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Set up organic search attribution

  • Updated

Get detailed attribution data about re-engagements (users who already have your app installed) from organic search engines and AI answer engines so that you can optimize your organic search and AI-driven conversions.

Overview

Organic search attribution is an attribution solution that allows AppsFlyer customers to attribute re-engagements (meaning mobile app opens of users who already have your app installed) to various organic search engines and AI answer engines.

Having access to this unique data is very useful to SEO (search engine optimization) and AEO (answer engine optimization) teams, and provides invaluable feedback on their SEO and AEO efforts.

Flow

Diagram showing the organic search attribution flow, from a user clicking a search result to the app opening or the user landing on a web page

The organic search attribution flow works as follows:

  1. A user searches for a term on their mobile browser search engine (Google, Bing, etc.). The search engine displays several clickable results.
  2. Your web developer maps some of these search results to open your mobile app using Android App Links and iOS Universal Links. If a user has the app installed, when they click the search result, the app opens (without redirecting to an app store first).
  3. Upon app launch, AppsFlyer collects the required information and can attribute the app open to the user's search engine.
  4. If the user doesn't have the app installed, they are sent to a web landing page, where you can use any of several AppsFlyer web-to-app solutions (like Smart Banners, Smart Script, or QR codes) to redirect and attribute them.

Setup

Prerequisites:

  • AppsFlyer Android SDK V6.12.1
  • AppsFlyer iOS SDK V6.12.1

To set up organic search attribution:

  1. Tell your developers to enable app opening by following the instructions for Android App Links and iOS Universal Links (using the app's top-level domain).
  2. In AppsFlyer, from the side menu, select Settings > App Settings, and turn on:
    • Organic search (SEO) mobile app attribution.
    • Re-engagement attribution.

A note for your developer

performOnDeepLinking forcefully consumes and resolves the deep linking URL when invoked. This will prevent the SEO attribution feature from functioning properly and will result in attribution not being reported to the correct SEO media source.

Data availability

Data is available as follows:

  • In aggregate data in dashboards and reports, the media_source field indicates which search engine the user arrived from. Example: google_organic_seo.
  • In raw data reports:
    • media_source field indicates which search engine the user arrived from. Example: google_organic_seo.
    • http_referrer field includes the base URL of the search results page, from which the user was sent to the app or mobile landing page.
    • channel field has value seo for organic search engine traffic, or aeo for AI answer engine traffic.

Additional information

List of supported search engines

Organic search attribution supports the following search engines:

  • Google
  • Bing
  • Yahoo
  • Ask
  • DuckDuckGo
  • Yandex
  • Naver
  • Daum
  • Baidu
  • Ecosia
  • Coccoc
  • Sogou
  • Yahoo Japan

For other search engines, use the legacy organic search attribution solution (requires developer input).

In dashboards and data reports, search engines display as <search engine>_organic_seo. For example: google_organic_seo.

List of supported AI answer engines

Organic search attribution also supports the following AI answer engines:

  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Perplexity
  • Manus
  • Copilot
  • Gemini
  • Grok
  • Deepseek

In dashboards and data reports, AI answer engines display as <AI engine>_organic_aeo. For example: chatgpt_organic_aeo.

FAQ
Does organic SEO attribution incur an additional fee?

No, this feature is included in your subscription.

Do organic SEO conversions count as part of my package?

Yes, same as non-organic conversions.

Can I customize the name of the SEO media source?

No. AppsFlyer determines the name of the organic SEO media source and can't be customized at this point.

If the search engine displays an install button next to the organic search results and the user clicks it and navigates to the app store, does AppsFlyer attribute the install to the search engine?

No. In this case, AppsFlyer can't collect the required information for attribution. Organic search attribution requires the app to be already installed.

Is keyword data available?

Keyword data isn't available via this organic search attribution solution. However, there are rare instances where keyword data is available for Android. See Android keyword data availability.

Is organic search attribution supported in an install flow?

Yes, you can see from which page users who installed your app arrived at your website.

Smart Script does this by:

  • Collecting the page's URL domain, referred to as the web referrer
  • Creating a relevant pid (later displayed as the media source) based on the user's specific origin
  • Mapping it to a parameter key of your choosing, such as af_sub1, in the outgoing URL

To learn how to set up Smart Script to collect the web referrer, see OneLink Smart Script V2 setup guide.

Traits and limitations
Trait Description
Browsers

Organic search attribution isn't supported by:

  • Firefox on Android
  • Any browser except for Safari on iOS.
SwiftUI apps (iOS) Organic search attribution is not supported for iOS apps built with SwiftUI.

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