Introduction
AppsFlyer uses attribution links to record many elements relevant to the users clicks and impressions of mobile ads.
When a user clicks on an AppsFlyer attribution link the URL is saved in AppsFlyer's data bases, and the user is redirected to download the app. Supported parameters in the link get parsed and are available via AppsFlyer's raw data reports for advanced analysis.
AppsFlyer base attribution link
The base attribution link contains the minimum information to record the click and redirect the user to download the app. Additional parameters may be added to the link after the '?' character, to record extra information.
http://app.appsflyer.com/{app_id}
The base attribution link goes to AppsFlyer via app.appsflyer.com. It contains the {App_id} parameter, which is the Application ID for Apple iTunes/App Store app, or the package name for Google Play.
Example
http://app.appsflyer.com/com.greatapp?pid=chartboost_int&c=christmas_sale&af_adset_id=54822Attribution link parameters
The following parameters are available to use within the generated attribution link.
Limitations on the length of parameter values is detailed here
| Parameters | Display Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| pid | Media Source | Media source name - provided by AppsFlyer for integrated partners and should not be changed. More details. |
| c | Campaign | Campaign name - provided by the advertiser/publisher. Campaign names that exceed 100 characters in length are displayed on the dashboard as "c_name_exceeded_max_length" |
|
af_prt |
Agency |
Agency Account Name - enables attributing new installs to the agency |
|
af_mp |
Marketing Partner |
Allows marketing partners of major publishers to receive postbacks per install NoteCurrently this parameter is relevant only for Pinterest Marketing Partners. |
|
clickid |
N/A |
The Ad network unique click identifier |
|
af_siteid |
Site ID |
Ad Network publisher ID |
|
af_sub_siteid |
Sub Site ID |
Ad Sub-Network/Publisher ID |
|
af_c_id |
Campaign ID |
Campaign ID - provided by the advertiser/publisher |
|
af_adset |
Adset |
Adset Name - provided by the advertiser/publisher. Adset is an intermediate level in the hierarchy between Campaign and Ad. See more |
|
af_adset_id |
Adset ID |
Adset ID - provided by the advertiser/publisher |
|
af_ad |
Ad |
Ad Name (see more) - provided by the advertiser/publisher |
|
af_ad_id |
Ad ID | Ad ID - provided by the advertiser/publisher |
|
af_ad_type* |
Ad Type |
Ad Type - use one of the following name conventions: |
|
af_click_lookback |
Lookback Window for Click Attribution. This window's duration is the maximum CTIT (Click Time to Install) for the new user to be attributed to the source displaying the ad/link. |
Configurable number of days for the lookback click attribution period. Available parameter values: 1d - 30d (days) OR 1h-23h (hours). The default value is 7d. NoteOnly affects click URLs and not impression URLs. |
|
af_viewthrough_lookback |
Lookback Window for View-through Attribution |
Configurable number of days for the lookback view-through attribution period. Available parameter values: 1h - 48h (hours) OR 1d - 7d (days). The default is 1d. NoteOnly affects impression URLs and not click URLs |
|
is_retargeting |
Is Retargeting Campaign? |
The click URL of all retargeting campaigns must include |
|
af_reengagement_window |
Re-Engagement Window |
Change the re-engagement attribution window by adding this parameter to the attribution link. The possible window range options are:
Default value: 30days Example: |
|
af_channel |
Channel |
The media source channel through which the ads are distributed, e.g., UAC_Search, UAC_Display, Instagram, Facebook Audience Network etc. |
|
af_keywords |
Keywords |
Keywords list for text-targeted campaigns |
|
af_cost_model |
Cost Model |
Cost model - CPI (default) is currently the only supported model, which can populate cost value in AppsFlyer's aggregated data, e.g. on the dashboard's overview page. |
|
af_cost_currency |
Cost Currency |
Currency code (e.g. USD, EUR). Find all possible currency codes. Default value is USD. |
|
af_cost_value |
Cost Value |
Conversion cost value. Supporting up to 4 digits after the decimal point. Important!Set ONLY numerical digits (use the decimal point if needed), e.g., "56", "2.85" etc. |
|
af_sub1 |
Sub Param 1 |
