Deep Linking Explained: What It Is, and What SMLLR Actually Offers
What deep linking is — URI schemes, Universal Links, App Links, and deferred deep linking — and an honest look at which parts SMLLR provides versus what requires your own mobile development work.
What Deep Linking Means
A deep link is a URL that opens a specific screen inside a mobile app — a product page, a discount, a specific article — rather than just launching the app's home screen. Three distinct approaches exist in the industry, worth understanding on their own terms before asking what any particular tool actually supports:
- Custom URI Schemes (e.g.
myapp://product/123): the legacy method — simple, but insecure and prone to failure if the app isn't installed. - Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android): standardized HTTPS URLs verified by the OS via a file hosted on your domain (
apple-app-site-associationorassetlinks.json) — open the app if installed, fall back to a website if not. - Deferred deep linking: the ability to send a user to the App Store when the app isn't installed, then land them on the originally-intended screen after they install and open it for the first time — generally considered the hardest of the three to implement well.
What SMLLR Actually Provides: Device-Based Redirects
To be direct: SMLLR does not host AASA or assetlinks.json files, does not provide an SDK, and does not offer deferred deep linking. Building true native deep-linking infrastructure — Universal Links, App Links, and deferred linking — is mobile development work your own team does, independent of SMLLR.
What SMLLR does provide is Device-Based Redirects (Basic plan and above): a single QR code or link that detects whether the scanner is on iOS or Android and routes each to a different URL — typically an App Store link for iOS and a Google Play link for Android, with a configurable fallback for everyone else. It solves a real, common problem — one printed QR code needing to work for both platforms — without requiring any app-side code or file hosting.
Where This Fits, and Where It Doesn't
Device-Based Redirects are the right tool when the goal is getting the right person to the right app-store listing from a single physical or shared link — packaging, posters, print ads, email signatures. They are not the right tool if the requirement is opening an already-installed app directly to a specific in-app screen, or preserving click intent through an app-store install so a first-time user lands somewhere specific inside the app. Those require real Universal Links / App Links configuration and, for the deferred case, a dedicated attribution SDK — built and maintained by your own mobile team, not something SMLLR's redirect layer substitutes for.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a deep link and a normal link?
A normal link opens a website. A true deep link opens a specific screen inside a mobile app, using Universal Links, App Links, or a custom URI scheme — infrastructure SMLLR doesn't provide.
Does SMLLR support Universal Links or App Links?
No. SMLLR doesn't host the required AASA or assetlinks.json verification files, and has no SDK for native deep linking. What it offers instead is Device-Based Redirects — routing iOS and Android scanners to different URLs.
What is a deferred deep link, and does SMLLR support it?
A deferred deep link remembers a user's original click intent through an app-store install, so the app can open to the relevant screen on first launch. SMLLR does not support this — it requires dedicated mobile attribution infrastructure built by your own team.
Can one QR code send iOS and Android users to different app stores?
Yes — that's exactly what SMLLR's Device-Based Redirects (Basic plan and above) do, without requiring any code in your app.
What happens if the user doesn't have my app installed?
With Device-Based Redirects, they land on whichever destination you've configured for their platform — typically an App Store or Google Play listing, or a fallback page for other devices.
How do I track how many people were redirected to each app store?
SMLLR's scan analytics report device breakdown for every QR code or link, so you can see how many iOS versus Android redirects a given code drove.
Is deep linking difficult to set up?
True native deep linking (Universal Links, App Links, deferred linking) requires real mobile development work regardless of which tool you use. SMLLR's Device-Based Redirects, by contrast, need no app-side code — just a routing rule configured on the QR code or link itself.