An ad link tracks the clicks and impressions from an ad partner's campaigns. When you create one, Branch gives you a Click URL and, for most partners, an Impression Pixel URL. Branch adds the partner's supported macros to these URLs, so you can paste them into your campaign as they are. See Tracking URLs and macros.
Each ad partner has its own ad links. You create and manage them on the partner's Ad links tab, under Configuration > Integrations > Ad partners in Branch. To reuse the same settings across many ad links, see Create and Manage Ad Link Templates.
Before you begin
To create ad links, you first need to:
- Enable the ad partner in Branch. See Enable an ad partner.
- Have View access to Channel level settings and Edit access to Link level settings. An admin can grant these on the Team page.
If a partner's page has no Ad links tab, that partner doesn't support ad links. Partners without the tab include the connected TV partners LG, NBC Universal, Roku, Roku SAN, Samsung SAN, and Vizio. If the tab is missing for any other partner, contact your Branch account manager.
Create an ad link
The ad link form has the Define, Analytics Tags, Redirects, and Link Data tabs. Only Define has required settings, unless a template makes others required. As you work, the Ad Link Summary panel on the right shows what you've set. Select any item in the panel to go to that setting.
- Go to Configuration > Integrations > Ad partners in Branch.
- Select the partner.
- Select the Ad links tab.
- Select Create. The Create Ad Link page for that partner opens.
- (Optional) Choose a template in Create Link Via Template. If your team requires templates, you need to choose one. See Create an ad link from a template.
- Enter a Link Title.
- Select App or Website under Link Type. App is for app install campaigns, and Website is for retargeting and engagement campaigns. You can't change this later.
- If you chose Website, select Search placement or Display placement.
- If the form shows OS Type, select iOS or Android. Partners with this setting need a separate ad link for each platform you advertise on.
- (Optional) Set the other settings on each tab, such as Alias, which you can't change later. See Ad link settings.
- Select Create Ad Link. The Ad link created dialog shows your tracking URLs.
- Select Copy next to Click URL.
- Paste the URL into your campaign in the partner's ad platform.
- If the dialog shows an Impression Pixel URL, repeat steps 12 and 13 for it.
- Select Done.
You can copy the URLs again at any time from the ad link's card on the Ad links tab.
Ad link settings
Each part of this section lists a tab's settings in the order they appear in the form.
Define
The Define tab names the link and sets what kind of campaign it's for.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Create Link Via Template | Optional. Applies a template's rules to the link. See Create an ad link from a template. |
| Link Title | Required. Names the link in Branch. Up to 200 characters. |
| Link Type | Required. App for app install campaigns, or Website for retargeting and engagement campaigns. Branch saves your choice as the link's ad format, which you can see as Branch Ad Format in exports. For some partners, the link type also changes which macros the tracking URLs include. |
| Web Placement | Required for Website links. Search placement for search ads, or Display placement for display ads. Branch adds your choice to the link's ad format. |
| OS Type | Required when it appears. iOS or Android. Appears only for partners that use different tracking URLs for iOS and Android. |
| Web URL | Optional. The address of a web page, such as the page your ad promotes. After you enter the address and move to another field, Branch reads the page. Branch can then use the page to fill in Link Title, link data, and the desktop redirect. |
| Household Measurement | Optional. Connects conversions across the devices in a household, such as TVs, phones, and tablets. Appears only if your account includes household measurement, and not for App links on Meta, Snap, or TikTok. |
| Link Domain | Your app's default link domain. Branch sets it for you. |
| Alias | Optional. A custom ending for the link's URL. Up to 128 characters, using only letters, numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). It can't already be in use. |
Analytics tags
The Analytics Tags tab groups the link's results in your reports. All three tags are optional.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Channel (utm_source) | The main marketing channel. |
| Campaign (utm_campaign) | The name or ID of the campaign. |
| Tags (utm_tags) | One or more labels. |
Redirects
The Redirects tab decides where users go when they click your ad and don't have your app. iOS, Android, and Desktop each have their own setting.
| Option | Where users go |
|---|---|
| Default Redirect | Wherever your App Settings send them. |
| Web URL | The web page you enter. Use the full address, with https:// or http:// at the start. |
| Deepview | The Deepview you choose. A Deepview is a Branch-hosted web page that previews the app content behind the link. |
Link data
The Link Data tab adds key-value pairs that the link passes to your app, such as a $deeplink_path that opens specific content. Link data can also configure how the link behaves. Keys and values are case-sensitive.
