Deep Linking Best Practices

Brian Wisniach -

If you understand the philosophy of “the shortest distance between two points being a straight line” then you are well on your way to understanding the power of deep linking, or if we may be so bold, “the shortest distance from user to conversion.”

What are deep links? Deep links are URLs that send users directly to a specific page or piece of content inside an app, bypassing the home screen entirely. This means users land exactly where they intended, without extra steps, which improves their experience and increases the likelihood of conversion.

Below, we’ve laid out the benefits of deep linking, best practices for creating and optimizing deep links, and advice on tracking the performance of deep links. With the right approach, deep linking can meaningfully improve user engagement, increase conversions, and make your app easier to discover.

What is deep linking?

Deep linking is the practice of using unique URLs (or URIs) to send users from a webpage, email, or push notification directly to a specific page within an app. By sending users directly to the content they are looking for rather than your app homepage, deep linking creates a frictionless user experience.

Deep links also give developers the ability to build precise user journeys and give marketers a way to track the success of their campaigns.

Benefits of deep linking for user engagement and conversion rate

When users click on a link, they typically have a clear idea of where they expect it to take them. The better you deliver on that expectation, the higher your user engagement will be. Deep links reinforce user engagement by sending users from ads, emails, or other apps straight to a product page, app screen, checkout page, tutorial, or any other desired location, instantly delivering high-interest content without requiring them to hunt through irrelevant pages to find what they came for.

For mobile apps in particular, deep links represent enormous potential for strengthening the user experience:

  • Deep links send users to specific product pages, promotional offers, or checkout flows, eliminating unnecessary steps and simplifying the conversion process.
  • By directing users to specific app features based on their preferences, past interactions, or targeted campaigns, deep linking increases engagement and encourages users to spend more time within the app. This makes deep linking one of the more effective push notification best practices, since a notification is only as useful as the experience it delivers on the other side.
  • Deep linking also improves app discoverability. When app content is indexed by search engines, users can find and access specific in-app content directly through web search results.

Deep linking also supports user retention by giving users a direct path back into your app or website after a period of inactivity, making it a useful tool within any customer retention platform strategy. Some examples of implementing deep linking into your re-engagement campaigns may include:

Drive feature adoption, user education, and revenue

Add deep links to notifications to send users directly to relevant content or features within your app, such as personalized recommendations, exclusive offers, or unfinished tasks. This approach drives feature adoption, supports user education, and creates natural opportunities to increase revenue.

Recover abandoned carts

Deep links targeted at users who have abandoned their shopping carts are one of the most effective push notification best practices for recovering lost sales. Sending a push notification with a deep link that leads directly to the abandoned cart gives users a fast, effortless way to resume their purchase and significantly increases the chances of conversion.

Share personalized recommendations

Combining deep linking with personalized recommendations based on user preferences gives dormant users a direct path back to relevant content. When push notifications include deep links to recommended products, articles, or videos, users are more likely to re-engage and rediscover what your app offers.

Encourage app downloads

For web-first companies with a mobile app, deep links are a straightforward way to route website visitors directly to your app install page, making them a useful tool within any push notification strategy. Whereas generic user journeys have a 5% Click-to-Install (CTI) rate, deep linking-enabled journeys deliver up to six times higher conversion rates.

Crafting targeted campaigns with targeted deep linking is about as close as you’ll get to creating a conversion out of thin air. It’s a low-lift case of “give the people what they want” — lightning fast navigation and hyper-relevant content.

Benefits of deep linking for data & analytics

Deep links offer companies valuable insights into how their products are being used, allowing them to track user behavior and identify areas of improvement.

By implementing a messaging analytics tool, you can track things like screen views, drop-off points, and popular pathways. This data can help you improve the UI, build higher-converting app pages, and refine the customer journey. Deep links give developers and marketers a clear path to meaningful improvements in customer satisfaction and revenue, making them a practical addition to any customer retention platform.

Deep linking vs. traditional linking: What’s the difference?

There are three primary differences between deep linking and traditional linking.

1. Deep linking provides a direct route to the specific content a user is looking for. Traditional linking only directs users to the homepage of a website or application, which can create a frustrating, time-consuming experience. For example, you own a travel app and are attempting to link users from a promotional email to their trip itinerary. A traditional link would only take users as far as opening the app to the homescreen, requiring them to navigate the rest of the way. A deep link would take them to the correct itinerary screen directly.

