How a tracking link carries a click to an install

What a tracking link is made of

A tracking link looks like a short web address on your MMP's domain or on a domain you own. Behind it sit three kinds of information.

• Where the click came from. Channel, campaign, ad group and creative names. You fill these in when you create the link, or the ad network fills them in with its own placeholders.
• Where the person should go. A store page for each platform, a web page for desktop, and a screen inside the app for people who already have it.
• Something to match on. A click ID that the link's server creates for this one click.

It differs from a web link with UTM tags, which only labels a visit to a website. The comparison is covered in UTM parameters versus tracking links.

What happens between the click and the install

1. The click. The person taps the ad or the post. The request goes to the MMP's server first.
2. The record. The server stores the time, the campaign details and the click ID. This stored click is a touchpoint.
3. The redirect. The server forwards the person. If the app is installed, a deep link opens it. If the app is missing, the person lands on the App Store or Google Play.
4. The install and first open. The person downloads the app and opens it. The SDK in the app tells the MMP that a new device has arrived.
5. The match. The MMP looks for a recorded click that belongs to this device and falls inside the lookback window. If it finds one, that link gets the install. If it finds none, the install is counted as organic.

How the click and the install are matched

On Android, Google Play can pass the link's details through the store. Its Install Referrer API returns the referrer URL of the installed app along with the times of the click and of the start of the install.^[1][1] The SDK reads this on first open, so the match rests on data the store itself carried. See the Google Play Install Referrer for the detail.

On iOS the match works differently. Which ones apply depends on the user's choice: unless the user gives permission to track, the device's advertising identifier is all zeros.^[2] The guide on how iOS and Android attribution differ explains what that changes in your reports.

Where first campaigns go wrong with links

• One link for everything. If two influencers share one link, you cannot tell them apart later. Create one link per placement.
• The raw store URL in the ad. A direct store link records nothing. Every install from it shows up as organic.
• Names changed halfway. Renaming a campaign inside a live link splits its results into two rows. Fix the naming pattern before launch and keep it.
• No destination for people who have the app. Existing users who tap the link should land inside the app. Set the in-app destination when you create the link.

What to do next

List every place your app will be promoted in the first month. Mark each one as either an ad platform integration or a tracking link. Create the links, click each one on a real phone, install the app and confirm the install appears under the right name. The pre-launch checklist puts this step in order with the rest of the setup.