providers scrambled to find a solution for measuring Facebook campaigns. So they claimed that they can properly attribute Facebook app ads by using deep links.

This important technology helps improve the mobile user experience by ensuring that the content served is relevant to what the user expects to see, whether they have the app installed or not. In that sense, deep-linking is a must-have component of any user acquisition campaign.

But, and this is a big but, deep linking is not built for proper Facebook attribution. In its messaging, Facebook stresses that:

“There are numerous limitations to relying on deep links for measurement and this approach is not recommended.”

Why deep lining isn’t built for proper Facebook attribution

Deep links can’t de-duplicate Facebook installs

How do MMPs attribute Facebook installs?

When a user clicks on or views a Facebook ad for a specific app, and then goes on to install that app within a 28-day click window and 1-day view window, Facebook sends a claim for that install to its measurement partners, which includes a Facebook ad id and a timestamp of the view or click.

MMPs then de-dupe Facebook’s claim against other media sources also claiming credit for the same install following recorded engagement with their own ads. Under the last click attribution rule, MMPs use impression level and click timestamps from their media partners to enable proper attribution.

According to Facebook,

”Only FB’s mobile measurement partners will get a click timestamp and know when the click happened. Other analytics providers are not able to get this click timestamp via our deep links, which leads to not being able to do proper attribution.”

As such, they can determine that a click from Facebook led to an install BUT they cannot accurately attribute a campaign under the predominant last click attribution model (or any time-based attribution model for that matter).

This distinction is super important, because it doesn’t provide proof that Facebook was in fact the last touch – and it may not be accepted by other media sources. This means that the advertiser may be charged twice for the same install.

Deep links can’t attribute Facebook views.

View-through attribution is becoming increasingly important for app marketers. Facebook recently looked across 30 mobile app install lift studies with statistically significant results and found that – on average – advertisers gave 14% less credit when relying solely on a click-based attribution model.

Add to that the fact that the use of video ads is exploding on Facebook and overall, while these videos are mostly viewed rather than clicked on. As a result, Facebook now passes 24-hour impression level data to MMPs and takes credit for an install if there was no click preceding it for 28 days. The attribution provider can then credit that view assuming no other click or view beat it to the punch.

Deep links, however, only work with clicks. In its messaging to advertisers, Facebook reiterates that “deep links are not passed unless a person clicks on the ad, so any non-click response is lost.”

Deep links can’t place Facebook touchpoints in the consumer path

Besides not reporting on views which are an integral part of the consumer path, the fact that there are no click timestamps means Facebook clicks cannot be placed on a scale of time that leads to an install. In other words, multi-touch attribution – within Facebook and across media sources – would be incomplete or inaccurate.

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Deep links don’t facilitate use of Facebook optimization products for app ads

“As a standalone approach”, Facebook writes, “deep links don’t require the return of any outcome data to Facebook. As a result, they don’t facilitate use of mobile app install or app event optimization.”

What this means is that If you want to use either of these optimization models for app installs, you must integrate the Facebook SDK or the SDK of an MMP. But using the former will mean you’ll have to configure in-app events twice: for the Facebook SDK and the non-MMP SDK, and then ensure they are aligned. Ultimately, more work and a greater chance of error.

Deep links can’t measure longer attribution windows.

Deep links on Facebook only last for 7 days. Any longer attribution windows won’t work.

Deep links can’t do cross-device measurement.

“Deep links only work on the same device, so any cross-device response to the ad is lost,” Facebook states. For example, suppose a person clicks on an app ad on their mobile phone but does not download the app at that time. If they download the app on their tablet a few hours later, this install would be properly attributed via MMPs.

However, Facebook stresses that “any deep link based solution would not be able to capture this install,” resulting in a major blind spot considering that cross-device usage is a given for many Facebook users.

The post Can deep linking accurately attribute Facebook app installs? appeared first on AppsFlyer.

After almost two years of pandemic-affected high streets, in-store shopping is back in a big way. And it’s not just that shoppers are flocking to shops simply because of the novelty of being able to get back into stores again: the economic conditions that are afflicting many nations around Europe are also providing further reasons for customers to use their feet instead of their phones.

