What are smart banners?

Although mobile apps account for the majority of sales on mobile devices, the research stage of the mobile user journey is still conducted primarily on web browsers. This means that in order to have the highest possible conversion, app marketers must bridge the gap between web and mobile apps. This is where smart banners come into play.

Smart banners are a pop-up that launches a call to action (CTA) banner as app users browse your mobile website, encouraging them to download your app to continue browsing there. This tool is beneficial to marketers as it seamlessly bridges the web-to-app flow, converting web users to app users who are more likely to make a purchase.

There are a few paths a user can experience with smart app banners.

If the user has previously installed your app, and clicks on the CTA button of the smart app banner, the app will open either to the app home screen, or to a deep link based on where they left off (using deep linking), depending on your chosen banner setup. For example, if the user is browsing the socks category on your mobile website and the smart banner prompts them to go to your app, the app can open on the corresponding socks category page they were looking at.

Alternatively, if the user has not previously installed your app, a deferred deep link will take them to the appropriate app store to download and install the app, which will then direct the user to the home screen or designated deep link that corresponds to the webpage they were browsing.

Apple launched the smart app banner for iOS with the release of iOS 6. These smart banners are compatible with Apple’s Safari browser, and offer a smart-recognition CTA. This means that if users had the app downloaded, the smart banner shows an “Open” CTA and the subtext “Open in the [App Name] app”. Otherwise, the smart banner displays a “View” CTA and the subtext “Get – On the App Store”.

iOS smart banners also recognize the user’s geographic location, and will not appear in the user’s browser if the app is unavailable to download in their location. Apple smart app banners are easy to implement on iOS as they simply require the following code in the head of your mobile website:

The primary benefits of using smart banners are:

Lower user acquisition (UA) cost: Unlike traditional paid digital marketing, smart banners can bring users to your app during an organic customer journey.

Higher conversion rate: By creating a frictionless path to the platform of highest mobile revenue, you will naturally see an increase in conversion.

Unobtrusive: Smart banners fit naturally into the customer journey and create a more seamless experience.

Lidl, for example, launched its new app alongside a smart banner to increase customer awareness and drive app conversions. Jet demonstrated the value of smart banners for conversion by driving 33% of its install traffic with a smart banner.

Adjust's Smart Banners solution empowers marketers with the tools to create and implement smart banners effortlessly. An intuitive setup allows for quick and smart work, enabling marketers to increase lifetime value (LTV) and user retention by customizing banners that connect with high-value users.

In fact, you can tailor your smart banners as much as you’d like. Edit the title, description, button, button text, the background of the banner, and even add a custom image instead of the app icon. Taking your smart banner ads to the next level helps attract users who are more likely to spend time and money during meaningful app sessions, driving new users and more traffic to the app.