Subscriber Parameter 1 - Optional custom parameter defined by the advertiser. For more information about the usage of these parameters check the FAQs section. |
| af_sub2 | Sub Param 2 | Subscriber Parameter 2 |
| af_sub3 | Sub Param 3 | Subscriber Parameter 3 |
| af_sub4 | Sub Param 4 | Subscriber Parameter 4 |
| af_sub5 | Sub Param 5 | Subscriber Parameter 5 |
| af_r | N/A | Redirect users to the specified URL for both platforms (Android and iOS) |
| af_web_dp | N/A | Redirect desktop users to a different web page than configured in the OneLink template. Use this to keep attribution data of desktop users on other platforms (e.g. Google Analytics or Omniture) |
| af_dp | N/A | The path for an internal activity in the app that users are deep linked into. Use this for deep linking and retargeting |
| af_force_deeplink | N/A | Force deep linking into the activity specified in af_dp value |
| af_ref | N/A |
Ad networks working with S2S clicks can send a unique referrer value using the following parameter: &af_ref=ReferrerValue
The af_ref value must consist of a unique value, structured as follows:
NetworkName_UniqueClickValueForEachClick
Example: af_ref=networkname_123456789ABCDEF
The network name can be any valid string. It can be networkname_int or just networkname.
AppsFlyer may use this parameter for attribution in Android devices. AppsFlyer doesn't use this parameter for attribution in iOS or Windows devices.
|
| is_incentivized | true/false |
Incentivized or non-incentivized campaigns
|
| af_param_forwarding | When set to false, parameters that are on the attribution link are not forwarded to the redirected page |
Use this for a cleaner looking URL in the redirected page, or if attribution link parameters might cause issues due to query parameter handling on the redirected page
|
*Depending on the ad type, you can also send the relevant viewability parameter detailing the specifications of the engagement. Below is a list of possible values for “af_ad_type” along with the expected viewability parameters.
| Parameter | Value format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| af_video_total_length | seconds (e.g. "30") | The total possible duration of the video |
| af_video_played_length | seconds (e.g. "2") | How much of the video was viewed |
| af_playable_played_length | seconds (e.g. "30") | How long the playable element was played once fully loaded |
| af_ad_time_viewed | seconds (e.g. "1") | How long the ad unit was visible on the screen |
| af_ad_displayed_percent | % (e.g. "75") | The maximum percentage of the ad unit that was visible on the device screen |
| af_audio_total_length | seconds (e.g. "30") | The total possible duration of the audio |
| af_audio_played_length | seconds (e.g. "2") | How much of the audio was heard |
Android specific parameters
| Parameter | Display Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
advertising_id |
Advertising ID |
Google Advertising ID - Requires ad network support |
|
sha1_advertising_id |
N/A |
Google Advertising ID hashed with SHA1 - Requires ad network support |
|
android_id |
Android ID |
Device Android_id - Requires ad network support |
|
sha1_android_id |
N/A |
Device Android_id hashed with SHA1 - Requires ad network support |
|
af_android_url |
N/A |
Redirect Android users to a different URL than the app's page on Google Play. Use for out-of- store apps |
|
sha1_el |
N/A |
Used for desktop to mobile attribution - email hashed with SHA1. Requires ad network support |
|
fire_advertising_id |
N/A |
Amazon's Fire Advertising ID |
iOS Specific Parameters
| Parameters | Display Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
idfa |
IDFA |
Apple Advertiser ID - should be provided using upper case format. Requires ad network support |
|
af_ios_url |
Redirect iOS users to a different URL than the app's page on iTunes |
Use this for landing page redirections |
|
af_ios_fallback |
N/A |
Supply fallback URL for users of iOS 10.3 users |
|
sha1_idfa |
N/A |
Apple Advertiser ID hashed with SHA1. Requires ad network support |
|
mac |
N/A |
Device mac address. Requires ad network support |
|
sha1_mac |
N/A |
Device mac address hashed with SHA1. Requires ad network support |
Example
http://app.appsflyer.com/{app_id}/?pid=airpush_int&c=RedBanner&
af_siteid={publisher_id}&af_sub1=1.5&af_sub2=USD&af_sub3=burst_campaign
All parameters are available in the Installation Report and the Analytics, Reports and APIs.