Shoppers want to see what they are buying amid cost-of-living crises, according to Simon Roberts, CEO of supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. Shoppers are flocking to stores to be able to see what they’re purchasing first-hand as well as benefit from being able to walk away with their purchase immediately rather than having to pay for online delivery and wait at home for a parcel to arrive.

It would be easy to look at this rise in offline shopping – and the reasons underpinning it – and surmise that this is bad news for the eCommerce space. Look deeper, though, and you’ll find a trove of opportunities for the eCom space to capitalise on the growth of in-person shopping.

Several big brands are already pouncing on those opportunities – here, we’ll take a closer look at what steps they’re taking, how they’re doing it, and how it’s paying off.

Mobile is becoming more integrated into the in-store experience

Offline shopping is up, but so are shopping apps: in the UK alone, consumers spent 500 million hours in shopping apps last year, up 25% from the year before. Worldwide, that number is 110 billion hours.

Shoppers aren’t seeing offline and online shopping as a binary choice. They are increasingly expecting a seamless integration of the offline and online experience. One example of this is the “buy online, pick up in-store” model, which allows customers to shop online and collect their purchases from a nearby physical store.

Brands are realising this and ensuring that their respective apps are useful whenever the customer is in their physical stores as well as encouraging offline shoppers to move online. Having a complimentary experience on mobile is all part of keeping the customer within the brand’s ecosystem, fostering loyalty to that brand and driving increased revenue. And research from McKinsey has shown that the more channels a company has, the more market share that business gains.

QR code usage is skyrocketing

QR codes have been around since 1994, although it took another decade or so – and the rise of the cameraphone – before they found serious use in retail. In 2020, QR code usage in the USA grew by a stunning 25% year on year. Around 53m users scanned a smartcode in the USA in 2019; by 2022 that had risen to 83.4m. 

The pandemic played a part in this, spurring the adoption of contactless payments and ordering in retail and hospitality. Now, QR codes are being used to support the in-store shopping experience in other innovative ways that go beyond the traditional offline-to-app flow. 

US-based grocery store chain Albertsons, for example, wanted to accelerate app adoption amongst their millions of offline customers. They added AppsFlyer QR codes onto every physical receipt with an app download message, and after two months of running the campaign the QR codes generated over 1.2 million app visitors.

Plenty of brands are now using unique QR codes across different touchpoints in their stores and products. This not only tells the brand where the customer has come from – such as which type of product they were viewing in-store at the time of scanning – but also allows brands to provide a more personalised shopping experience that boosts customer loyalty as well as revenue.

This is creating a seamless experience between in-store and app. Clothing brand H&M use QR codes in changing rooms, at point-of-sale and in window displays to direct customers to the relevant part of the H&M app. A dedicated in-store mode in the app allows shoppers to book fitting rooms, locate products in the store, save a digital receipt, and collect loyalty points on their purchases – all from their mobile.

eCom brands moving into brick and mortar space

QR codes are just one tool that brands are employing as part of a wider omnichannel marketing strategy. Owned media usage is on the rise as eCom businesses seek to leverage every asset at their disposal. 

We’re now seeing pure play eCom brands take this a step further, and open their own bricks and mortar or pop-up stores to supplement their online presence – rather than the other way around. 

Fitness brand Gymshark were a pure eCom business until October 2022, when they opened their first store on London’s Regent Street. It’s a rapid development for a company that’s barely ten years old, and reflects the wider trend of brands interweaving their eCom experience with physical stores.

Brands who already boast an established bricks and mortar presence aren’t resting on their laurels, either: Marks and Spencer, for example, recently invested almost £500m in their stores with an explicit goal of securing a competitive advantage through an omnichannel strategy. They’ve done so via a new augmented reality (AR) shopping app that enables shoppers to easily find specific items on shelves and create shopping lists while in-store.

Gymshark and Marks and Spencer have taken opposing paths but arrived at the same omnichannel destination. These brands have realised that eCom and offline shopping should exist not as distinct parts of the same business, but as one seamless retail ecosystem that provides an enhanced shopping experience for their customers.

