Create an effective deep linking strategy when using Web to App Connect (original) (raw)

Web to App Connect is a feature set that provides a central hub within Google Ads to ensure that your current web campaigns, including your Search and Performance Max campaigns, direct traffic to a user-installed app. By using Web to App Connect, you can drive on average a 2.8 times increase in conversion rates for ad clicks* landing in your app compared to your mobile website. Learn more About Web to App Connect.

Deep linking, which allows you to send users who click on your ads directly to specific, relevant pages with your mobile app, is key for enabling this seamless web-to-app journey.

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*Source: Google Data, Global divisions, April 2025.

Ensure compatibility and security by using the correct types of deep links for your advertising needs. Web to App Connect only supports industry-standard deep links that don’t use redirects.

Type of deep link Definition OS Compatibility Recommended for Web to App Connect?
App links The industry standard for Android. These links use your existing website URLs, such as https://example.com/product/123, to take users who have your app installed directly to the corresponding in-app content. Android Yes (Required)
Universal links The industry standard for iOS. Similar to App Links, these use your standard website URLs to direct users with your app installed to the relevant in-app page. iOS Yes (Required)
Custom schemes Custom URIs you create to link to in-app content, such as example://product/123. NOTE: These are not recommended as they can lead to an error page if a user doesn't have the app installed. They are also less secure. Android, iOS No (Not supported)
Third-party redirect links Deep linking solutions offered by some third parties that use redirects. Redirects aren’t permitted by Google Ads policy for Web to App Connect due to security and user experience concerns. Android, iOS No (Not supported)

Note: URL redirects aren’t supported due to potential security and privacy risks like phishing or malware. To protect users and maintain high-quality ads and seamless user experience, Google Ads policy mandates that the click destination URL must directly link to the final landing page.

Set up deep linking for Web to App Connect

Google provides several tools to assist you and your developers with deep link implementation and validation.

Note: Developer support is often required to set up deep linking. Review the section titled “Developer involvement” to learn more.

Deep linking tools in Google Ads

To access the different deep linking tools in your Google Ads account, follow these steps:

  1. In your Google Ads account, click the Tools icon Tools Icon.
  2. Click the Planning drop down in the section menu.
  3. Click App advertising hub and then select either the Deep link impact calculator tab or the Deep link validator.

This tool helps you identify web URLs that are good candidates for deep linking and estimates the potential conversion uplift from implementing them. Learn more About the Deep link impact calculator.

This tool allows you to check if your App Links for your entire Android app or Universal Links for specific iOS URLs are configured correctly. It provides a report on any issues found and how to fix them. Learn more About the Deep link validator and How to use the Deep link validator.

When you create your App campaigns for engagement ads and enter your deep link in Google Ads, you can often click a "Test App URI" or similar option to test your deep link on a mobile device, sometimes by scanning a QR code.

Developer involvement

Your app developer will need to implement the deep link handling logic within the app. For App Links and Universal Links, web developers may also need to host an association file on your website.

Developer tools

Developer platforms

Developer resources

Share these resources with your development team for detailed implementation instructions.

FAQs

What happens if a user clicks my ad but doesn't have my app installed?

If a user doesn't have your app installed, they’ll be seamlessly directed to the corresponding page on your mobile website.

Even after you implement deep links, Google Search will use web page content, rather than your app content for indexing and ranking, so your app content will not affect your Search rankings.

Note: To provide the best user experience, we recommend that you deep link to app pages with content that matches your web content. If your web page and app page correspond, the title and snippet shown for your website on Google Search will effectively relate to the app page that the user gets deep linked to.

No. Web to App Connect requires the use of industry-standard App Links (Android) and Universal Links (iOS) as the final URL in your ads. Third-party solutions that rely on redirects aren’t supported. However, you can implement App Links and Universal Links for your Google Ads campaigns while continuing to use other solutions for other channels.

Can I A/B test the performance of a deep-linked ad versus a standard mobile web ad?

You can use the Custom Experiments feature in Google Ads to test performance. To do this, you’d need to create two identical versions of a landing page with two different URLs—one that is deep-linked and one that isn’t—and run an experiment to compare their performance.

What if my app requires a user to log in?

This is a common scenario. The best practice is to ensure that after a user logs in, they’re automatically forwarded to the specific deep-linked page they were trying to reach, rather than being dropped on the app's home screen. This maintains a seamless journey.

Next steps

Know where to begin your Web to App Connect setup in the App advertising hub.
Learn more About Web to App Connect.

Use this guide to pitch deep linking implementation to your developer team.
Go to the Deep linking: A developer’s guide.

Follow the guided workflow to identify, fix, and launch your deep links in campaigns.
Learn how to Set up deep linking.

Identify missed conversion opportunities by highlighting web URLs that need deep linking.
Learn more About the Deep link impact calculator.

Generate insights from deep link impact calculator to identify conversion gaps in your App campaigns.
Learn How to use the Deep link impact calculator.

Identify and fix configuration issues on your Android and iOS deep links.
Learn more About the Deep link validator.

Conduct comprehensive validations of your deep links across Android and iOS platforms.
Learn How to use the Deep link validator.

Prioritize deep linking to help drive engagements and conversions and optimize campaign performance.
Learn how to Drive better App engagement with deep links.

Understand how deep linking performance is measured and attributed within Google Ads.
Learn How deep linking performance is measured.

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