DEV Community: Omnimind

Web-to-App Attribution Measurement Using Mogua

Omnimind — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 09:59:37 +0000

This article introduces how to quickly view the effectiveness of different marketing channels through the Mogua SDK and Dashboard statistics panel.

Mogua Web-to-App Deep Linking Solution

Mogua is a lightweight deep linking solution designed for indie apps like mobile games and tool apps, used for web-to-app attribution statistics.

Mogua collects device data from both web and app, matching them to enable parameter passing from the webpages to the app. This ensures app users are correctly attributed to different marketing channels. More details on how the SDK can refer to this article.

To use Mogua's products, you need to first create an application and integrate the Mogua SDK into your hosted website and app. Detailed step-by-step guidance can be found in the integration documentation.

After completing the SDK integration, you can quickly view the statistics of different parameters through the Dashboard and use them to easily measure the number of users brought by different marketing channels.

Channel Measurement Using Mogua

Through the parameter statistics of the Mogua Dashboard, you can quickly and easily filter to see the number of users brought by different channels.

All Events

Parameter provides statistics of core events. The following examples explain how to use the Event counts.

Web Download Click Event

This event is triggered when the openOrDownload method runs.

After you complete the SDK integration for the web, all URL parameters of the promotional page will be automatically transmitted to the server after this event is triggered, and matched when the app is opened.

You can also manually define params to pass when you invoke the init method as shown in the example below.

<script src="https://www.mogua.io/script/moguasdk/index.umd.js" ></script>
<script>
    Mogua.init({
        appKey: '43ba757b8bc3',
        params: { key1: 'value1', key2: 'value2', ... }
    });
</script>

App Installation Event

This event is for the statistics of new app users completing the app installation.

Some of our customers are mobile games, and the most common marketing channels are affiliates and ads.

Below are examples explain how to use parameter statistics to quickly measure your marketing channels in these scenarios.

How To Measure New Users From Affiliates

A main source of new users for mobile games comes from affiliates. To measure this channel, you can set up an invitation link for Affiliates on your website, such as http://www.yoursite.com/?channel=affiliates&referrer=influencer1. When a user downloads, installs, and opens the app through this link, the parameters channel and referrer will automatically be passed to the app.

By passing parameters from web-to-app, you can automatically associate this user with the referral source and use this parameter to calculate commissions in your program.

In this scenario, in the dashboard, you can select App Installation in All Events, choose the time period, enter channel in Params, and enter affiliates in Value to see the number of users brought by the referral.

If you would like to quickly see the number of installations brought by a specific affiliate, you can also enter referrer in Params and enter a specific value for the affiliate in Value.

How To Measure New Users From Ads

Your users come from various ad channels, such as Facebook, Tik Tok, App Stores, etc. By setting params in your ad link, you can measure the ROI of different channels.

For example, you can set up a app download link with params, such as http://www.yoursite.com/?channel=tiktok&campaign_id=12345. When a user clicks on your ad, their will be taken to this page. If they downloads, installs, and opens the app through this link, the parameters channel and campaign_id will automatically be passed to the app.

You can filter the parameters to identify which channel and which campaign bring in more users and improve your marketing strategy.

App Opening From URL Event

This event calculates the how many existing users open the app from your website.

This can help you measure how direct deep-linking help you to interact with your users.

All Platforms

On all platforms, you can view parameter statistics on iOS and Android devices to analyze the differences in promotion effects on different devices.

For example, if you select iOS in Platforms and App Installation in All Events, you can see the number of installations on iOS during a specific time period.

Conclusion

For indie mobile games, quickly monitoring and optimizing the marketing channels effectively are vital to success.

Mogua is designed for these teams and developers, we provide a solution that is easy to integrate, simple to use and adapt to most popular development frameworks such as Native, Flutter and Cocos2d.

I hope this piece of information was helpful to you. Feel free to try our product and contact us!

Build Deep Linking with Mogua’s Solutions

Omnimind — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 11:36:10 +0000

This article is a step-by-step guide on how to build a web-to-app deep linking using Mogua’s solution.

The use case: Mogua Demo app

The Mogua demo app on our website is a simple use case of how to track the web referrals for app installs.

The process of the Mogua Demo is as the image below.

1.Collect web visitors’ device info.

When a visitor enters your website, it triggers the web SDK to collect the params and the device’s info.