Key takeaways

Offline shopping is back, and eCom brands have latched onto the fact that this is good news for the industry – not a barrier. Investing in a greater shopping experience for customers, by ensuring that a brand’s mobile app supports the in-store experience and vice versa, will pay dividends:

• Innovative brands are ensuring that mobile is integrated into the in-store experience, with a rise in loyalty apps that reward customers for both online and offline purchases.
• QR code usage has risen rapidly, with brands deploying them at various touchpoints within stores to migrate offline users online, gain insight into customer behaviour and store performance, and to offer seamless user journeys between channels.
• Pure eCom brands are investing in bricks and mortar stores as part of a wider omnichannel marketing strategy which recognizes changing consumer behavior, allowing brands to gain greater market share and increase brand loyalty.
• Brands who already have a bricks and mortar presence are doubling down by investing further in their omnichannel approach, such as Marks and Spencer introducing an AR shopping experience for use in stores.

The post Bridging the gap between online and offline retail appeared first on AppsFlyer.

Change is a constant in the app landscape. And one particular change that might be keeping you awake at night is Google’s deprecation of Firebase Dynamic Links (FDL). 

Google announced this move back in summer 2023, and plans to shut down the service on August 25th, 2025. Meanwhile, it says FDL shouldn’t be used for new projects.

It’s left many product managers, app developers, and retention teams scratching their heads as to how they’ll manage deep links and the user journeys they power going forward. But, even though the clock is ticking for anyone who has yet to migrate, there’s no need to panic. In this blog, we’ll look at what you need to do and how AppsFlyer can help.

Remind me… What are Firebase Dynamic Links (FDLs), exactly?

Firebase Dynamic Links (FDLs) are Google’s solution for activating user journeys through smart URLs. They enable both deep linking and deferred deep linking, allowing users to be directed to specific content within an app, even if the app isn’t installed. Once installed, the user is seamlessly guided to the intended destination, whether it’s within the app, or to the relevant app store. 

The FDL functionality enhances user journeys by ensuring a smooth transition from different platforms to the app, reducing friction and improving conversion rates, while offering personalized experiences tailored to user intent. However, there are some limitations when it gets into specifics; for example, managing links in bulk isn’t possible. Email integrations, QR code generations, and key web-to-app features such as Smart Banners and Smart Script also do not exist..

If you want to scale your app once Firebase Dynamic Links are gone, consider a robust, multi-platform linking solution that can offer seamless journeys and baked-in measurement with additional key capabilities such as those mentioned.  

So, what comes after Firebase?

If you’ve been using FDL, now’s the time to think about migrating to an alternative. 

Google says you have until August 25th, 2025 to complete your migration. But, given that’s the date when all your Firebase links will stop working, you’d be smart to take action well before then to avoid the dreaded 404s. 

What’s more, we already touched on the limitations of Firebase. Wouldn’t you prefer a more comprehensive solution? If so, AppsFlyer has the answer. 

AppsFlyer’s CX and deep linking suite: for seamless journeys that power growth

At AppsFlyer, we recognize that customer experience (CX) and smooth user flows go hand in hand. Deep links create seamless, more personal experiences, enabling you to welcome customers into your app from any platform or device. 

That’s important for your bottom line, because exceptional customer experiences drive growth and loyalty — boosting revenues and LTV. 

Thousands of brands trust our engagement suite to drive conversions while preserving customer privacy. So, whether you currently use FDL or another solution, we’re confident that switching to AppsFlyer will enhance your CX strategy and maximize your ROX (return on experience). 

Why choose AppsFlyer?

AppsFlyer simplifies the complexities of user journeys across platforms, channels and use cases. We eliminate the need for multiple tools and internal development work, by enabling you to create, manage, and measure links for various channels in one unified platform.

1. Get features you won’t find with Firebase Dynamic Links

Our simple experience navigator makes creating links a breeze, and we have advanced tooling such as bulk management, ESP integration and QR code generator— features not included in the FDL solution.

You can even create Smart Banners or Smart Scripts in our self-serve studio, with ready-made templates and advanced customization options to maximize web-to-app conversion, without the heavy lifting normally required from developers.

