App stores
What is an App Store campaign link?
Short answer
An App Store campaign link is an App Store URL with three extra parameters, pt (provider token), ct (campaign token) and mt=8, so App Store Connect can report impressions, product page views, downloads and sales for each campaign. The numbers are aggregate: they show how a campaign did, not who installed.
The parameters
pt is your provider token, and you can’t make it up. Generate a campaign link once in App Store Connect, under Apps > Analytics > Acquisition > Campaigns, and the pt stays the same for all your campaigns. ct names the campaign: up to 30 characters, with no space at the start or end. mt=8 stays as it is.
When numbers appear
A campaign shows up after first-time downloads from at least five users and at least 24 hours after launch. A metric only appears once it reaches five in the selected date range, so very small campaigns may never show.
Beyond downloads, App Store Connect also tracks usage, sales and subscriptions per campaign token. For anything per user, you need another method, such as an SDK that confirms the link that opened the app.
https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id123456789?pt=123456&ct=spring_poster&mt=8Related terms
- App store link
An app store link is the address of an app’s page in a store. On the App Store it looks like apps.apple.com/<country>/app/<name>/id<number>; on Google Play, play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=<package>. The scheme versions, itms-apps:// and market://, open the store app itself instead of a web page.
- UTM parameters
UTM parameters are five tags you add to a link, utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term and utm_content, so analytics tools know where a visit came from. Apps add a catch: the App Store drops them, and Google Play only keeps them inside its referrer parameter.
- Mobile attribution
Mobile attribution is working out which ad, campaign or link brought an app install or an in-app action, such as a sign-up or a purchase. It can be deterministic, based on a click ID, the install referrer or the link that opened the app, or probabilistic, based on statistical matching.
One link for every phone
Create a free smart link and QR code that sends iPhones to the App Store, Android phones to Google Play and desktops to your website.