Analytics configuration

The Analytics Configuration page controls which tracking information Dynalinks passes on when it sends a visitor somewhere else. It has two settings:

  • UTM Parameter Passing: copies UTM parameters from the clicked link to the desktop redirect.
  • Link in Referrer (Android): puts the clicked link into the Google Play referrer, which is what makes Android deferred deep linking work.

Both settings apply to every link in the project and are disabled by default.

To change them, open your project, go to Settings and choose Analytics Configuration. Each setting has its own Edit Configuration button. Only the project Owner and Managers can change these settings (see Team members and roles).

Neither setting changes the iOS fallback URL or Android fallback URL of a link. Fallback URLs are always used exactly as you entered them. See Fallback URLs.

UTM Parameter Passing

Setting: Pass UTM parameters to desktop redirects

When this is enabled, any query parameter whose name starts with utm_ (for example utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) on the link a visitor opens is added to the link’s URL when Dynalinks redirects to it. That way your website’s analytics can still see which campaign the visitor came from.

When it applies

The setting only affects redirects to the link’s URL field. That happens when:

  • the link is opened on a desktop browser, or
  • the link has no iOS or Android app configured, so every visitor is sent to the URL.

It does not affect the App Store or Google Play URLs, or the iOS and Android fallback URLs.

Examples

Link URL: https://www.example.com/

Visitor opens: https://example.dynalinks.app/offers?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=spring2024

Setting Desktop redirect
Disabled https://www.example.com/
Enabled https://www.example.com/?utm_campaign=spring2024&utm_source=email

Only utm_ parameters are copied. Other parameters on the visited link, such as ?tab=deals, are not passed on.

If the link’s URL already has query parameters, they are kept, and a parameter that already exists in the URL keeps its own value:

Link URL: https://www.example.com/spring?ref=site&utm_source=web

Visitor opens: https://example.dynalinks.app/offers?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=spring2024

Setting Desktop redirect
Disabled https://www.example.com/spring?ref=site&utm_source=web
Enabled https://www.example.com/spring?ref=site&utm_campaign=spring2024&utm_source=web

In this example utm_source=web from the URL wins over utm_source=email from the visited link, and utm_campaign is added. When parameters are added, the query string is rebuilt with the parameters in alphabetical order.

Setting: Include full link URL in Play Store referrer parameter

When Dynalinks sends an Android user to Google Play, it builds the Play Store URL from the Android app configured on the link. Google Play hands the referrer value from that URL to your app after it is installed. This setting controls what goes into referrer.

When it is enabled, Dynalinks encodes the exact link the user opened (including its query parameters) and puts it in referrer as _url. The Dynalinks Android SDK reads _url on first launch to deliver the deferred deep link and to record the installation.

The Dynalinks Android SDK needs this setting to deliver deferred deep links. If you use the SDK on Android, enable it.

What changes in the Play Store URL

Assume an Android app with package name com.example.app, a link opened at https://example.dynalinks.app/offers?utm_source=email, and the link’s Referrer field set to utm_source=email&utm_campaign=spring.

Disabled: the Referrer field is used as is, and the link’s address is added as a separate url parameter of the Play Store URL.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.example.app&referrer=utm_source%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dspring&url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.dynalinks.app%2Foffers

Enabled: referrer starts with _url, followed by the Referrer field. There is no separate url parameter.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.example.app&referrer=_url%3DaHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmR5bmFsaW5rcy5hcHAvb2ZmZXJzP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZW1haWw%26utm_source%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dspring

Decoded, the referrer value in the second URL is:

_url=aHR0cHM6Ly9leGFtcGxlLmR5bmFsaW5rcy5hcHAvb2ZmZXJzP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZW1haWw&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=spring

aHR0cHM6... is the URL-safe Base64 encoding (without padding) of https://example.dynalinks.app/offers?utm_source=email.

A few details:

  • The _url value is the link exactly as the user opened it, so query parameters on the clicked link reach your app too.
  • Your Referrer field values (UTM or campaign parameters) are still included after _url. Any _url= or url= entries in the Referrer field are dropped, so they cannot conflict with the generated value.
  • If the Referrer field is empty, referrer only contains _url.
  • With the setting disabled and the Referrer field empty, the Play Store URL has no referrer parameter at all.

When it applies

The setting only changes Play Store URLs that Dynalinks builds itself: the Google Play button on the link page, and the automatic redirect when forced redirect is enabled. If the link has an Android fallback URL, Android users are sent there instead and nothing is added to it. See Using a Play Store URL as the Android fallback if you need a custom Play Store URL.