Contextual deep linking

Contextual deep linking is a type of deep link that gives developers the ability to provide users with a more personalized app experience after they open an app from a link. During the app onboarding process, contextual deep linking allows developers to infer data from these links that take users to a customized welcome screen after they download the app. Contextual deep links can be used to automatically apply a promotional code or to take people to a specific product in a mobile app retail environment.

Finally, marketers can use contextual deep links to gather more data on how their ad campaigns and marketing efforts are performing to deliver the highest ROI possible.

Deep links operate similarly to normal hyperlinks, except instead of directing users to a web page, they send users to a specific screen within an app. The main three types of deep links include:

• Basic deep links: Basic deep links can be included in any mobile channel and are used to send users to nearly any location within an app.
• Deferred deep links: Deferred deep links don’t require the users to have the app downloaded on their device and can still direct users to a specific screen within an app. They can be used to send a user to a specific screen after the user is directed to the app store and installs the app.
• Contextual deep links: Contextual deep links work just like basic links and deferred deep links, although in addition to redirecting users to a custom in-app location, they also measure insights such as where the referring site or source, which promo code they’re eligible for if any, and so on. 

By referring user information through the entire click, app install at the App Store or Google Play, and app opening experience, contextual deep links give developers and marketers the ability to provide a more personalized app onboarding experience, which in turn can increase user retention and lower customer acquisition costs. As Appier writes:

By minimizing the need for manual navigation once a link has been clicked and getting people where they want to go faster, deep links make the customer journey more seamless. This optimizes the overall app user experience and enhances customer satisfaction.

In order to make the most of deep links and contextual deep links, marketers and developers rely on third-party tools such as Singular as their mobile deep linking provider. As a leader in deep linking, Singular enables apps to provide better user experiences and a higher return on their marketing efforts by providing contextual user experiences that can increase app conversions with a more personalized onboarding and re-engagement experience. All of this is powered by Singular’s highly configurable deep links and deferred deep links.

Regardless of the marketing channel being used, whether on social, paid ads, or others, Singular enables marketers to use contextual deep links and ensure your users are receiving the best user experience possible. In addition to improving the user experience, Singular helps marketers optimize and measure their marketing efforts to make better decisions across channels and achieve the highest ROI possible.