This step can be tested on our live demo on the web:

Enter a key-value pair on the demo. This step simulates how you (the developer) set tracking params for your webpages.
If you visit this demo on PC, after you click “Go!” you’ll be able to scan the QR code to this demo on your mobile. The key-value pair will be passed to the mobile webpage. This step simulates how a visitor interacts on your website.
The web SDK collects users' device information.

2.Taking the visitors to the app

When a visitor clicks on the download button on hosted webpage, the SDK will use the openOrDownload method, and the web download click event on the web SDK will be triggered and counted.

The SDK will identify whether your app is already installed on the visitors’ devices.

If installed, the app will be opened directly. An app opening event will be triggered and counted.
If not installed, the visitor will be taken to the download URL. When the user first opens the app after installation, an app installation event will be triggered and counted.

Statistics of these events can be viewed in the dashboard.

3.Matching app visitors’ device information

When your app is opened on a device, Mogua SDK will collect the device's information and match it with that on the app server.

If there’s a match, the parameters from the web will be retrieved. In this way, the users’ sources are identified.

4.Taking the visitor to the deep link automatically

If you have appointed a specific page in the app in your params, the SDK will open the page automatically after retrieving the params from the website.

Step to step guide

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to deep link to an app with Mogua’s solution:

1.Create a Mogua account.
2.Create an app on Dashboard.
3.Configuration your app:
-Set up authentication
-Set up app download links

You can set up the download link in configuration or set it up in your code.

For deferred deep linking to work, you need to set up your app’s download URL.

For deep linking to work, you need to establish the link association between your app and its respective URL scheme (for iOS) or App Links (for Android). This involves defining the custom URL scheme or configuring the App Links metadata in your app’s configuration files.

You can follow the guidelines to finish this configuration on Mogua’s app dashboard.

4.Integrate SDK into your app and hosted website

Follow the document to integrate the SDK into your app and website.

5.Passing params from web to app

The SDK will pass the params in URLs automatically for you.

For example, if your app download page URL is https://testapp.com/, and you need a custom installation parameter such as uid=12345678, the URL with the custom installation parameter would be: https://testapp.com/?uid=12345678. Multiple parameters are concatenated with & like: https://testapp.com/?uid=12345678&room=1.

The SDK will automatically fetch parameters from the current URL and upload them to the Mogua server for later use in your app. You can also manually define parameters.

You can define what params to pass from web to app in your code. You can see an example here.

<script src="https://www.mogua.io/script/moguasdk/index.umd.js" ></script>
<script>
    Mogua.init({
        appKey: '43ba757b8bc3',
        params: { key1: 'value1', key2: 'value2', ... }
    });
</script>

6.Retrieve parameters from website on your app

When users open your app, Mogua app SDK will start to retrieve params from the server.

This is an example of retrieving data with getInstallData method.


Mogua.getInstallData(object: MoguaCallback {

    /**
     * Callback when data fetch is completed.
     * @param data Key-value pair parameters passed to the app from webpage. If no parameters are provided, an empty HashMap object is returned.
     */
    override fun onData(data: HashMap<String, Any>) {
        // Use data to retrieve the user's channel or referrer, etc.
    }

    /**
     * Callback when an exception occurs.
     * @param e The exception.
     */
    override fun onError(e: Exception) {
        // ...
    }
})

7.Test deep-linking as developer and user

Thoroughly test your deep links across different scenarios to ensure their accuracy and functionality. Test deep links from external sources, such as emails, websites, or social media, to ensure they correctly navigate users to the intended screens or actions within the app.

By following these steps, you can effectively implement web-to-app deep linking with Mogua’s solution, ensuring a seamless transition for users from your website to your mobile app. For more detailed information, please refer to Mogua’s documentation.

Mobile Deep Linking Solution 2024

Omnimind — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 08:42:57 +0000

This article introduces the mobile deep linking technology and Mogua’s solution to it.

What is deep linking

Mobile app deep linking is a technology that launches an app and opens a specific page when a user clicks a URL on a web page.

Deferred — app not installed Deferred deep links can route users to specific content through an install. The link will first redirect to the App Store or Play Store, and once the app is downloaded and opened, the user will be taken to the content they expect.

Direct — app already installed Traditional deep links route users to app content as long as the app is already installed when the link is opened.

Why is deep linking important for the success of mobile apps?

