What are app links?

你好！你好吗. Unless you speak Chinese you won’t know that says ‘Hello, how are you?’. Well, when I got the topic of app links to talk about, you may as well have asked me in Chinese.

After some time and research I’ve come up with an answer which I hope helps explain what they are and how they can benefit you and your app.

A simple description of an app link is; a link on a website that takes you to an app.

When you delve a little deeper into the description of app links you find that they are in fact a link that takes you to a specific location within a specific app. App links work in such a way that when your user clicks on a link, they are taken into your app rather than to your website to view the content.

Don’t worry, I already hear your next question, ‘What happens if they don’t have my app installed?’. Well, in this scenario you'd arrange for the link to head to your website or to a landing page that tells the user how they can download your app.

If you want an example to visualise the process, think of Google Maps. The user searches for an address in their browser and then clicks on the address on the little map. Clicking on this map takes the user to the address within the Google Maps app rather than bringing up a larger map with directions in their browser. See….it’s dropped me in a specific location - the address - within a specific app - Google Maps!

The benefit of using a is that you’re putting your user directly into an environment that you have specifically designed to give them the most enjoyable mobile experience. You’re also moving that user away from what they were previously doing and immersing them in your world. Once in, they are likely to have a look around at other parts of the app, whether that be viewing more events you have coming up, reading your blogs or perusing the other products you sell.

Considering how difficult I thought this subject would be I think it's one of my shortest blogs, it was actually easier to explain than I thought!

Thanks for reading and if you’d like to hear more from our Non-Techy team member or to be kept up to date with the other great blogs we have to offer then head back to the main blog page or subscribe to our newsletter below!