Media sources assist marketers in determining the origins of app users and determining how various acquisition channels affect the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Apptrove categorizes them into integrated networks, attribution-link networks, and owned media employing various attributing methods for each. Awareness of similarities and differences in importance of the concepts helps marketers read reports correctly and isolate problems of tracking and decision-making.
Understanding media sources
Every installation of an app is associated with a user’s journey. Users usually discover apps through paid ads, clicking on referral links, or through email marketing campaigns. Each of these instances can be treated as a possible source of acquisition of an app user.
Media sources are the platforms, partners, or the processes used to make users aware of the app and interact with it. They help marketers discover where they came from and what channels make the contribution to acquisition and activities in apps.
However, identifying a source is not always as easy as just following clicks. Different channels use different methods of sharing data, and attribution relies on how these touches are gathered and linked together. Apptrove employs various attribution methodologies to different media sources.
Types of Media Sources in Apptrove
Apptrove organizes its media sources into three primary groups: integrated networks, attribution link networks, and owned media. Each of these categories assumes a unique methodology in relation to attribution and possesses its own features.
Integrated Networks
Self-Reporting Networks (SRN) pass on attribution data through API or server-to-server connections, receiving attribution information directly from the networks, without relying heavily on URL parameters.
This has allowed minimizing dependence on parsing the parameters and limits the loss of data during attribution.
Integrated networks prove to be beneficial for marketers who need to assess the effectiveness of campaigns across the ad networks, provided that there are integrations for reporting purposes. However, attribution still hinges upon the available data from the network and matching rules.
Attribution-Link Networks (Non-SRN)
Non-SRN networks are dependent on attribution links that contain parameters that allow finding clicks, impressions, campaigns, and other data.
After conducting the tracking link interaction, Apptrove employs the URL parameters to decide what media sources should be credited with the install or event.
The most important factor here is the accuracy of parameters. When parameters are missing, misconfigured, or lost during redirection, the process of attribution cannot be trusted.
Owned Media
Owned media sources is denoted as that channel or campaign which is being controlled directly by the business. Examples of owned media sources include email campaigns, initiatives of referrals, and other promotional activities that are handled directly by the marketers of the business.
In Apptrove attribution for owned media sources relies on deep links or links to the campaigns created by the businesses. As a result, the marketers are given much more flexibility in terms of how their campaigns are tagged and tracked.
Nonetheless, with that flexibility comes the responsibility. Misidentification or inconsistency regarding tags within campaigns could yield misclassifications and make it hard to analyze performance reports.
How Apptrove makes use of media sources for attribution
Knowing the different types of sources is only one step of many. The second stage is knowing how Apptrove applies the available data in order to connect user actions with installs as well as in-app events.
Attribution methods depending on source categories
Different attribution approaches are used by Apptrove depending on the source category.
1. For SRN: the attribution data is extracted as the result of API or server-to-server integrations. It means that there is no reliance on URL parameters parsing.
2. Non-SRN: Attribution is based on variables transferred through click and impression links.
3. Owned media: Attribution uses deep links and campaign URLs set and supervised by an organization.
These contrasts matter because the information that is available for determining users and giving credit is different depending on the kind of sources.
Attribution Importance and Matching
At times, the user interacts with more than one campaign or source before downloading the application. In such instances, Apptrove uses the rules of attribution in order to determine what source deserves the credits.
The rules can include the latest valid click as well as the network priority depending on the type of attribution used. This matching procedure helps to understand what source gets credit for an installation or an action performed if there are several possible sources immediately detected.
Why Media Source Classification Matters for Reporting
Attribution data becomes particularly beneficial when it can be utilized to evaluate the performance of different source types. Apptrove’s segmentation formula enables precise attribution and event data interpretation by source type – SRNs, non-SRNs, and owned media.
Better Evaluation of Channel Performance
Knowing the specific source type allows marketers to understand the results of different acquisition methods. For example, they can analyze the performance of integrated networks versus attribution-linked campaigns and owned channels.
Such comparisons enable teams to discern performance differences across channels and figure out whether one specific channel works better.
Spotting Attribution Mistakes Earlier
Sudden decreases in installs may be indicative of changes in performance but can also serve as a signal of a tracking problem.
For instance, unexpected changes in installs from a non-SRN network can suggest errors or missing URL parameters. By analyzing performance of different sources, marketers can understand whether changes in installs are actually related to changes in user behavior.
Make More Informed Campaign Decisions
When reliable source classification is used, marketers will have a better sight of the acquisition processes. If marketers fully understand where the traffic comes from and the method of attributing traffic to sources, they will have the ability to better analyze their campaigns and understand what issues need to be investigated further.
The aim of collecting attribution data is not to accumulate as much attribution data as possible. The aim is to understand the meaning of this data and how to use it.
Principles of proper source management
To ensure successful attribution, companies should implement consistent source configuration and regular monitoring. Also, some simple habits will help improve the quality of reporting.
- Give preference to integrated networks: The existing integrations allow one not to worry about the necessity of URL parameter parsing, and it helps to reduce data loss.
- Make sure attribution links are validated: Consult about the configurations of the parameters when it comes to non-SRN networks.
- Use a consistent tagging approach: Make sure you tag every controlling campaign and assign different identifiers in the deep links.
- Keep an eye on the reports according to the source type: Make sure you pay attention to the change in the
To Wrap It Up
Media sources do not just give a name to the place from which the app was downloaded. They enable marketers to understand how acquisition channels have been identified, how attribution is performed, and how campaign outcomes should be evaluated.
Apptrove makes a distinction between integrated networks, attribution-link networks, and owned media in that these networks rely on different attribution mechanisms. Understanding how these networks differ allows marketers to explore anomalies in reporting, maintain stable tracking, and compare their campaign outcomes.
Once media sources are identified and categorized correctly, the attribution data can be treated with greater confidence. Marketers can benefit from understanding how this data is produced: they can stop counting installs and start making informed decisions about their app(s) development.
