The following is a guest contributed post by Jeremy Pollack of CallFire
Online marketers have known for years that deep linking is a key strategy to get websites ranked and businesses noticed. However, the method is becoming more important than ever, as thousands of websites and apps are created daily, all competing to get the most eyeballs. Deep linking as part of mobile marketing campaigns is especially crucial in e-commerce, where companies are made or broken by sales created in today’s hot mobile market.
If you don’t know about deep linking, or if you’ve heard of it but don’t know how to apply it to your mobile marketing strategy, it’s critical that you learn the concept and its application. In the simplest terms, deep linking helps a marketing strategy by creating a link within a mobile website or application, which makes it possible for discovery far beyond the homepage.
Deep Linking’s Modern Evolution
While deep linking is commonplace today, the modern evolution of the practice is being talked about, thanks to updates in the Android Marshmallow and Apple iOS 9.3 operating systems. These systems let marketers deep link seamlessly and allow for reliable deep linking, specifically inside of mobile applications.
If you’re a marketer, you probably realize the value of being able to deep link within mobile websites and applications. For instance, referencing content from past months (or years) can be helpful to many businesses, especially when trends are resurging or an individual wants to call out previous mentions that place him or her as a long-term authority figure.
Online stores with blogs find deep linking useful in their posts, as they link to sales and new items in their mobile stores. Deep linking in today’s mobile world also makes it possible for websites to determine if a user has a particular app installed on a phone.
Deep Linking for a Seamless Sales Funnel
It’s important for marketers to understand the power of deep linking and its potential to take a customer quickly from Point A to Point B within the sales funnel (which typically leads from a website to a mobile application). A recent Kissmetrics blog post stated that the only way to get 100 percent of visitors to your next funnel step is to “get rid of the step.” The post goes on to say that being “ruthless” with sales funnels is what’s required, so ousting all unnecessary clicks, points, touches, and buttons is absolutely essential.
Within your marketing strategy, you should be using every opportunity to deep link to the exact sales page, product page, shopping cart, or application that you want your visitor to end up on. Don’t have an app? Deep link to any piece of content that your potential customers, and your current customers, must read. If you have an app, deep link within the app – even if you don’t deal in e-commerce. The quicker you can help your visitors find the information they need and want, the faster you establish yourself as an expert and leader in your niche.
