Do you use mobile deep links?
 

Hi guys,

I work in a startup that offers advanced deep linking technology via its (free) platform for apps. I know that it's a huge opportunity for mobile marketing, but as far as I know it's not that widely used. Can you help me by answering a few questions:

Do you know what mobile deep linking is?
Do you know how it works?
Do you know its costs and benefits?
Do you use it?


For those who are not familiar with the technology, here is an introductory post from our blog.

Re: Do you use mobile deep links?
 

Deeplinking is a methodology for launching a native mobile application via a link.
Deeplinking connects a unique url to a defined action in a mobile app, seamlessly linking users to relevant content.

A deeplink functions much like a traditional hyperlink on a webpage. It is composed of separate elements that make up what is referred to as a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). The URI contains all the information that, when invoked, launches a mobile application with a specific screen.
When thinking about deeplink structure, the best practice is to implement a URL with a unique scheme name and routing parameters (path and query strings) that represent custom actions to take in the app. Unless you have very specific needs, I recommend using a simple URL structure as shown in the example below:

mobiledeeplinkingprojectdemo://path?query_string

Where mobiledeeplinkingprojectdemo is the scheme name and path and query string are the routing parameters used to further route the user to a particular experience in the app.

Enabling deeplinking for a mobile application will allow you to invoke deeplinks that open an app and launch specific, defined screens within the app, such as the homepage, product pages, and shopping cart, much as you would on a website.
For example, just as you might link to a particular page on your website –
Ecommerce Platform
You can link to a page screen in your mobile app –
nationkart.com/ecommerceplatform
Deeplinking is especially useful for promotional efforts because it allows you and any third party to open the app when a link is clicked, rather than driving to a website or to your app’s listing on the iOS App Store or Google Play.