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Demystifying Deep Linking with the 4R Framework
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Leading Adjust’s TrueLink solution, I speak with many different types of clients every day about their experiences working with deep links across different formats. What’s clear is that there’s a lot of detail people can get lost in. My goal is to demystify some of that technical jargon and provide a simple framework anyone can use to understand how deep linking works.
Here, I’ll walk through what I call “The 4R framework”. At its core, the framework shows how context moves through a deep linking journey. The context behind a link first needs to be remembered, the user needs to reach the app, that context then needs to be retrieved, and finally the app can use it to route the user to the intended destination. that I walk through below is one such attempt.
The specific mechanics may change depending on the platform or journey, but these four principles provide a useful foundation for understanding what successful deep linking needs to accomplish.
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The 4R Framework in action
To see how this works, imagine a hypothetical ecommerce company called “TeeCommerce”. The marketing team is promoting its Summer Sale through influencers on social media, with a campaign designed to take users directly to the product page for its bestselling blue T-shirt.
For the campaign, TeeCommerce creates a branded domain short link:
https://teecommerce.go.link/summer-sale-2026
The corresponding website destination is:
While the short link is what the user sees and clicks, it carries additional context behind the scenes. This link data can include campaign parameters, the deep link path, redirect information and other custom data.
Technically, the branded short link maps to a full click URL containing that link data as parameters. In this example, that could look like:
https://teecommerce.go.link/tees/men/blue123?
adj_t=abc123&adj_campaign=Insta&adj_adgroup=Influencer&
adj_creative=Reel&adj_redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fteecommerce.com%2Fmen%2Fblue12
In simple terms, this context tells us two important things: where the user came from and where they intend to go.
For our TeeCommerce campaign, the link data could include:
- Link token = abc123
- Channel = social
- Campaign = Insta
- Ad group = influencer
- Creative = reel
- Deep link path = tees/men/blue123
- Redirect = https://teecommerce.com/men/blue123
The challenge of deep linking is preserving and using that context as the user moves through their journey. That is where the 4Rs come in.
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1. Remember: Capture the context
Goal: Capture and store where the user came from and where they intend to go.
When a user clicks an Adjust link, its associated link data is stored on Adjust servers as part of the click information. This provides the context that may be needed later in the journey.
One way to visualize this is to think about a courier company. The original link click is the sender, the app is the receiver, and Adjust TrueLink acts as the courier helping information travel between the two. Before a courier can deliver a package, it needs to know important information about it, such as where it came from and where it needs to go.
The link data serves a similar purpose. Remember is the point at which that context is captured so it can be used later in the journey.
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2. Reach: Get the user into the app
Goal: Guide the user toward opening the mobile app.
Remembering the context is only the beginning. The next challenge is getting the user into the app.
How that happens depends on whether the app is installed and the environment in which the link is opened. If the app can be opened directly, Universal Links or Android App Links can support that journey. Other journeys may involve URI schemes, web pages, app stores, and more.
In the TeeCommerce example, an existing user can open the app directly after clicking the branded short link because the branded domain has Universal Links or Android App Links implemented. For other users or environments, the route may be different.
Returning to our courier analogy, the delivery person needs to find an appropriate route to the receiver’s address. There may be several possible roads to get there. Similarly, a user journey might involve direct deep linking, deferred deep linking through an app store, or a web-to-app flow.
The route can change, but the objective of Reach stays the same: get the user into the app so the journey can continue.
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3. Retrieve: Connect the app session to the click
Goal: Retrieve the stored context after the app opens.
Once the app opens, the next challenge is identifying the context associated with that journey.
When the Adjust SDK initializes, Adjust can match and attribute the app session to the initial click. If a match is made, the context remembered in the first step can be retrieved and made available for the next stage of the journey.
In the TeeCommerce example, matching may be deterministic, using available device identifiers, or probabilistic.
This is an important part of the process because the correct app session needs to be connected to the correct interaction.
Our courier has now reached the address, but still needs to make sure the package is being delivered to the correct receiver. The matching and attribution process performs a similar function, connecting the app session back to the relevant link click so the appropriate context can be retrieved.
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4. Route: Deliver the intended in-app experience
Goal: Guide the user to the correct in-app destination.
Once the context has been retrieved, Adjust hands the relevant link data over to the app. The app can then use that information to route the user to the intended destination.
For TeeCommerce, the user originally clicked a Summer Sale link promoting the blue T-shirt. The app can use the retrieved deep link path to take them directly to that product detail page, preserving the intent of the original click.
In our courier analogy, this is the final handover: Adjust TrueLink delivers the right package, or link data, to the app. What the app does with that data, including how it routes the user or personalizes the experience, is determined by the brand.
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Deep linking can involve different technologies, platforms, and user journeys, but the underlying principle is simple: preserve the context of the original click through to the experience the user receives in the app.
That’s what the 4R framework is designed to illustrate: Remember the context, Reach the app, Retrieve the context, and Route the user to the intended destination.
While the mechanics may vary, keeping these four steps in mind provides a simple way to understand what’s happening under the hood of a deep linking journey.
To learn more about TrueLink or how Adjust can help grow your app business, reach out to your Adjust representative or request a demo today.
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