2. Deep links support stronger customer retention and higher conversion rates by sending users directly to the content they're looking for within an app or website, making them a core feature of any effective customer retention platform.

Traditional links don’t always drive traffic straight to the desired app screen and therefor have limited effectiveness when it comes to driving conversions.

3. Deep links enable accurate attribution of user actions to specific marketing campaigns or sources. When a user interacts with a deep link and performs an action, such as installing an app or completing a purchase, the deep link captures that information and attributes it to the relevant campaign or source. This lets you measure the impact of each campaign on user acquisition, conversions, and broader business goals.

While traditional links offer tracking and attribution capabilities for web-to-web communication, they do not offer this advantage for web-to-app or app-to-app communication.

Choosing the right approach: App-to-app deep linking cersus web-to-app deep linking

There are two main approaches to deep linking: app-to-app and web-to-app. Using both is often beneficial, but the right approach depends largely on your business model and goals. You may also want to explore additional forms of deep linking, like QR-to-app.

App-to-app deep linking lets you share content directly between users who have the same app installed. This is especially beneficial for companies with multiple apps or with affiliate apps they partner with. Take this deep link example: You run an eCommerce platform that just sent out an email promotion for a discounted product. When your users open their email on their phone and tap the promo link, it opens your app, navigating users directly to the product page and pre-populating it with the specific discounted item. The user can then easily view the product, review the details, and proceed with the purchase directly within the app.

Web-to-app deep linking converts web traffic into app downloads or in-app actions through campaigns like email or SMS. Imagine a user who comes across a promotional banner on a website for your travel booking app. The banner advertises exclusive deals for a popular vacation destination. With web-to-app deep linking, tapping the banner takes the user directly to the relevant section within your app, where they can view deals, check available flights or accommodations, and complete the booking without friction.

Combining both approaches lets you capture organic mobile web traffic while giving existing customers quick access to relevant content. For example, a promotional email campaign can use web-to-app deep links for desktop users and app-to-app deep links for mobile users, routing everyone to the same destination within your app. This kind of unified messaging strategy is central to an effective customer retention platform, where consistent, context-aware experiences keep users engaged across channels.

Remember, every business will have a different approach and require a different linking strategy, so always test different types of deep links and track every click in order to measure performance over time.

Best practices and considerations for iOS and Android deep linking

Deep linking is a powerful tool, though it can be difficult to implement correctly. When creating deep links, it’s crucial to ensure that the correct page is opened when your users click on a link. To ensure this, you should be using Universal Links on iOS (that are compatible with Safari), which are linked to specific content within your app. For Android users, you should be using App Links, which are linked to content within an app or website.

It is also important to remember that some features may not work across all platforms, such as deferred deep linking on Apple devices. Testing your deep links before deployment is essential to confirm they open correctly across all platforms.

What is a deferred deep link?
A deferred deep link is a two-step link that takes a user to their app store to download your app, then also takes them to a specific page within your app after downloading.

When choosing a cross-channel customer engagement platform, confirm that it supports deep linking. Deep links directly drive app conversions and strengthen re-engagement campaigns across every channel. You can include them in email campaigns, social media posts, and push notifications to create a consistent user experience across touch points and increase the overall impact of your messaging.

Best practices for writing deep link text

Deep linking goes beyond the technical setup. Writing effective deep link text requires care, because the words you choose directly influence whether users tap, engage, and return to your app, which matters for push notification performance and overall customer retention.

Big SEO value, small package

Writing impactful and SEO-friendly deep link copy will help ensure that users are directed to the right page while also optimizing the chances of conversion. Deep link text should be concise and easy to read. Keep it under 25 characters so that it’s easy for users to understand without having to scroll over or click on a “more” button. Most importantly, always make sure your text includes relevant keywords for where it’s linking to.

Avoid clickbait tactics

Don’t overpromise with your link copy! The last thing you want is to frustrate users if they don’t get what they expect after clicking on your link. Keeping your language clear and honest is one of the most effective push notification best practices for deep links: readers should know exactly what they'll find before they click.

Take these hypothetical deep link examples:

1. Get started with OneSignal for free! Boost app engagement with unlimited mobile push notifications here: [Deep Link URL]

  • This copy grabs attention, shares a clear offer, and highlights a specific benefit users will actually receive.

2. Click here for full free access to all the crosschannel messaging features you could ever need with OneSignal: [Deep Link URL]

  • This copy is generic and overpromises by implying users will receive "all the features they will ever need," which sets an expectation no product can meet.

