Retargeting Attribution Guide

Retargeting Partner Setup

1. If tracking a retargeting campaign for the first time, enable retargeting on the app settings page first.
2. Click Integrated Partners on the left menu, select the partner you want to run retargeting with.
3. Set up the partner's configuration.
4. Toggle Retargeting Settings to ON.
   
   

   

   This converts the tracking link from a user acquisition type URL to a retargeting URL, by adding the is_retargeting=true parameter.
   
   
5. Select Use a standard tracking link for single-platform (app specific) link, or Use OneLink.
6. Enter a Deep Link URL, if needed (see Deep Link guide).
7. Copy the generated URL to be used with your retargeting campaign.
   The URL does not persist and can't be saved, so leaving the setup window deletes any URL setup you perform.

Retargeting Links Setup

AppsFlyer's retargeting links are very much like regular user acquisition links. You can create them for integrated partners that support retargeting, or for your owned media, using the link management page.

The following rules are important for recording retargeting engagements:

• The parameter is_retargeting=true is required for all cases.
• Each tracking link must hold the Device ID. For example:
  • idfa=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • advertising_id=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • android_id=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Retargeting Click-Through Lookback Window

The retargeting click lookback window works exactly like with user acquisition campaigns. It defines the maximum period of time after an ad is clicked, within which a retargeted user can be attributed to the ad. The lookback window is configurable with the tracking link parameter:

af_click_lookback={days}

When this is not configured, the default is 7 days.

Changing the Re-Engagement Attribution Window

Advertisers can change the Re-engagement Click Attribution window by setting the desired value on the re-engagement window slider. This automatically adds the af_reengagement_window parameter to the tracking link (which can also be added manually).

For example, af_reengagement_window=60d means all events reported within the first 60 days after the retargeting attribution occurs get attributed to the retargeting campaign.

https://app.appsflyer.com/id123456789?pid=remerge_int&af_dp=mydeeplink%3A%2F%2F&
clickid={clickid}&af_siteid={publisher}&idfa={device_id_raw}&sha1_idfa={device_id}
&af_sub1={creative_name}&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=60d

If af_reengagement_window does not exist on a retargeting link, AppsFlyer uses the default value of 30 days.

AppsFlyer's Retargeting Page

The Retargeting page allows you to view aggregated retargeting data of clicks, total conversions, re-engagements vs. re-attributions and revenue.

Once retargeting attribution is enabled on your AppsFlyer account, you can view your retargeting campaigns results in the dashboard by selecting Retargeting on the left menu.

The Widgets

Filters

The data filters at the top of the Retargeting page are identical to the Overview page. If you go back and forth between the pages, the filtering you have set persists.

Use the data filters to configure which retargeting information to see, based on media sources, countries (Geo) and date range.

Click on the Advanced search button to reveal the advanced filters, which are based on campaign names, channels or agencies.

You can also use the Group By button, to group the data by any of these dimensions.

Retargeting KPI Widgets

The retargeting KPIs allow you to see your retargeting campaigns status in a glance.

It shows you the total number of retargeting clicks (see FAQ), re-attributions and re-engagements, their summary (Conversions) and the LTV revenue attributed to these conversions.

Retargeting Clicks

Breakdown of daily clicks on retargeting links during the specified date range.

Re-engagements vs. Re-attributions

Breakdown of daily re-engagements by current users vs. re-attributions by past users, during the specified date range.

Aggregated Retargeting Report

The table allows you to compare the performance of media sources, countries, agencies and channels. You can click on each media source to drill-down to display the campaign-level, ad set level and single ad level data.

For each row you can see the number of clicks, conversions, conversion rate (Conversions / Clicks), revenue and ARPU. Currently the cost data is not available for retargeting campaigns, and therefore the Cost, ROI and eCPI columns are N/A.

Lifetime Value (LTV) Analysis for Retargeting Campaigns

AppsFlyer performs post-conversion analysis for both acquisition and retargeting campaigns.

• For re-engagements, AppsFlyer calculates the LTV based on all events reported after the re-engagement, if occurring within the re-engagement attribution window.
• For re-attributions, AppsFlyer calculates the LTV based on all events reported after the re-attribution.
• For new installs, AppsFlyer calculates the LTV based on all events reported after the install attribution occurs.

For examples of retargeting campaigns LTV, click here.

AppsFlyer's Retargeting Reports

The reports are parallel to the user acquisition performance and raw data reports.

The reports structure and column names are identical to their user acquisition equivalents, to allow for easy merging of user acquisition and retargeting data.

To access AppsFlyer's  aggregated and raw data retargeting reports, click Export Data on the left menu.

Retargeting Conversions Report

AppsFlyer's Retargeting Conversions report contains raw data of re-engagements and re-attributions. Some of the retargeting fields have different meanings than their parallel user acquisition names.

The following table explains the content of several columns, when in a retargeting report.

Unique Retargeting Reports Fields

Initial Requirements

To run retargeting campaigns your app must meet these minimum requirements:

Limitations

• View-through is not supported for re-engagements, except for Twitter & Doublelick.
• For Facebook, view-through is supported only with re-attributions, but not with re-engagements.
• Cost measurement is not supported for retargeting.
• Cohort, Retention and Pivot reports currently don't include retargeting data.

Retargeting LTV Examples

FAQs