At a glance: The SKAdNetwork overview dashboard provides iOS campaign attribution metrics reported by Apple SKAdNetwork and additional data points. Metrics reflect user activity during a measurement window with a default duration of 24 hours, beginning on the first app open.
Related reading: Quickstart guide to iOS 14, ATT, and SKAdNetwork
SKAdNetwork attribution dashboard
The dashboard contains user acquisition campaign performance data reported via SKAdNetwork Infrastructure postbacks.
- This data is further enriched with additional data points like clicks and cost.
- Conversion value measurement settings are used to calculate metrics.
- Data freshness:
- Daily.
- Postbacks received on a given day are processed at the end of the day UTC. Data is available by 08:00 UTC of the following day. Meaning Monday's postbacks are available on Tuesday morning.
- The install date is derived from the postback arrival time as follows: Postback arrival time-24 hours-measurement window. The measurement window default is 24 hours. Example: A postback arrives on Wednesday. The derived install date is 2 days before (2 X 24 hours), meaning Monday.
- Due to SKAdNetwork timers, the average delay is 32-104 hours. Average 68 hours. (~ 3 days).
Related reading
SKAdNetwork dashboard view options
The dashboard offers different view options, as follows:
- Actual SKAd data collected, translated, and aggregated by AppsFlyer but attributed by Apple.
- SKAd simulation uses data attributed by AppsFlyer.
To select the view: In AppsFlyer, go to Dashboard > SKAdNetwork Overview, and select a view type: SKAd simulation or Actual SKAd data.
Actual SKAd data view
- The actual SKAd data view contains the data collected, translated, and aggregated by AppsFlyer, provided in the postback from the user iOS device.
- The conversion value is set by the AppsFlyer SDK and reported by postback by the iOS device.
- All agency-driven traffic is treated as coming from a transparent agency.
- In some cases, Apple, due to a privacy threshold mechanism, doesn't provide the conversion value.
SKAd simulation view
The purpose of the simulator is to provide you with a sense of the value that you will get from SKAdNetwork, before actual iOS 14 data is available, based on your current data.
Use the dashboard as a guide to:
- Understand what your app SKAdNetwork data is going to look like.
- Uncover what you would like to measure using the conversion value.
- Optimize your measurement and get ready to attribute within iOS 14.
The simulator uses existing app data in the AppsFlyer platform to mimic SKAdNetwork postbacks and displays the output in the dashboard.
SKAdNetwork simulation is available to all your iOS apps in AppsFlyer.
Simulation data
- The default SKAdNetwork simulation setting is revenue measurement of up to $63 per user during the measurement window.
- Experiment with different measurement configurations to find the configurations that provide the most actionable metrics for you.
- You can make configuration changes easily and frequently and see their effect on your SKAdNetwork dashboard. Note! Configuration changes reflect in the dashboard as follows:
- SKAd simulation: 24-48 hours
- Actual SKAd data: 48-72 hours
- Agency traffic rules:
- General: The media source reflects the agency name and not the actual media source name. This is the case for both transparent and non-transparent agencies. However, this is not the case in the actual data view, where all agency-driven traffic is regarded as transparent.
- Exception: In the case of Facebook and Twitter, the actual media source name displays and not that of the agency.
Simulation data is based on your existing attribution data by anticipating the installs and events that will be attributed in SKAdNetwork using the following criteria:
- Installs:
- Install type: app-to-app attribution, direct click to install.
- Attributed touch type: click
- Excluded installs (outside of the SKAdNetwork scope): Mobile web, view-through, deferred, owned media.
- At present [February 13, 2021], installs brought by Apple Search Ads (ASA) are included in the simulation dashboard. However, in the live dashboard, they won't display at all. Instead, ASA installs are reported in the LTV Overview dashboard. ASA changes starting February 15, 2021.
- Events:
- Taking place during the SKAdNetwork measurement window.
- Mapped according to the active SKAdNetwork measurement configuration:
- Conversion: Up to 6 in-app events as listed in the configuration
- Revenue: The maximum revenue amount recorded depends on the conversion value to the USD translation rate.
- Engagement: Count the number of occurrences of a selected event.
Using the dashboard
Dashboard settings
Dashboard settings are available when the measurement mode is conversion measurement. The selected event is used to calculate the converted users metric.
To select the conversion event:
- In the upper-right side of the dashboard, click Dashboard settings.
- Select a conversion event.
- Click apply.
Conversion metrics are calculated using this event.
Filter options
Use filters to refine the information displayed.
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Filter |
Remarks |
|---|---|
| Install date range |
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Media source |
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Campaign |
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Site ID |
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Geo |
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Install type |
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Headline metrics
| Metric | Remarks |
|---|---|
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Installs |
SKAdNetwork does not report installs if the user did not engage with an ad prior to the install. AppsFlyer calculates the organic metrics using AppsFlyer attributed installs (LTV dashboard.)