Why is PID (Publisher ID) the Most Important Parameter?
Among all available attribution link parameters PID stands out as the only parameter that MUST be included in every attribution link.
PID, Publisher ID, is actually the Media Source name. This is the primary field for attributing the install to its source.
Each one of AppsFlyer's Integrated Partners has its own unique PID value, which ends with "_int". When using Custom Attribution Links you can set any PID name you'd like, as long as it's not reserved by integrated partners.
Here are some examples of important integrated publisher IDs: organic, googleadwords_int (Google AdWords), Facebook ads, Twitter. You can use any name for non integrated sources like email, sms or mail pigeons.
Avoid these common pid issues
Consider the following PID rules when using this parameter:
Without the PID on the attribution link the user is automatically attributed to a "None" media source and the original installation source is gone.
Tip
Avoid using white spaces in the PID value, or make sure to URL encode your attribution links before using them.
Levels of data granularity
You can use up to four URL parameters to reach deep dive into your ads performance.
Using all 4 parameters on all your active attribution links enables you to:
- Attribute all user installs and events to specific ads
- Drill down and compare performance of all your ads per ad set, per campaign and per media source on aggregated reports to optimize on every level
- Compare all of your ads across all media sources on the raw data reports and Pivot table
The parameters are:
Media source (pid=)campaign name (c=)Ad set (af_adset=)Ad name (af_ad=)
Example
The following attribution link uses 4 levels of granularity to record the "cashmere" ad in the "coats" ad set in the "winter" campaign running on the integrated "networkx" media source.
http://app.appsflyer.com/com.greatapp?pid=networkx_int&c=winter&
af_adset=coats&af_ad=cashmereFAQs
Should I use lower or upper case letters for parameters
You can use either but you need to be consistent. If you set a custom parameter with upper or lower case characters, make sure to always use that parameter.
For example, if you set pid=MyMediaSource make sure to always use it. If you use pid=MyMediaSource on one attribution link and pid=mymediasource on another, discrepancies in data might occur. The same goes for any other param that you set on the attribution link.
Is AppsFlyer's attribution link dynamic or static?
How can you tell if a link is dynamic or static?
If the attribution link contains parameters, it's a long pre-defined attribution link, and therefore static.
Only shortened URLs, used for custom attribution links, are dynamic.
This means that once you start using an attribution Link for an integrated partner, or a long URL for owned media, it would not change for any leads engaging with it, even if you change the attribution link values on AppsFlyer's dashboard. For the change to take place, you need to use the new long URL going forward.
On the other hand, shortened URLs for owned media, don't directly contain parameters. When a lead engages with an AppsFlyer's shortened URL, the lead is redirected to AppsFlyer and the current set parameters take place dynamically.
What is this Play Store error message?
If you ever encounter the following error message in the Play Store after following an attribution Link:
https://app.appsflyer.com/com.travelco?pid=globalwide_int&clickid=#reqid#Usually, these characters are in the link because they are macros, and are dynamically replaced by a value, so it is not a really big problem and you can ignore the message.
What are subscriber parameters good for?
Example
A hail ride app, Luber, has creatives with 3 color templates: blue, yellow and red. Luber's mobile marketer, Linda, wants to test which color template brings in more installs. To do so she adds &af_sub3=blue in the attribution links of all the blue ads across ALL non-SRN media sources. The same is done for the yellow and red ads as well. With this information parsed and appearing in the raw data reports, Linda is able to analyze the success of the different colored ads, and pick the best converting one.
What is the maximum length for a campaign name?
c_name_exceeded_max_length