Deep linking for measuring marketing channels
By tracking the sessions of the web and app pages with deep linking, the app operators can track and measure the user’s source and engagements. Some common use cases of deep linking are:

Referrals Make your app shareable by letting users invite their friends and family.
WEB-TO-APP Acquire more app users from the web with seamless experiences that bridge the gap between platforms with the leading web-to-app measurement solution.
Social Media Engage your social media following and drive organic growth with contextual experiences provided by powerful deep links.
Paid Campaigns Report on the impact of every link while giving your users the ideal ad experience, with powerful links that send users to the right place.
EMails Increase email-to-app conversion with powerful links that provide users contextual experiences.
SMS & PUSH Re-engage users with timely offers or cross-promote your apps with short links delivered via SMS and Push Notifications.

Deep linking for delivering seamless mobile user experience
The real reason mobile app deep linking is considered so important and employed by every single successful app out there is because of the impact it makes on the user experience. No matter what your ultimate goal is, no developer wants to achieve it at the expense of the user experience.

Here are 3 ways app deep links impact the user experience:

Personalizes app navigation
Deep linking enhances user experience by providing personalized app navigation. It enables direct access to specific app features, reducing manual navigation and saving time.
Uninterrupted transitions

Deep linking provides a smooth transition between apps and websites, improving user experience. Universal deep links allow users to switch between web and app experiences. If they click a deep link for an app they don’t have, they’re redirected to the relevant web page.

Simplifies the process

Deep linking facilitates the faster accomplishment of user goals within an app. By directing users to specific screens or features, deep links streamline the user journey and reduce the number of steps required to accomplish tasks. This helps users achieve their goals more efficiently, saving time and enhancing the overall user experience.

How do deep links and deferred deep links work?
With deferred deep links, if a user clicks on a deep link and does not have the app installed, not only is the user directed to an app store, but the deep link parameters (i.e. what page or customized experience to show to the user) are kept intact. If the user later installs the app from the app store and opens it, the app accesses the deep link parameters and provides the user with a relevant experience.

Below it’s an introduction to Mogua SDK which offers a comprehensive cross-platform solution for implementing Direct Deep Linking and Deferred Deep Linking, along with detailed data analytics capabilities.

How MoguaSDK Works?

Collect Parameters on website: Parameters can be included in URL query strings, which the MoguaSDK-Web automatically recognizes and uploads to the Mogua server. Manual parameter upload is also supported.

Direct Deep Linking: MoguaSDK-Web checks if the user has the app installed. If installed, it generates a URL with specific scheme, or an Universal Link, to open the app with the passed parameters.

Deferred Deep Linking: If the app is not installed, the MoguaSDK-Web records the user’s device and directs them to download and install the app. Upon the first app launch, the MoguaSDK-App matches the device with the record on the server, retrieves the uploaded parameters, and completes the deferred deep linking process seamlessly without additional user actions.

You can refer to Documents for more details.

Technical method of Mogua’s deep linking SDK

Mogua’s developed a matching algorithm to identify the users who open the link with the users who use the app. Some of the methods we use:

Clipboard Scheme: The web page automatically calls the clipboard to copy the current user’s channel ID, for example: #c8283923#, when the download button is clicked. The APP calls the clipboard content every time it is launched, if the content format matches, then it is considered that this user and the web user are the same;

Universal links (supported after iOS 9.2): When the App is launched, the SDK retrieves the ID from Safari. If it is retrieved, it is considered the same user.

Device Fingerprint Fuzzy Matching: The network, IP, operating system, resolution, language and other information opened by the browser and the information obtained by the App are fuzzily matched. If these info match within a certain period of time, they are considered the same user.

If you are looking for a deep linking solution, feel free to try the demo on Mogua website.

Use Cases: Identify App User Sources (Deferred Deep Linking Solution)

Omnimind — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 06:50:37 +0000

Automatically tagging the promotional source of an app's new users is a key requirement. However, passing parameters from the web pages of multiple channels to the app does not have a direct technical solution. The following are two solutions using the Mogua SDK.

Use Case 1: Measure how many users an influencer invites to your app

When you are running an affiliate program for your app, your affiliate partners will invite new users with a link you give them. Ideally, the invitation relationship can be immediately built, and the affiliate can see their invite number add up as soon as the new users are activated without needing them to fill in anything like an invitation code.