2. Preserve your user’s privacy

As the market leader for deep linking and measurement, we take privacy seriously and it’s worth repeating. In addition to staying compliant with all relevant global privacy regulations, we have the most robust security in place to keep your customer data safe with us.

3. Make migration as smooth as possible

Our support teams and step-by-step guides are here to make your migration as simple as possible. We’ll talk more about the specifics later on but ease of migration is definitely a key reason to choose AppsFlyer over other alternatives.

4. And of course, cover all the basics

Our deep linking technology does the hard work, automatically sending users to their chosen in-app content — or using our deferred deep linking capabilities to visit the app store first.  

Users benefit from a seamless journey into your app, whether it begins on web, email, QR code, text message, push notification, or social media. In addition, referral and content-sharing options let you harness the power of word of mouth and attribute accordingly.

CX and deep linking suite: The secret sauce for awesome user flows  

AppsFlyer’s solution offers all the functionality of FDL, and much more beyond that. Let’s take a closer look at the key features that make it stand out from other possible FDL alternatives.  

Create a seamless user experience from any platform

Our deep linking capabilities seamlessly transition users across platforms, with comprehensive measurement to help you pinpoint the best-performing strategies.

Web-to-app experiences

Easily create, customize, and deploy Smart Banners and Smart Scripts with little or no dev resources to drive UA and engagement. These dynamically generate links behind compelling copy and visuals, guiding high-intent visitors smoothly from your website into your app. How strong is this technology? Well, FOX boosted installs 15-35% and AirAsia saw a 19% increase in flight booking rates over organic benchmarks – it’s very strong. 

QR-to-app experiences

Turn nearly any physical or digital asset into a channel for UA and engagement. QR codes are everywhere — use them to connect users to your app from billboards, CTV ads, packaging, and more. Our CX and deep linking suite makes it easy to create user touch points wherever your customers are, reaching engaged audiences and driving up conversions. 

Email-to-app and Push-to-app experiences

Maximize conversions with a seamless journey from inbox to app. We’re fully integrated with ESPs (email service providers), ensuring links never break (even when wrapped by the ESP) and giving you an accurate and holistic view of your email campaigns’ performance.  

Push notifications can also be utilized, driving users directly to relevant in-app content with a single tap.

Text-to-app experiences

SMS and WhatsApp are high-engagement channels that work perfectly for short, time-sensitive messages. Make the most of high response rates with our OneLink API, which generates short links programmatically and at scale to bring users right into your app. 

Social-to-app experiences

Connect with a highly engaged audience and convert them to loyal app users, by crafting frictionless journeys from their favorite social channels. Our social-to-app route lets you engage the right users and connect them smoothly and contextually to the right in-app content.  

Read how Turkish eCommerce brand Hepsiburada successfully scaled up their influencer marketing with CX and deep linking suite, following a seamless migration to AppsFlyer.

Referral-to-app experiences

Word of mouth is a powerful tool — and with AppsFlyer’s CX and deep linking suite, it’s simple to share invites and incentivized referrals at scale, fostering loyalty and growing your user base.  

Build confidence with Branded Domains

Our Branded Domains feature lets you create vanity links that customers recognize and trust, inspiring them to move through your funnel with confidence. They’re a surefire way to boost click-throughs and conversions.

See the full picture with advanced, privacy-safe measurement

In the post-ATT world, measuring the impact of your campaigns is increasingly challenging. We all know tight regulations like GDPR and CCPA have made third-party data less and less available, and it’s going to continue with new rules like the DMA and DSA. Plus, with data increasingly siloed across platforms, how do you get the accurate, unified view you need to make informed decisions?

AppsFlyer’s dashboard is how. 

The best part is that measurement doesn’t stop at installs — you can also measure and analyze in-app events for a complete picture of user behavior. Nigerian fintech brand Yellow Card used this to their advantage, learning which channels brought high-quality users and improving the in-app experience to boost revenue.  

Turn insights into action

The combination of deep linking and advanced analytics capabilities lets you get granular with your creative testing. Once you know what’s working and what’s not, you can refine your strategies and budget with confidence. 

