Since the early September launch, Deepviews has quickly become a popular product for many of our partners. Not only have we seen rapid adoption, we’ve also continued to see amazing results when it comes to optimizing click-to-install rates and increasing app downloads. Showing users a standard Deepview results in an up to six-times higher install rate compared to routing them directly to the app store. With today’s update, which allows for easy Deepview template customization and more routing options, developers and marketers alike will be able to further improve their users’ app discovery and install experiences.
Deepviews Improve Web to App Conversion
It seems counter-intuitive that adding an additional step to the onboarding flow would increase conversion to install. However, we’ve seen that the lack of dynamically created context relevant to a user in the app store creates a huge barrier to install. Since the app store listing is static, a user clicking on a link for a dress will see the exact same listing as a user a link for a pair of shoes. In addition, since users in the app store are typically unfamiliar with the app, they’re being forced to make the install decision before the app has provided them any value, and they usually choose not to install.
With Deepviews, users see the in-app content they clicked on before having to decide whether or not to download the app. Adding this step has improved the click-to-install rate to up to 50% in some cases.
Now we’re introducing two new features that will make the user experience even better.
Customizable Templates – Control the Entire Onboarding Flow
Our standard Deepview template pulls information such as title, image, and description from properties set on the Branch dashboard or in the SDK. With this update, you can completely control the layout of your Deepview template. If you don’t want to customize, you can still utilize our default template. However, if you want to customize your Deepview to change the wording, layout, or any other aspect, we provide you with an HTML editor directly in our dashboard. Paired with Branch’s analytics platform, you can measure the results of your customization to see which changes improve your app’s performance.
Increase App Installs with Smart Routing
Additionally, Branch released an optimized routing system that allows you to control where the user is directed based on whether they have the app or not. If you have a website, adding the web SDK will automatically route mobile users who have your app into the app when the mobile site is prompted. If they don’t already have your app, they will stay on your site, be shown a Deepview, or be directed to the app store. In either case, when a user installs or opens your app, they will be deep linked to the content they were originally looking for. If you are a mobile-only company, you can enable Deepviews on desktop so that users can access your app content on any device.
Although each developer is in complete control of the routing, we’ve seen certain best practices. We suggest directly routing users that have the app to the app instead of mobile web. For users who don’t have the app, data across our network of partners suggests that it is best to generate a Deepview of the app content that prompts them to ‘get the app’, or show the mobile web version of the app content with a smart banner also prompting them to download the app.
The metrics behind these routing options will appear in the Deepviews analytics section of the Branch dashboard.
Questions About Deepviews
I have an interstitial, why do I need Deepviews?
Interstitials are not dynamically created. Although interstitials can be beautifully designed to prompt users to download your app, they don’t contain any context of what the users is trying to find. Since Deepviews are dynamically created, they can provide the user value before they have to make the decision to download the app. In addition, providing this content makes them less invasive to the user experience.
Deepviews have been tested on all phones and WebViews (including Facebook and Twitter), so you know they’ll work. Testing your interstitial on all the popular platforms and devices is a pain, and keeping them up-to-date with every new update and device is a nightmare. With Deepviews, this work is done for you.
Do I have to be a developer to edit Deepviews?
No. A lot of fields that populate a Deepview (e.g. titles, descriptions, image URL) do not require code. Creating a customized template requires simple HTML and CSS, but our built-in editor makes it easy for anyone to make simple changes. Note: For security reasons we do not allow Javascript in Deepview code.
Is there a public template marketplace?
Not at this time. There is a Branch default template that’s accessible to all dashboards and can be turned on with the click of a button. Customized templates can be created on a global or per-link basis.