Deep linking has got to be one of the most talked about mobile trends of late, with app and web developers alike interested in how this can be used. So what exactly is deep linking, and how can it help drive e-commerce in future?

If you’re not already familiar with the term, deep links are hyperlinks that immediately direct users to a particular area of a site, bypassing the homepage. Likewise, this practice can be put in place to direct the viewer to certain app sections too, using a URI (Uniform resource identifier) to link to a specific location. This might occur when a user clicks on an advert link, call to action feature, push notification, or even a link in a brand’s email, taking he or she to an app landing page. It’s long been shown that users have disliked traditional banner ads or pop ups featuring a generic message, so the aim of deep linking is to help marketers drive traffic up the sales funnel, with the least amount of user friction created in the process.

Deep linking is an interesting area when it comes to mobile apps, because it automatically opens up a whole new set of entry points- users will have more options to choose from when visiting an app, instead of being taken to the home or log in page each time, or, to no further than an app’s download page. In this, we’ll start to see our apps take on a greater functionality, similar to our desktop or mobile sites. From our mobile browsers, app marketers will be able to immediately direct users to specific app landing pages via targeted campaigns. For instance, a marketer might create an ad featuring a specific product, with a link that takes the user to an app download page. Then, once the app is downloaded and opened, the user will immediately be shown the product in the app that relates to the ad. With this journey though, there is still the middle step of having to download the app- but if the user already has the app installed, this step will be bypassed. The other solution for a user who doesn’t already have the app, is that he or she will instead be directed to the company’s mobile site.

So how will global brands involve deep linking in future technology? Just a couple of months ago, Facebook for instance, announced that it would be extending its deep linking capabilities to include ads within its mobile app, in order to help marketers direct users to a precise location upon entry. And as far back as 2013/2014, Google launched App Indexing, allowing developers to have their apps appear in search results. This is something that Apple have also jumped on board with, announcing at its Developers’ Conference back in June, that it would soon connect deep linking capabilities with updated search features. The company stated that when iOS9 is launched, users searching for a particular topic or product will be presented with a selection of content from relevant apps, enabling them to download these in order to access the information they need. And if the user decides not to download, he or she will be able to access the precise page in that app, simply by clicking on the link presented. Therefore, through search and clickable campaigns, users will be able to choose exactly what they want to see, while deep linking from these will help marketers drive a greater volume of traffic to their apps. For both parties, it is clear that the future of mobile navigation will be a customized and seamless experience for both.

Are you a website, mobile or app developer interested in best linking practices? How do you think deep linking will impact the user experience in future? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.