User experience is always given high prominence in a mobile app. It does the job of informing and engaging users, which eventually help out to retain them. For this, a lot of practices are adopted, amongst which Deep Linking is the one.
A deep link is a small, simple concept but has got a lot of potential in enhancing user experience. It’s a uniform resource identifier (URI) that refers to a specific location in the mobile app. Therefore, rather than launching the app and presenting the home page (that traditional links do), a deep link directs the user to the page where they may find their information/product/service of interest. In this segment, we simplify the concept of mobile deep link for you, exemplify their functionality, and discuss the benefits it can bring to your mobile app.
Deep Links VS. No Deep Link Scenario
While scrolling down the social media walls, we come across tens of eCommerce platforms. The carousel ads for showcasing the products consists of links that takes us to the the mobile apps. Now, when you tap on the link, there are two possibilities:
- The link takes you to the homepage of mobile app.
- The link directly takes you to the product you are interested in.
In Case (a), you will land on the app homepage, locate the search option, and then look out for the desired product within the app. In Case (b), you will land on the product page within the app, which is surely a convenient and time saving option. In the latter case, the comfort is offered by Deep Links.
Types of Mobile Deep Links
- Traditional Deep Links: These links will direct the users to the app content, when the all is already installed. Hence, traditional deep links won’t work if the mobile app is not installed and will display an error/fallback page.
- Deferred Deep Links: Even if the app is not installed, these links will open. The link will first take you to the Play Store or App Store for downloading the app, and then take you to requested content in the app.
- Contextual Deep Links: These links are similar to deferred deep links, with more benefits. They store a lot of contextual information, which includes, but is not limited to details like who shared the link, where the users want to go, the source where link was clicked etc. This helps developers in creating personalized experience to the users.
Benefits of Using Mobile Deep Link
1. Optimize User Experience
Deep links can immediately get your users to the targeted information/product/service. This minimizes the user navigation within the app, which (in most of the cases) takes away user’s interest to stay. When users get what they want, it results in high conversion rate.
2. Convenience in Content Promotion
A deep link lets you create links on websites, emails, and social media that directs to certain content in the app. This works as a great promotional tool, using which, you can bring your customers to special deal or service in the mobile app. Instead of pushing users to open the app, it is better to bring them to the content that they might be interested in.
3. Set Connection between Two Apps
One of the most prominent advantages of deep linking is their ability to position links between two apps. Say you have a mobile app that offers the best of (something). If the user is interested in buying that particular product/service, your app refers to the mobile app of the seller. In such scenarios, it is easier to navigate the users, keep a track of referrals, and offer a seamless experience to the customers.
4. Gives Possibilities for User Re-engagement
Chances are that your user has installed the app but haven't used it for a long time. With deep links, you can encourage them to get back to your app again. For example: Create offers, discounts, or deals for certain products and then notify them about it. Herein, when you push the notification, the deep link will take them directly to the page where offer details are available. Therefore, instead of navigating randomly across the app, the user can directly refer to the best that you have to offer them.
5. Improved Search Results and App Downloads
- Have you ever searched out for a product on web and get relevant results that takes you the mobile app. That’s because Google indexes the mobile app deep links. When you click on the link, you directly land on the specific page the looked after product is available.
- Say, you are planning an app-only business. You cannot put the website down immediately. In the slow and steady process of migrating your users from website to mobile, deep links can help. By converting your website links into deep links, you can let the users browse products, check out descriptions, price etc. and then take them to the mobile app for further processing. This way, you can engage the users on the current platform and increase app downloads as well.
Haven't Started App Deep Linking Yet?
Better late than never. Certainly, after going through the segment above, you must have realized the benefits of mobile deep linking. If your app doesn’t use it yet, it’s high time that you get started with it now.