To build this seamless experience for the user, the app developers need to pass the affiliate parameters from the link to the app, and the solution to it is not very direct. Here’s how we realize it:

We embed the web SDK on our website and include parameters like affiliate ID in the link given to the affiliate partners. The new users will use this link to go to app stores to download the app. Also, we embed the app SDK on our app.
When new visitors open the link, initialize the web SDK which will report a web event and send the affiliate parameters to Mogua and generate a web unique identifier for this visitor. You can see these parameters reported in the statistics module in the dashboard and the event type is Web.
Optional: you place a download button in the link, when it is clicked, a download event will be reported.
When a new user installs your app and opens it, the app SDK will report an event and generate an app unique identifier for this user.
In Mogua server, the algorithm will match this app unique identifier with a web unique identifier. If there’s a match, the parameter values associated with the web identifier will pass to the app. In this case, the affiliate’s id can be linked with the new user immediately.

Use Case 2: Ad network attribution for app installations

Another traffic source for an app is ad networks. Since the app stores cannot attribute the accurate sources of all the ad networks, we need to have a solution to measure the downloads brought from ads.

The solution is similar to use case one:

When you set a link in your ad, don’t just use the app store link but use a hosted webpage with web SDK embedded and custom parameters that can identify the ad.
When someone clicks the ad and opens the link, the web SDK generates a unique identifier and reports the event to Mogua server. The ad parameters are recorded at the same time. You can set an auto-redirect to app stores on your link, so visitors don't have to click again.
If later this visitor installs the app, they will be identified. In this way, the app operators can measure how many downloads come from each ad.

A similar solution can be applied in email marketing and coupons. You can set some test parameters on our live demo and try the app install process like a user.

Introducing Mogua SDK for Deferred Deep Link Tracking

Omnimind — Wed, 29 May 2024 07:12:44 +0000

We are glad to launch the brand new Mogua Deep Link SDK which provides a concise solution for tracking deferred deep links for both Android and iOS apps. In this article, we’ll introduce you to Mogua, why we built it, and our hopes for the future.

What does Mogua SDK do?

Mogua SDK offers a simple yet efficient solution for implementing deferred deep linking in your apps. With this SDK, you can track referral parameters from a web page to a downloaded app, which is a common use case for referral programs, coupon systems, ad engagements, and more.

For instance, say you have embedded a referral code in a mobile webpage. When a user clicks on this link, they are directed to the app store to download your app. Our SDK is designed to carry over and recognize the referral code when the app is installed and first opened, aiming to provide a seamless user experience and accurate tracking.

Why choose Mogua SDK?

The reasons of using our SDK for deferred deep link tracking are:

Easy Implementation: Our SDK is lightweight and easy to integrate into your existing app infrastructure.
Accurate Matching: We've developed a matching algorithm that aims to improve accuracy in identifying the same user across different platforms, which could potentially reduce the likelihood of conversion attribution errors.
Safe Tracking: App stores have strict requirements on how apps obtain user information, and non-compliant apps may be restricted or removed. Our method will clearly identify the type of user information obtained, and for sensitive information, we will only attempt to collect it after obtaining the user's consent.

How does Mogua’s deferred deep linking work?

This is our solution of tracking app installation from custom web pages.

First, we create a unique identifier, or 'fingerprint', for the visitor's device when they click on your webpage link. When the visitor opens the app for the first time after downloading it from the app store, we generate another fingerprint of their device. We compare the fingerprints in our database using our smart algorithms, we match these fingerprints to identify the user and transmit the installation parameters.

You can know more detail in our documents.

Try out our solution

We would be happy if you try out our SDK. We're currently offering a 30-day free trial for users to thoroughly test and evaluate our solution. We believe it's a chance to discover if our solution could potentially improve your app's user experience.

Why we build this product?

The inception of Mogua SDK came from our need for an effective deferred deep link tracking solution. Unable to find an existing solution that met our needs, as they often contained unnecessary features and were therefore expensive, we decided to create our own. We believe that our SDK can meet the similar needs of other developers and we are excited to share this tool with you.

Our mission at Mogua is to make app installation tracking easier and more efficient. We believe that by providing developers with the right tools, we can help create more engaging and user-friendly apps.

Join us on our journey to redefine app user experience. To learn more about our SDK and start your free trial, visit our website.