OneLink™ 1/4: Converting users from owned media

A OneLink template represents the routing logic at the core of your links. A OneLink template is not a clickable link for your end-users; it is the foundation for generating many custom links. A OneLink template is where you record your decisions on how to redirect users, based on their platform, and on whether they have your app installed.

A single OneLink template can be the basis for creating many links, as we'll see later in this guide. It is rare to need more than one or two OneLink templates in the lifetime of an app (outside of testing).

Prerequisites: Either be an AppsFlyer account admin, or have admin permission to add/edit OneLink templates.

To create a OneLink template:

1. In the AppsFlyer dashboard, go to Experiences & deep linking > OneLink.
   OneLink is an account-level feature, which lets you create OneLink templates and their custom links for all your apps.
   

   

   Note: If you don't have any templates created, an onboarding wizard opens. Follow the directions in the wizard and disregard the rest of this procedure. 
2. Click Add OneLink template.
   The OneLink template setup page opens.
   

   

3. In the OneLink template name field, enter a name.
   
   

    Note

   • A good OneLink template name includes the name of the app (for example feed_me) or the use case or experience represented by the OneLink (for example pre_launch_landing_page).
   • The name should not include the campaign or channel name or media source (since this isn't the actual end-user link, just the underlying template to create many links), or the name of the platform (Android, iOS, since multiple platforms are usually the reason for using a OneLink template in the first place).
   • This template name is only used internally. It doesn't affect your marketing attribution data and is not seen by users.
4. In the Subdomain field, enter your subdomain name.
   • Choose a subdomain that matches your brand. For example, if your website is www.acme.com choose acme as your subdomain.
   • Only use lower-case letters, digits, or hyphen (-).
   • OneLink also supports fully branded links. Learn more

5. Select your Android app, iOS app, or both. This takes care of redirecting clicking users without your app to the correct app store. 
   

   • If you've selected an Android app and an iOS app, the template is configured to send new and existing users to their respective destinations.
   • If you've selected only one app, Android or iOS, the template is configured to send ALL users (iOS and Android, new and existing) to the single defined destination.
   • If you select an Android app that is not in Google Play, you must enter a URL to which Android users are redirected.
   • [optional] Redirect to third-party app stores if the app is in other stores besides Google Play. Make sure the app in the other stores has the same package name as the Android app selected in your OneLink template.
   • [optional] Change to a different URL: In some cases, you may prefer to take new users to a mobile web experience instead of directly to the app store (or your app may not be listed in the store). To implement, enter that URL in the URL field.
6. Skip When app is installed. This is discussed in the next guide.
7. [optional] Change destination for When link is clicked on desktop.
   
   • In some cases, your link might be clicked on a desktop computer, especially if it is sent via email or social media. If you expect a lot of desktop traffic to your link, you might want to send those users to a landing page or the main website homepage, or a page where they can request an SMS link on their phone, instead of the relevant app store.
   • By default, desktop users are redirected to your app's iOS App Store page, or to Google Play's app page, If an iOS app isn't defined.
8. [optional] Select apps from other platforms
   If you have a dedicated app version for the following:
   • Windows phone - activate toggle and select app or Change to a different URL.
   • iPad - activate toggle and select iPad app
   • Amazon Kindle Fire - activate toggle and add Amazon store ASIN or app page URL.
9. Click Save OneLink template (Update OneLink template for edited templates). 
   Your OneLink template is now created and can be used to create many different clickable links (see the following section).

To create a custom link based on the OneLink template:

1. In the AppsFlyer dashboard, go to Experiences & deep linking > OneLink
2. .
3. Select the OneLink template to add a custom link for:
   
   • New template - Click Add custom link.
   • Template with defined links - Click Add custom link or click on a Custom link name in the list to edit it.
     The Custom link page opens. 
4. In the Short URL field, customize the short URL ID to be a specific value (for example, your brand), or leave the default value as it is.
5. In the Attribution tab, you can select the parameters to attribute clicking users to a media source, campaign, channel, etc.  
   
   • Select a Campaign name (for example, summer 2020). This enables you to compare different campaigns under the same owned media source.
     Note: For the purposes of getting started or testing your link, name the media source 'test' and name the campaign 'getting started guide'.
   • Click on one of the suggested Owned media sources (for example, SMS) or select Custom to set a different name. The selected name is the Media source name, under which all clicking users' data is collected. Read more about selecting a good custom media source name.
   • Skip the Retargeting campaign toggle. We cover it in the following guide.
   • Click Add parameter to add more parameters, such as Ad set name, Ad name, Channel, your own custom parameters, or 1-5 Subscriber parameters. This enables a more granular analysis of your marketing efforts. Read more about the additional parameters.
   • [optional] Change the Click-through Lookback window value. Enable Customize lookback window to reveal the slider and set a Lookback window, 1-23 hours, or 1-30 days. If deactivated, the default value is 7 days. 
   • [optional] Set a fixed cost per install. Enable cost per install and select the currency and amount (a numeric ONLY value with up to 4 digits after the decimal point) representing what each new install costs you. This enables you to see the ROAS of your owned media campaigns.
6. Skip the Redirecting & deep linking and Social app landing page tabs.
   They will become useful when we enable deep linking, in the next guide.
   However, ONLY if you wish to redirect users to a different URL than the app page, you can do it in the Redirecting & deep linking tab by specifying custom Android and iOS URLs. 
   Note: 
   • If your OneLink template already has a set value for a custom URL, these custom link URLs override it.
   • If you have an Allowed link domains list, ensure the domain of this URL is in the list.
7. Click Generate Link.
   A popup displays prompting you to name your link.
8. Enter a name for your custom link. 
9. Click Generate link.
   A short URL and long URL are displayed, each with a corresponding QR code.

To test your link:

Prerequisites: A registered test device without the app.

1. In the AppsFlyer dashboard, go to Experiences & deep linking > OneLink.
2. Hover over the Actions icon of the link you want to test and click Get URL. 
3. Send the short or long URL to your phone. You can either:
   • Scan the QR code with your phone camera or QR scanner app.
   • Email or WhatsApp yourself the link, and open it on your phone.
     Note: Do not paste into iOS notes, or directly into a mobile browser. Often, the mobile operating system intentionally will not open the app in this context.
4. Click the link on your mobile device.
   Depending on your platform, it should take you to the app store or landing page.
   Note: A real click on a mobile device is needed. Javascript or 301/302 redirects can't trigger Universal Links and Android App Links. Even basic redirections fail with these methods on some browsers.
5. Download and launch the app.
6. In the AppsFlyer Overview dashboard look for a new install.
   Look for a new click and install under media source (e.g. test) and the campaign name you put in the URL.

Link not behaving as expected? Check out our troubleshooting guide.