Gaming studio Brainium used AppsFlyer’s CX and deep linking suite to do just that: by identifying winning combinations of creatives and cross-promotions, they were able to optimize campaigns for increased growth, engagement, and retention. 

Reliable service and support

Our agile, customer-first approach keeps you ahead of the competition. Our 400+ engineers can release significantly more updates than other alternative solutions. And with the infrastructure to support 89K active mobile app customers, we have 99.9% uptime.  

We’re there when you need us, and we’re completely independent and unbiased. So you can rely on our data to tell it like it is — no hidden agenda.

How do I migrate from FDL to AppsFlyer?

Ready to take the leap? Great – we can’t wait to work with you! 

With FDL on the way out, there’s no time to lose. The good news is that switching to AppsFlyer is pretty straightforward. 

Our step-by-step migration guide provides a full breakdown of who does what and when, but here’s an overview of the key points:

1. Set up your account. Create your AppsFlyer account, add your app, and configure our CX and deep linking suite template to suit your needs. 
2. Set up the AppsFlyer SDK and add it to your app. 
3. Map your FDL parameters to ours. This is the trickiest bit, but we have a simple table to keep you right. 
4. Migrate your links. Use your mapped parameters to create links in the best way for you (for example, in bulk, through the SDK, or with OneLink API).

Of course, you won’t be on your own. Our dedicated team will support you every step of the way to make sure your migration runs like clockwork.  

But don’t just take our word for it — here’s what one of our clients has to say about making the switch:

“The process of migrating was much easier than we expected. We literally just switched overnight and haven’t looked back since. AppsFlyer instills real trust in their product when we’re speaking to them. They say ‘You guys do this and it’ll work.’ And it does work, so you don’t really question it. The migration to AppsFlyer really was seamless.”

Egemen Bor, Hepsiburada

Start the switch today

Why wait to enhance your customer experience and boost your app growth? 

You can get started with AppsFlyer today. Contact our Sales team to book a call. We’d love to talk through your goals and challenges so we can create a tailored plan just for you. 

Any migration can feel like a daunting prospect, but it doesn’t have to be. We’re confident that once you start working with AppsFlyer, you’ll never look back!

The post Google is shutting down Firebase Dynamic Links: Here’s what to do appeared first on AppsFlyer.

As we approach the end of 2022, we can safely say that this has been a rollercoaster of a year. Just as the world was emerging from a global pandemic, we were thrown into an era of global conflict, inflation, and a looming period of recession.

These external events have a knock-on effect on the advertising industry. We may have got used to operating in a state of near-constant uncertainty, but the current financial climate means our customers are significantly more careful with every dollar they spend. We’re having to dig even deeper to reach both loyal and prospective customers.  

In our previous two articles: Overcoming a challenging holiday season through digital, and How digital sustainability can help drive more value during the holiday season, we looked at digital sustainability tactics specific to the holiday season— recognizing that Q4 is usually a period where we tend to put our financial issues aside for a while and enjoy ourselves.

In this article we’ll deal with the year ahead, focusing on what actions we can take today to make the most of 2023. 

A great place to start is taking a look back into trends that have been evolving throughout the year. 

One of these is the growing reliance on owned media, which includes any digital asset within an advertiser’s control— such as their website, mobile website, native app, social pages, or email lists. In other words, it’s any media you don’t have to pay for.

Owned media reliance on the rise

Over the past year or two, we’ve seen an increasing reliance on owned media assets among advertisers: across the AppsFlyer ecosystem, it’s up an incredible 174% in 12 months. Growing financial uncertainty has made companies less willing to “spend big”, and many are tightening their belts to see them through the challenges ahead. 

Capitalizing on your owned media is nothing new, as it makes a lot of financial sense. Any good marketer knows that spending less and gaining more value is one of the main KPIs for a successful marketing initiative.

However, when times are good we tend to make use of abundant marketing budgets, rather than existing marketing assets. With the tide slowly shifting over the past year, these budgets have become increasingly squeezed, forcing marketers to identify creative opportunities and do more with very little.