Include a call to action

Include a clear call-to-action with each deep link you create. Giving users something specific to do after clicking increases the likelihood they'll convert into customers or leads once they reach their destination page.

Deep links are only as effective as their URLs are optimized with keywords. To get the most out of your web-to-app deep links, create a keyword strategy tailored to your target audience. You want to make your deep link URL as easy as possible for search engines to understand. Here are a few tips on how to optimize a web-to-app deep link URL with keywords:

  1. Include Keywords in the deep link URL: This one is easy — Make sure your deep link URL contains relevant keywords. This will help ensure that search engines can accurately identify and prioritize your content, which can help improve visibility and engagement. It’s also important to keep URLs concise while still including relevant keywords when possible.
  2. Choose an Appropriate Domain Name & Subdomain: Choosing the right domain name and subdomain can also help optimize deep link performance by making it easier for search engine crawlers to find them. It’s best practice to use a unique domain name or subdomain for each type of content you want users to access via deep links so that they are easily identifiable by search engine crawlers.
  3. Use Meta Tags & Structured Data: Meta tags and structured data improve SEO performance by giving search engine crawlers additional information about your content as they index your website or app pages. Structured data adds context around different content types, including associated images or videos, which can increase visibility in search results. For apps relying on push notifications, pairing strong deep link SEO with push notification best practices ensures users land on the right in-app content after tapping a notification.

A single page that consolidates multiple deep links gives search engine crawlers a clear path to all your content, making the indexing process more effective. Navigation elements like breadcrumbs also help search engine crawlers understand the context of each page, which supports better push notification deep link targeting when users arrive from search.

Using app indexing and app packs to boost search engine visibility

App indexing and app packs can improve your presence in search engine results pages (SERPs), giving your app more opportunities to appear alongside relevant web results.

An app pack is a collection of multiple related apps grouped together as a single entity. This feature is currently only available on the Android platform and allows users to download and install multiple apps from a single listing, simplifying the process of acquiring multiple apps at once. App packs provide users with a convenient way to acquire and manage related apps, while developers benefit from streamlined installation and update processes.

App packs are typically used to bundle related apps developed by the same company or serving a similar purpose. For example, a productivity app pack might include a word processor, a spreadsheet tool, and a presentation app from the same developer.

Considering this, it becomes easier to imagine the “deep linking domino effect” potential here.

When someone conducts a search related to the content your app provides, they are displayed a SERP result showcasing installed apps alongside web results. Such results will include both your logo and name, along with reviews or ratings from other users as well.

When users land on an app pack that delivers a strong experience, engagement and ratings tend to rise across every app in the bundle. That positive feedback loop improves the reputation and ranking of each individual app, which can translate directly into better visibility in app store search results — reinforcing why app packs are a practical part of any mobile app messaging strategy for developers looking to grow their user base organically.

Which KPIs to track for deep linking

Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential for measuring the success of deep linking. Without consistent KPI tracking, businesses lose visibility into how their deep linking efforts affect user engagement and conversion rates.

Several metrics should be monitored to get an accurate picture of how well your deep linking efforts are performing. These include:

  • Click-through rate and impressions generated through deep links
  • New users acquired
  • Number of users who completed in-app actions
  • Number of users who abandoned the app after clicking on a deep link
  • The average session length for users who clicked on a deep link

Tracking these metrics over time reveals how well your deep linking strategy is working and where it can be improved.

Analyzing all data together, rather than isolating any single metric, gives you a fuller view of deep link performance and supports more informed decisions about your customer retention strategy.

How to use A/B testing to optimize your deep linking strategy

A/B testing is one of the most reliable ways to sharpen your deep linking strategy. By comparing two or more versions of the same link, you can measure which performs better based on real user behavior — click-through rates, session depth, and conversion actions. You could also use A/B tests to determine the best placement for your deep links across different pages on your website or app.

Analyzing the results lets you place deep links where they have the most impact, improving user engagement and supporting broader customer retention goals across your website or app.

Deep linking is just the beginning

Delivering targeted messages to the people most ready to convert is straightforward with OneSignal. With push notification personalization, email segmentation, bulk SMS, and custom in-app messaging, you can reach your audience wherever they are at the right moment — making OneSignal a complete customer retention platform for businesses that want to engage and keep their users.

Deep linking for email is built directly into the platform, so you can set it up in minutes without extra configuration.

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