Deep links are a powerful tool for advertisers, creating a seamless experience by taking users who click on your ads directly to specific, relevant content within your mobile app. This reduces user friction and is crucial for the success of re-engagement solutions.
On this page
- Benefits of using deep links
- Supported deep link types
- Unsupported link types
- Deferred deep links
- Keep in mind
Benefits of using deep links
- Reduce user friction: Take users directly to the content they want to find, such as a specific product page or offer, rather than the app's homepage.
- Improve campaign performance: Create a seamless journey from ad to app, which is essential for re-engagement solutions like Web to App Connect (W2AC), App Dynamic Remarketing (AppDR), and App campaigns for engagement (ACe).
- Provide a secure experience: App links and Universal links are industry standards that are configured to be opened only by your app, preventing other apps from intercepting your traffic.
Supported deep link types
There are 3 types of deep links that Google Ads can support for App campaigns for engagement, app dynamic remarketing, and Search, Shopping, and Display campaigns.
|
Deep link types |
Definition |
Supported Google Ads products |
|---|---|---|
|
App links (Android) |
They use your existing website URLs, for instance www.example.com, to direct users with your app installed to the specified in-app content. If the app isn't installed, users are taken to your mobile website. |
Web to App Connect (W2AC), App engagement campaigns (ACe), App dynamic remarketing (AppDR), Deferred deep links (DDL), Display, Performance Max, Search, Shopping |
|
Universal links (iOS) |
They use your standard website URLs to take users with your app installed directly to the specified in-app page. For users without the app, they are directed to your website. |
Web to App Connect (W2AC), App engagement campaigns (ACe), App dynamic remarketing (AppDR), Display, Performance Max, Search, Shopping |
|
Custom schemes |
These are custom-created URIs that link to specific content within your app. If a user without the app clicks the link, they will see an error page. They are also less secure, as another company can claim your scheme. |
App engagement campaigns (ACe), App dynamic remarketing (AppDR) Note: Not supported for Web to App Connect (W2AC) |
Unsupported link types
To ensure user security and a consistent experience, Google Ads policy doesn’t support deep linking methods that involve redirects. A redirect occurs when a link sends a user to an intermediate domain before arriving at the final destination, which can introduce security risks and an inconsistent user journey.
Therefore, these following link types aren’t supported and doesn’t meet Google Ads requirements:
- Redirects: Any link that leads to a different domain than the one clicked is not permitted, as it creates a destination mismatch. The only exception is redirects within the same domain, for instance, sub.example.com to example.com.
- Third-party AAP links (App Attribution Partner links): Solutions from App Attribution Partners (AAPs), such as AppsFlyer OneLink or Branch Smart Links, aren’t supported because they inherently use redirects for tracking and routing, which conflicts with our direct-to-app policy.
- Firebase dynamic links: These links aren’t allowed in advertising due primarily to their use of redirects and potential reliance on fingerprinting, both of which violate Google Ads policies.
- Note: Firebase Dynamic Links are also scheduled for deprecation in Q3 2025.
Deferred deep links
Deferred deep linking is a feature for users who don’t yet have your app installed. When a user clicks your ad, they’re first taken to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store to download the app. After the installation is complete, the user is automatically directed to the specific, deep-linked content from the original ad. This functionality is supported for feed-based dynamic ads in App Campaigns and is built upon the foundation of App Links and Universal Links. Learn more About deferred deep linking.
Keep in mind
While deep linking solutions from App Attribution Partners (AAPs), such as Branch or AppsFlyer, cannot be used directly in Google Ads, advertisers using them are often already prepared for supported deep links.
The technical configuration for many third-party services is nearly identical to Google's requirements for App Links and Universal Links. If you use such service, you have probably already set up and hosted the necessary files on your website:
- For iOS: An apple-app-site-association (AASA) file.
- For Android: An
assetlinks.jsonfile.
There's no need to disable your existing third-party deep linking solution. You can implement Google-supported App links and Universal links to run simultaneously without conflicts. This allows you to continue using your AAP solution for other marketing channels while leveraging compliant App links and Universal links for your Google Ads campaigns.