This is where a digital sustainability mindset goes a long way, allowing you to adopt a clear vision of your existing digital assets and owned media offering, and then analyze how they can deliver more value with relatively small adaptations.

Let’s look at two simple but highly rewarding tactics you can implement right now across your owned media to get 2023 started on the right foot.

Make your mobile website smarter 

Your mobile web page is often the place where your current and prospective customers first arrive to learn more about your offering. So, make sure it’s working for you and delivering a positive experience for your customers. 

Users can arrive at your webpage from any type of source URLs (from email, text messages, social media, to search ads). These URLs contain valuable information that can help you better understand the journey they took to reach you, in other words, which campaign, source or ad they engaged with. It’s important to pass that information to AppsFlyer through the OneLink URL as it can be used for correct attribution, deep linking and reporting.

OneLink Smart Script: smoother journeys, happier customers

The OneLink Smart Script is a simple-to-implement script that can help you migrate mobile web users to your app, opening the door to better customer relationships. Using deep linking technology, it enables you to create contextual, personalized journeys that take your customers right where they want to go. 

For example:

The Smart Script converts and attributes mobile website visitors, coming from any source, into mobile app users. 

It dynamically generates outgoing URLs based on incoming URLs that lead to the mobile web page. And it automatically adds parameters to outgoing links, helping you capture any media source and parameters for attribution, deep linking, and reporting.

This simple-to-implement script can help you migrate mobile web users to your app, opening a door to a better relationship with your customers through:

1. Deeper measurements and insights only available through your app
2. Improved conversion rates for services and products (~ 27% on average)
3. Customer loyalty increase 
4. Creating a more personalized shopping experience

It works away behind the scenes to enable you to create a more personalized shopping experience, leading to improved conversion rates and increased customer loyalty.

You’ll also benefit from deeper, more valuable insights and measurement. Understanding where your installs originated, attributing them to the right sources and accurately measuring their events adds an additional, much-needed layer of data to help you drive more value from your webpages.

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Re-engage, re-market, refine

In terms of owned media assets, your customer contact information is perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle.

Your loyal customers are the bread and butter of any marketing initiative. This means the points at which you choose to re-engage with them should be calculated, measured, and above all, personalized.

Whether we approach customers via email or text message, our goal is to make sure their next steps are as contextual and personalized as possible.

For example, cart abandonment emails are a great way to trigger a shopping process that was stopped for an unknown reason. 

However, if users go through a grueling, non-personalized experience the effect may even be worse: a recent study found that around 58% of consumers abandon their shopping process due to log-in frustrations . 

Connecting your email’s call to action (CTA) to a deep link that takes your customers directly to the in-app page they’re looking for (a specific promotion or special deal, for instance), rather than a mobile website or the app’s home page, will create an immersive, fluent, and contextual process that takes users from A to B with no extra fuss.

The same applies to personalized text messages. It’s worth bearing in mind that a text message push notification can often be perceived as more “intrusive” than an email, so it’s important to  consider the context and frequency when using this channel. It’s most effective for promoting time-sensitive deals or offers. 

In terms of contextual journeys, again, we want to make sure every point in the customer journey is contextual and immersive. Including a short, branded link in your text message is the first step to achieving that, helping to build trust. 

This link should take users directly to the desired page within the app, where they’ll find timely, relevant messages and deals.

Getting these details right can make the difference between an intrusive customer experience and a successful remarketing campaign, that will also help you solidify your return on experience (ROX). 

With world economies showing few signs of festive cheer, many of us will be looking to recession-proof our business by doing more with less. Making your existing assets work smarter could be the key to marketing success in 2023 and beyond. 

Key takeaways

• With 2023 right around the corner, and budgets increasingly squeezed, we should already be putting plans in place around our marketing goals, strategies and desired impact. 
• Owned media should be at the heart of the discussion, as a cost-effective way to connect with customers. Digital sustainability is a key factor in capitalizing on these assets and ramping up your return on experience rates.
• Customer experiences and engagement points with our products should be the foundation on which we base all our other initiatives: they need to be contextual, immersive and personalized.

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