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Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

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Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

#1

Post by peterstark »

Hi everyone,

Last month, my company launched its first mobile app. The team has been promoting the app all over the place (FB, Twitter, forums, email, Ads, PR, etc). As a result, we have grown to a few thousand users, which is awesome.

The problem is that we have no idea where our users are coming from. We don't know what our most effective marketing channels are. We don't know which marketing campaigns are most effective in bringing users.

How do you deal with this problem? Please list the pros and cons.

Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

#2

Post by farren »

I've been using a sort of ghetto hack, so I'm not sure if you want to copy me.

When users land on any of my marketing pages, I cookie them in safari. Then when they open my mobile app, I send them to safari, check if the cookie exists, and then redirect them back to the app. This lets me tie installs back to link clicks.

Re: Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

#3

Post by peterstark »

farren wrote: post #2

I've been using a sort of ghetto hack, so I'm not sure if you want to copy me. When users land on any of my marketing pages, I cookie them in safari. Then when they open my mobile app, I send them to safari, check if the cookie exists, and then redirect them back to the app. This lets me tie installs back to link clicks.

Haha. I've been several apps use that approach before. It is a terrible user experience to flash open the browser each time the app opens. This is not something I can do for my app.

Re: Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

#5

Post by PhotonCannonR »

PhotonCannonR wrote: post #4

Doesn't stuff like Google Analytics do this? At least that's what we use for our websites to track conversions. Don't know if you can do the same for mobile apps... http://www.google.com/analytics/features/mobile.html

Looked a little deeper. Seems like it might only work for Android then.

"If you're an Android developer, Analytics also gives you the tools to monitor the success of mobile ads for your app. You can track activity from a click on your ad to the Android Market to app download. It's a simple way to determine what marketing efforts are most effective for you."

Nothing about iOS conversions on their page.

Re: Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

#6

Post by PhotonCannonR »

farren wrote: post #2

I've been using a sort of ghetto hack, so I'm not sure if you want to copy me. When users land on any of my marketing pages, I cookie them in safari. Then when they open my mobile app, I send them to safari, check if the cookie exists, and then redirect them back to the app. This lets me tie installs back to link clicks.

Oh wow, that's actually kind of a clever hack. How quickly can you redirect back to the app? Is there a tutorial on something like this (my Google-fu failed me here)?

Re: Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

#7

Post by germancoder »

farren wrote: post #2

I've been using a sort of ghetto hack, so I'm not sure if you want to copy me. When users land on any of my marketing pages, I cookie them in safari. Then when they open my mobile app, I send them to safari, check if the cookie exists, and then redirect them back to the app. This lets me tie installs back to link clicks.

I question the accuracy because w3.org actually mentions that cookies work differently on mobile devices vs. web. However, if you're only targeting smart phones with full web browsing capabilities like the iPhone or Android (or Win7???) then it should be ok.

Source: http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/#d0e1925

Re: Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

#8

Post by germancoder »

germancoder wrote: post #7
farren wrote: post #2

I've been using a sort of ghetto hack, so I'm not sure if you want to copy me. When users land on any of my marketing pages, I cookie them in safari. Then when they open my mobile app, I send them to safari, check if the cookie exists, and then redirect them back to the app. This lets me tie installs back to link clicks.

I question the accuracy because w3.org actually mentions that cookies work differently on mobile devices vs. web. However, if you're only targeting smart phones with full web browsing capabilities like the iPhone or Android (or Win7???) then it should be ok. Source: http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/#d0e1925

Thanks though for sharing this solution. I'll stick around to see if anything new pops up.

Re: Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

#9

Post by kliu0910 »

Hi Peter,

I have several friends who are experiencing the same pain as you.

As a result, I built a free service (Yozio, http://yoz.io) to solve this specific problem.

How it works:

1) Promote your app using Yozio's tracking links. (e.g. yoz.io/aBcDE)

2) When a visitor clicks on a Yozio tracking link, he is redirected to your app store landing page.

3) When the same visitor installs your app, Yozio is notified and tracks the install back to the original click.

We are getting a lot of great feedback. Please give us a try and let us know what you think.

Regards, Kevin

Re: Ask HN: How do I know where my mobile downloads are coming from?

#10

Post by peterstark »

kliu0910 wrote: post #9

Hi Peter, I have several friends who are experiencing the same pain as you. As a result, I built a free service (Yozio, http://yoz.io ) to solve this specific problem. How it works: 1) Promote your app using Yozio's tracking links. (e.g. yoz.io/aBcDE) 2) When a visitor clicks on a Yozio tracking link, he is redirected to your app store landing page. 3) When the same visitor installs your app, Yozio is notified and tr…

Nice! The product looks pretty good. I think we can use this. Can you send me an invite code?
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