When you add link data, keep these rules in mind:
- Each key can appear only once.
- A key starts with a letter or an underscore (_), followed by letters, numbers, underscores, or hyphens (-). A key can also start with a dollar sign ($), but then it can't use hyphens.
- Enter both a key and a value for each pair. Branch doesn't save a pair that's missing either one.
- Branch reserves some keys, such as
~campaign,$ios_url, and$3p, because other settings or Branch itself set them. Branch won't save a link that includes one.
Create an ad link from a template
A template sets rules for an ad link's settings, so every link for a campaign follows the same structure. Only templates that allow the current partner appear in Create Link Via Template. To see them, you need View access to Link template settings.
- Follow the first four steps in Create an ad link to open the Create Ad Link page.
- Choose a template in Create Link Via Template. The form clears and applies the template's rules.
- Fill in the settings the template leaves open.
- Select Create Ad Link. The Ad link created dialog shows your tracking URLs, ready to copy into your campaign.
With a template applied, the form changes in these ways:
- If the template sets a fixed value, the form fills it in and you can't change it.
- Some settings offer only the template's values. Others suggest values that you can replace with your own.
- Settings the template disables aren't available.
- You can't remove link data keys that the template requires.
To learn what each rule means, see How template rules work.
Branch checks the link against its template when you save it and shows an error if they don't match. After you create the link, you can't change or remove its template.
To set up templates, see Create and Manage Ad Link Templates.
Default ad links
When you enable an ad partner that has no ad links yet, Branch creates one for you. It's an App link that uses your default redirects, and its name is Default App Campaigns Ad Link for followed by the partner's name.
For partners that use different tracking URLs for iOS and Android, Branch creates two instead, one for each platform, with iOS or Android in the name.
You can use, edit, or delete a default ad link like any other.
Tracking URLs and macros
Branch builds each tracking URL from your ad link settings and the macros Branch supports for that partner. A macro is a placeholder for a value, such as the campaign ID. The partner fills it in when someone sees or clicks your ad. You don't need to add macros yourself. If you don't need a macro, you can delete it from the URL before you paste the URL into your campaign.
To see a partner's macros, select Supported Macros on its Ad links tab. Search the list to find a macro, or select Copy all to copy every macro the list shows. The same list appears under Default Link Parameters in the Ad Link Summary panel while you create a link.
A few partners work differently:
- Google Ads and Meta ad links have a Click URL only, with no Impression Pixel URL.
- TikTok App ad links don't include TikTok's macros.
- Some partners use different tracking URLs for iOS and Android. For these, you select an OS Type and create one ad link for each platform.
Manage ad links
The Ad links tab lists the partner's ad links as cards. Each card has a Click Tracker and, for most partners, an Impression Tracker, each with a copy button. Point to one to see its URL. If the link uses a template, the card shows the template's name. To change the order, select Link name and choose Name (A–Z) or Name (Z–A).
Edit an ad link
You can change most of an ad link's settings after you create it, but not its Link Type, Web Placement, OS Type, Link Domain, Alias, or template. To change one of those, create a new ad link and replace the old tracking URLs in your campaign.
- Go to the partner's Ad links tab.
- Select the three-dot icon on the ad link's card.
- Select Edit.
- Change the settings you need.
- Select Save Ad Link.
The Ad link updated dialog appears only if your changes affect the tracking URLs. For example, renaming a link doesn't change them. If the dialog appears, copy the new URLs into your campaign to replace the old ones.
If the link uses a template, Branch checks the whole link against the template's current rules when you save, not only the settings you changed. If someone has archived the template, you can't save changes to the link. Create a new ad link instead, and replace the old tracking URLs in your campaign.
Delete an ad link
Deleting an ad link is permanent. You can't archive an ad link instead.
- Go to the partner's Ad links tab.
- Select the three-dot icon on the ad link's card.
- Select Delete.
- Select Confirm Delete.