Using Universal Link/App Link-Enabled SmartLinks™ on Social Media Platforms

Contents

The following guide outlines how to set up and traffic Universal Link/App Link-enabled SmartLinks™ on social posts within Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other Apps with Built-In Webviews.

NOTE: This guide does not apply to Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, etc., as those do not accept 3rd party tracking URLs to be embedded in their ads. The steps outlined below are for the purpose of generating a SmartLink™ for optimal user experience when used within a social post.

Guide Overview:

Two separate guides have been created:

One In-App Destination Per SmartLink™ Overview:
1. The posted SmartLink™ would look like this:
  https://smart.link/abcdefghij
2. The if app is installed destination is set to:
  myapp://sandpoint
3. When this SmartLink™ is clicked, the user is taken to:
  myapp://sandpoint
Dynamic In-App Destination Overview:
The advantage of using a dynamic in-app destination is that you do not need a separate SmartLink™ for each specific in-app destination you want to send the user to.

This is accomplished by including a macro in your if app is installed destination, e.g., myapp://{city} and appending a parameter to your posted SmartLink™ URL, such as https://smart.link/abcdefghij?city=sandpoint which will inform the in-app destination: myapp://{city} → myapp://sandpoint.

When creating a different post, you can use the same SmartLink™, and simply change the value of the parameter on the SmartLink™, e.g., https://smart.link/abcdefghij?city=losangeles. A shopping app would likely use the product’s item ID, while a media app would use the article ID.
1. Posted SmartLink™ example 1:
  https://smart.link/abcdefghij?city=sandpoint
2. Posted SmartLink™ example 2:
  https://smart.link/abcdefghij?city=losangeles
3. Posted SmartLink™ example 3:
  https://smart.link/abcdefghij?city=paris
4. The if app is installed destination is set to:
  myapp://{city}
5. You can see that these three URLs are all the same SmartLink™ (all three have the same SmartLink™ ID) you are simply changing the city parameter value when posting it in different contexts.
6. When example 1 is clicked, the user will be taken to myapp://sandpoint.
  When example 2 is clicked, the user will be taken to myapp://losangeles.
  When example 3 is clicked, the user will be taken to myapp://paris.

Steps Required When Using One In-App Destination Per SmartLink™:

Create a SmartLink™ (SmartLink™ #1).
1. Set the Universal Link/App Link destination if app is installed: e.g., myapp://sandpoint
2. Set the if app is not installed destinations (typically the app store).
3. The output of the SmartLink™ should look like:
  https://your-brand-name.smart.link/123456789

NOTE: This SmartLink™ will sit behind the action button on the Landing Page. It is not the SmartLink™ that will be posted for users to click on.

Create a Landing Page.
1. Set the destination of the landing page to custom.
2. Enter the SmartLink™ you just created as the destination:
  http://your-brand-name.smart.link/123456789.
  Do not append any key/value pairs to the end of the SmartLink™ URL.
3. The output of the Landing Page should look like:
  https://pages.smart.link/my-landing-page-name

Create another SmartLink™ (SmartLink™ #2).
1. Ensure the domain selected is https://smart.link and not a custom domain (e.g., your-brand-name.smart.link).
2. On iOS, leave the if app is installed destination blank.
3. On Android, enter the in-app destination URI: e.g., myapp://sandpoint as the if app is installed destination.
4. Enter the landing page URL you just created as the if app is not installed destinations on both iOS and Android.
5. Do not append any key/value pairs to the landing page URL.The output of the SmartLink™ should look like: https://smart.link/abcdefghi
6. Post SmartLink™ #2.

Steps Required When Using a Dynamic In-App Destination:

Create a SmartLink™ (SmartLink™ #1).
1. Set the Universal Link/App Link destination if app is installed: e.g., myapp://{city}
2. Set the if app is not installed destinations (typically the app store).
3. The output of the SmartLink™ should look like:
  https://your-brand-name.smart.link/123456789

NOTE: This SmartLink™ will sit behind the action button on the Landing Page. It is not the SmartLink™ that will be posted for users to click on.

Create a Landing Page.
1. Set the destination of the landing page to custom.
2. Enter the SmartLink™ you just created:
  http://your-brand-name.smart.link/123456789.
  Do not append any key/value pairs to the end of the SmartLink™ URL.
3. The output of the Landing Page should look like:
  https://pages.smart.link/my-landing-page-name.

Create another SmartLink™ (SmartLink™ #2).
1. Ensure the domain selected is https://smart.link and NOT a custom domain (e.g., your-brand-name.smart.link).
2. On iOS, leave the if app is installed destination blank.
3. On Android, enter the in-app destination URI: e.g. myapp://{city} as the if app is installed destination.
4. Enter the landing page URL you just created as the if app is not installed destinations on both iOS and Android.
5. Add a key/value pair to the landing page URL in the destination box:
  https://pages.smart.link/my-landing-page-name?city={city}
  1. Posted Link:
    https://smart.link/abcdefghij?city=sandpoint→
  2. Landing Page:
    https://pages.smart.link/my-landing-page-name?city={city}→
  3. Final In-App Destination:
    myapp://{city}
6. The output of the SmartLink™ should look like:
  https://smart.link/abcdefghi?city={city}
7. Before posting the SmartLink™, be sure to replace the macro on the SmartLink™ URL with the context relevant to the post:
  https://smart.link/abcdefghi?city=sandpoint
8. Post the SmartLink™.