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Touchpoints (1) |
Impressions and clicks reported by the ad network by click or API. |
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Revenue |
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Cost (1) |
Cost reported by the ad network. Cost displays in USD irrespective of the app currency. If the campaign name changes, cost displays under the most recent campaign name used. (If there are multiple campaign names) |
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Click-to-install rate |
Click-to-install rate. |
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Adjacent period trend |
Trend values in % indicate the change of the current metric relative to the metric of the previous equivalent period. For example, if the current period is May 1-10, the previous period is April 21-30. |
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(1) Currently, the metric includes all cost and touchpoint data relating to all campaigns, including SKAdNetwork campaigns. Data is reported to AppsFlyer using Xpend/Cost API. |
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Charts
The charts available depend on the selected measurement type.
| Chart metric | Remarks |
|---|---|
|
User acquisition by date |
Dimensions available:
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| Touch to conversion |
Views available:
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Installs by:
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Metric breakdown |
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| Top events |
The top events relate to both organic and non-organic users. Use the media source filter at the top of the page to distinguish between organic and non-organic users or per selected media sources. |
| Top countries |  |
Metrics
- Select metrics from those available.
- Set the primary and secondary group by dimensions to drill down into performance metrics.
About the metrics table:
- Use the table to compare the performance of campaigns and media sources.
- Initially, the top 20 media sources display, sorted by the number of installs in descending order.
- To sort the table, click on a column header. Click again to reverse the sort order.
| Metric | Revenue measurement | Conversion measurement | Engagement measurement | Formula/remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Installs |
Y | Y | Y | |
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Impressions |
Y | Y | Y |
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Clicks |
Y | Y | Y | |
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Click-to-install rate |
Y | Y | Y | Installs/Clicks * 100 |
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Converted users |
Y | Y | Y | Unique users performing the event |
| Converted users/Installs | Y | Y | Y | |
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Revenue |
Y | Ad revenue not included. | ||
|
Cost |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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| ROI |
Y |
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| ROAS | Y | |||
| eCPI | Y | Y | Y | |
| In-app event metrics | ||||
| In-app event name | af_skad_revenue | Set in SKAdNetwork settings. | Set in SKAdNetwork settings. | |
| eCPA | Y | Y (up to 6 events) | Y | |
| Event occurrences |
Has the same value as converted users. The metric represents the number of unique users making a purchase. |
The conversion event counts the number of unique users. It has the same value as converted users. The metric represents the number of unique users performing a given event. |
The metric represents the number of times the event was performed by all users together. |
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AppsFlyer attribution vs. SKAdNetwork attribution
SKAdNetwork metrics differ from those available using the AppsFlyer attribution model. The table that follows enumerates the main causes.
Definitions:
- Times: Assume the default measurement window of 24 hours.
- SDK: AppsFlyer SDK embedded in the app.
- Rules: AppsFlyer attribution model
| Concept | SKAdNetwork |
AppsFlyer attribution model (Traditional attribution) |
|---|---|---|
| Attribution methodology supported |
Apple SKAdNetwork for click- and view-through attribution. Contains traffic of app-to-app campaigns of ad networks and SRNs supporting SKAdNetwork
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AppsFlyer attribution model supports multiple attribution methods and scenarios:
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| Primary data source |
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SDK and associated solutions. Example: Server-to-Server events. |
| Data freshness |
SKAdNetwork data freshness. Updated 32-104 hours after install. |
Real-time when the user launches and uses the app. |
| Time zone | UTC | App-specific time zone. |
| Install time | Derived from the iOS postback arrival time. |
Reported by SDK. |
| Measurement window |
User activity during a fixed measurement window [default 24 hours], starting with the app open. |
Contains LTV data from the install date until the present. Use Cohort to view data limited to cohort day 0 or cohort day 1, or both together to view a comparable measurement period. Consider, cohort day 0 consists of less than 24 hours of activity. For example, a user installing at 18:00 on a given day has 6 hours of activity on cohort day 0. |
| Installs reported by |
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SDK reports all installs categorized using Rules into first-time installs and retargeting reinstalls (re-attributions). |
| Advertising granularity level | Campaign |
Full hierarchy: Campaign, campaign ID, adset, additional parameters like channel and partner. |
| Redownloads vs. reinstalls |
Redownloads relate to the actions of a given Apple ID user. They are not parallel to re-attributions. |
Retargeting (re-engagements re-attributions) reflect in the Retargeting dashboard. They are not parallel to redownloads. |
| Metric | SKAdNetwork | Traditional attribution |
|---|---|---|
| Non-organic installs |
Count of valid iOS postbacks received by AppsFlyer. Consider, AppsFlyer doesn't get the postbacks of ad networks that haven't completed SKAdNetwork integration with AppsFlyer. This can lead to undercounting of non-organic installs and increased organic installs. |
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| Organic installs |
SDK installs minus SKAdNetwork installs. |
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| Revenue |
Non-organic: Revenue reported by SKAdNetwork postbacks. Organic: Revenue reported by SDK in-app events minus non-organic revenue. |
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| Ad revenue |
Not available |
User-level ad revenue is attributed based on IDFV |
| ROI/ROAS |
Revenue during the measurement window. |
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FAQ—SKAdNetwork discrepancies
| Reason | Discrepancies—Q&A |
|---|---|
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A |
Q: Why do the conversion numbers in the AppsFlyer dashboard differ to that of the ad network dashboard? A: Reasons for discrepancies
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B |
Q: Differences between the SKAdNetwork performance API and dashboard versus the SKAdNetwork aggregate postback API? A: The postback API date range relates to the date on which AppsFlyer received the postback. The performance API date range relates to the install date derived as described in reason A. |
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C |
Q: Do all ad networks report the Geo? A: No. |
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D |
Q: Why are there differences between the Overview dashboard and the SKAdNetwork dashboard. A: See the preceding section for an overview as to reasons for discrepancies. |