Web-To-App Banners: How to Convert Website Visitors into Engaged App Users

As an agency looking to increase sales for the client, the first places to look are often making sure the website is optimized or reviewing the PPC channels. But here’s some food for thought for you: While mobile websites account for an impressive 50% of global web traffic, research tells us that a mammoth 90% of the time we spend on our smartphones is spent on mobile apps, with 200 of these minutes spent shopping (and generating around $50 billion in sales). And here’s more:

85% of shoppers favor apps over mobile websites when it comes to online shopping.A 5% increase in customer retention rates in the app can deliver an increase in profits of between 25-95%, so increasing the number of app users for the clients is a no-brainer.61% of Millennials download retail apps and 58% of millennials said that they prefer purchasing through apps.Consumers view over 4 times as many products per session within apps, compared to mobile websites, resulting in fuller baskets.Apps have a 3x higher conversion rate compared to mobile sites. 40.4% of users purchase more products after downloading an eCommerce app. Interestingly, 45.9% end up visiting the brick-and-mortar store more regularly. 

Does this mean that optimizing the client’s website is not important? Of course not! But what it does mean is that their site can be a key part of an app growth strategy which will make their app the golden ticket to proving ROI on the services as an agency; in this article, we’ll take a look at how you can do just that.

1. Direct website visitors to the app

Ensuring the client’s app is easy to find is key. Feature a web-to-app banner on the client’s website so that when visitors are on the site, they know that they’ve also got an app. Tools like Kumulos can enable you to create effective web-to-app banners that drive results.  Social proofing works. If the app is lucky enough to have garnered great reviews, include them on the website.Where possible, include screenshots of the app to give people an idea of the app experience.Make sure the site includes the relevant app store icons so that visitors know exactly where they can download the app; place them above the fold so that they’re visible, regardless of what visitors are doing.If there’s real estate on the site, add a separate “app” page that takes a deep dive into the app and includes all of the above. Make sure you include a punchy Call To Action and make it as easy as possible for potential users to link to it.

2. Drive web search traffic to the app

Knowing how the client’s customers search for the business, the site, and the app is critical in delivering an optimal user experience; so when a potential user enters the search funnel, you’ve established the optimum point at which to direct them to the app.

Leverage Google Ads: identify relevant keywords, optimize the ad copy, monitor campaigns and funnel traffic to their app store page. As you continue to fine-tune your efforts, the app should start appearing in the trending category and you should start seeing an increase in downloads.

If relevant (and it should be), ensure that the funnel includes insights into any benefits or features that customers can find in the app but not on the website – think personalized, relevant discounts, multi-buy offers, new product drops, early-bird Sales entry,  loyalty points, refer-a-friend schemes, and more. A web-to-app banner from Kumulos would help you highlight these benefits or deals on any key landing pages that you build for your client.

3. Use deep linking to send users to the app

Despite deep linking becoming a great tool for marketers and marketing agencies to drive web users to an app, they’re still vastly underused. 

Deep links are links that send users straight to an app instead of to a website – and more often than not, to a specific location within the app. By default, this saves customers – and of course potential customers, a whole lot of time, energy, and frustration simply by taking them to the app page that includes the product that they want to purchase, the subscription they want to sign up for, or the product they’d like to trial.

Using deep links is a significant help when it comes to boosting conversions because it enables you to point users straight to the point-of-sale in-app.Deep linking increases retention rates because they contain contextual information that enables marketing agencies and teams to deliver a personalized, relevant experience before, during, and after the onboarding process.Using deep links helps to boost sales. Users are twice as likely to make a purchase in-app as they are on the mobile site, and when they do make that purchase, they tend to spend more – 2.5X more. 

But there’s another kind of deep link which you should know about; the ‘deferred’ deep link. While deep linking is the perfect tool in the marketing arsenal to engage users who already have the app installed, deep links have limited use when a potential customer hasn’t yet downloaded the app. If they click on the standard deep link and don’t have the app installed, it will result in a poorer user experience. Enter Deferred Deep Links.

If the user clicks on the deferred deep link and doesn’t have the app installed, rather than dropping out of their journey towards a sale, they’ll instead be deferred to the appropriate App Store page where they can download the app. Once installed, the user will be directed to the location of the link they originally clicked on, minimizing friction and increasing the likelihood of a successful sale. 

How to use deferred deep links:

Add deferred deep links on your client’s website and on web-to-app banner ads to drive users to the app.Send deferred deep links by email and SMS to take users directly into the app to complete the identified goals.Use deferred deep links across the social media terrain and create incentivized referral programs.

4. Drive web buyers to the app

When your client’s customers make a purchase on the website, if you’re doing things right, they should end up on a confirmation page. Instead of stopping there, here’s the next opportunity to drive these customers to the app. How? Again, think about showcasing the benefits they can enjoy when they download the app; “Next time, get 10% off when you shop via our app”, or, “Sign up for our app and we’ll send you a 15% code for the next purchase” … you get the idea … 

Try including a “Top Tip” box on the purchase confirmation page. For example, you could mention that “83% of customers who purchased this item enjoyed 10% off by using our app”, or “Join the 80% of customers who enjoy personalized offers on purchases just like this when they shop via our app”. 

Along with the confirmation page, the customers also very likely get a purchase confirmation email, giving you another opportunity to send a link to the app page on the website, or directly to the relevant app store where customers can download the app. 

Don’t forget to include the App and Play Store app icons on the confirmation page, along with download links/buttons!

Conclusion

We understand – funnelling users to your client’s mobile app is easier said than done, but if they’ve got a website (and let’s face it, most businesses do), and you’re utilizing email and SMS campaigns (and if you’re not, it’s a good time to start!) you’ve already got the building blocks to start strategically driving a lot of the traffic to the mobile app so that the audience can start reaping the benefits you’re offering them for doing so. The strategies outlined above will help you to start generating more app downloads – the rest is up to you!

If you’d like to learn more about deferred deep links, web-to-app banners, or any of the other strategies mentioned in this article, why not reach out to the product specialists at Kumulos – the intelligent mobile messaging tool for agencies, enterprises, and marketers globally.