Deep linking and attribution use cases
Campaigns that all fail the same way — a new user installs, the app opens on the homepage, and the reason they tapped is gone. Each use case below is one scenario: how to set the links up, what the first screen should show, and the single metric that tells you it worked.
24 use cases, broadest first
For most apps
Channel cost reconciliation: one CPI across networks that each count their own way
Meta says 900, TikTok says 1,100, the dashboard says 1,400 — and nobody can explain the gap.
Performance & paid · Growth marketers
Read the walkthroughiOS measurementiOS after ATT: campaign-level truth when user-level attribution isn't on offer
Deterministic iOS attribution largely went away with App Tracking Transparency. SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit are what's left, and they need handling.
Performance & paid · Engineers
Read the walkthroughEmail linksEmail and lifecycle links: opening the app when it's installed, the store when it isn't
The oldest failure in mobile email — a campaign link that opens Safari on a phone that already has the app.
Growth marketers · Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughWeb to appWeb to app: moving a mobile web visitor into the app without losing their place
They're mid-checkout, or mid-article, on mobile web. They'd convert better in the app. The handoff has to keep their context.
Mobile product teams · Growth marketers
Read the walkthroughOnboardingOnboarding that knows where you came from: the first screen matches the ad's promise
'50% off your first order' shouldn't land on a generic welcome screen where the discount has to be found.
Mobile product teams · Growth marketers
Read the walkthroughShared contentUser-generated share links: when the thing that drives installs is the content, not the channel
A shared recipe, workout, playlist or listing. Not a referral — just sharing. The friend should land on what was shared.
Mobile product teams · Growth marketers
Read the walkthroughSMS campaignsSMS campaigns: a short link that opens the app, not the browser
High intent, a tight character budget, and the same failure as email — the link opens Safari on a phone that has the app.
Growth marketers · Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughRe-engagement adsPaid re-engagement: retargeting ads that open the app on the thing they promised
Ads aimed at people who already have the app. The click has to open the app on the promise, or the spend is wasted at the last step.
Performance & paid · Growth marketers
Read the walkthroughVerify firstVerify attribution before you spend: proving the funnel works in staging, not in a campaign report
Run the whole loop — click, install, first open, match — and check the audit log says deterministic before a single ad dollar goes out.
Engineers · Performance & paid
Read the walkthroughFor a growth motion
Flash sale: an e-commerce offer that survives the install gap
Turning a 24-hour flash sale into attributed, deep-linked installs that land on the deal.
Growth marketers · Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughReferral programmeReferral programme: friend-gets-friend that actually attributes
Friend-gets-friend referrals that survive install, credit the referrer, and resist abuse.
Growth marketers · Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughCreator campaignsCreator campaigns: a link per creator, so you know who actually earned the install
Fifty creators, one week, one question — which of them drove installs that stayed, and which drove numbers.
Growth marketers · Performance & paid
Read the walkthroughOffline to appOffline to app: a QR code that lands on the thing next to it
Posters, table tents, event badges, receipts. The scan is easy; landing on the right screen after install is the part that fails.
Growth marketers · Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughCart recoveryCart recovery: 'your basket is waiting' has to open the basket
A win-back message that opens the home tab is worse than not sending it. The link has to carry the cart.
Mobile product teams · Growth marketers
Read the walkthroughLaunch dayLaunch day: turning a waitlist into installs that land in the right onboarding
Pre-launch signups gave you an email. Launch day is when you find out which pre-launch channel gave you users.
Growth marketers · Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughGroup invitesGroup invites: landing inside the group, not at a 'join a group' screen
A class code, a team, a challenge, a private group. A fresh install should arrive already inside it.
Mobile product teams · Growth marketers
Read the walkthroughShort linksBranded short links: a URL short enough to say on a podcast
TV, radio, podcast reads, billboards, packaging. Nobody types a tracking URL from a billboard. They type go.yourapp.com/tv, if you're lucky.
Growth marketers · Performance & paid
Read the walkthroughSupport linksSupport deep links: 'go to Settings → Privacy → Export' loses half your readers
A support reply that opens the app on the exact screen instead of describing the route to it. Unglamorous, and it measurably cuts tickets.
Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughFor a business model
Release day: an artist drop that opens straight to the track
Turning a release-day link into installs that land on the track, crediting the channel that drove the stream.
Growth marketers · Performance & paid
Read the walkthroughSubscription funnelSubscription funnel: from a shared article to an attributed install
Moving readers from a shared article to an attributed app install that opens the same story.
Growth marketers · Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughAffiliate payoutsAffiliate payouts: paying partners per install without paying for manufactured ones
Partners paid per install have a direct incentive to manufacture installs. The evidence for a deduction has to be specific.
Performance & paid · Growth marketers
Read the walkthroughMarketplaceMarketplace listings: crediting the seller for the buyer they brought
Sellers share their listings. Buyers install and should land on the listing. The seller should get credit for the supply-side growth loop.
Growth marketers · Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughPackagingPer-SKU packaging: a code on the box that opens that product's setup
Companion apps for physical products. The code on the box should land on the setup, manual or refill screen for the thing in the box.
Mobile product teams · Growth marketers
Read the walkthroughCross-promotionCross-promotion: installing your second app from inside your first, with context intact
A company with two apps, promoting one from inside the other. The install should carry context and attribute to the placement, not to 'organic'.
Growth marketers · Mobile product teams
Read the walkthroughKeep reading
Every use case here depends on the same two things: link context surviving an install, and an honest answer to which click produced it. The mechanics are in the post-IDFA attribution playbook, the scoring model is published in full on our methodology page, and the rest of the writing is on the blog.