AppsFlyer is the market leader for deep linking, with their Deep Linking Suite being one of the most comprehensive and accessible that you’ll find. Within the Deep Linking Suite, you’ve got access to:
- Web-to-App
- QR-to-App
- Email-to-App
- Text-to-App
- Referral-to-App
- Social-to-App
- Deferred Deep Linking
- Link Management
It doesn’t get much better than that. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to deep linking; each section is specifically designed to create engaged users with frictionless journeys that deliver measurable results depending on the source intent. How they’ve designed web-to-app deep linking is completely different from social-to-app.
The results you’ll get will speak for themselves, with AppsFlyer stating their services deliver the following averages:
- 1.2M+ app visitors
- +35% uplift in user acquisition
- +30% increase in LTV
- +113% increase in app traffic
Let’s get into exactly what the AppsFlyer deep linking solution delivers.
What AppsFlyer Deep Links Are and Why Marketers Use Them
AppsFlyer delivers deep links through its unique, cross-platform smart link system called AppsFlyer OneLink.
The technology is so advanced and combines with their Unified Deep Linking (UDL), the SDK callback, and the API layer to solve the perennial problem for marketers—turning a click from any channel, such as paid, owned, earned, mobile, desktop, QR, email, or social, into a measurable and context‑preserving journey that lands a user in the right in‑app destination (or the right fallback) without breaking attribution.
And that’s exactly what you get with AppsFlyer.
AppsFlyer positions OneLink as the marketer‑facing mechanism to create links that combine attribution, redirection to the correct store or web fallback, and deep linking to a specific in‑app experience.
And that applies across multiple platforms and channels. It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in email-to-app and want to benefit from AppsFlyer’s ESP integrations that ensure links never break and the dots between email-to-app attribution are connected with analytics metrics, or web-to-app and the AppsFlyer Smart Banner and Smart Script technology that automatically generates deep links across banners, CTAs, and pop-ups, you can convert interest to engagement anywhere.
The result is always higher ROAS and customer lifetime value.
What Distinguishes AppsFlyer at a Technical Level?
At a technical definition level, AppsFlyer distinguishes:
- Direct deep linking: existing users who already have the app installed are taken directly into the app and then routed to a specific in‑app destination.
- Deferred deep linking: users without the app are routed to the appropriate app store (or fallback URL) and, on first open after install, are routed to the intended in‑app destination.
AppsFlyer’s link taxonomy is also useful for marketers planning campaigns:
- OneLink (multi‑platform link): You can use this when you need one link for multiple platforms and want to use Android App Links or iOS Universal Links to open the app. It understands where to direct a user regardless of whether an app is installed or not.
- Single‑platform link: You can use this when you only target one platform, or you rely on URI schemes rather than Universal/App Links.
OneLink is a measurement and routing wrapper around OS deep link mechanisms more than it is a focus on user experience.
It’s designed so that marketers can manage link setup and parameters centrally in the AppsFlyer UI and at scale through an API, and developers can implement a predictable in‑app listener (UDL).
OS‑Level Link Opening and In‑App Handling
AppsFlyer’s UDL flow is in three steps:
- The SDK is triggered either by deferred deep linking through a dedicated API or by direct deep linking from the OS, such as Android App Link, iOS Universal Links, or URI scheme.
- The SDK triggers an OnDeepLink callback/listener and passes a deep link result object.
- App code uses deep_link_value (and other returned parameters) to route the user to the intended in‑app experience.
Universal Links and App Links require proof of domain ownership and association through Apple’s AASA file and Android’s assetlinks file.
AppsFlyer notes these can be hosted by AppsFlyer or by the advertiser. By default, when you create OneLink templates and set up Universal/App Links, these files are generated and hosted by AppsFlyer.
Measurement and Attribution Flow, Including SKAdNetwork
In OneLink creation guidance, AppsFlyer mentions that users who click are redirected to the correct store/web/app destination and attributed to the selected media source (pid).
However, UDL introduces a measurement and design nuance marketers must plan for. For new users, UDL returns only deep link parameters and not rich attribution parameters, in line with iOS 14.5+ privacy standards.
With that, AppsFlyer warns that legacy deferred deep linking may not work reliably for iOS 14.5+ because it may depend on attribution data that isn’t available.
That said, it is all easy within the Deep Management Suite. One of the core features is Link Management, giving marketers a centralized workspace for creating and managing deep links at scale. You can do:
- Bulk link generation
- Branded domains
- Lifecycle controls
- OneLink API for automated link creation
And you can do all that from the marketing tools you get from AppsFlyer rather than thinking about developer involvement.
It’s difficult to find better than AppsFlyer in terms of the comprehensive set of tools they provide for deep linking and how easy it is to manage from your personalized dashboard.
We would recommend the pay-as-you-go Growth package that includes a Welcome Package with 12K free conversions for the first year, core marketing analytics, and 30 days of access to select premium add-ons. Following the Welcome Package, conversions are priced at $0.07 each.
