You may have heard about Smart App Banners, introduced with iOS 6. They are a nifty way you can direct people from your website directly to download your app.
These banners appear when somebody visits a web page with special code using Safari their iOS 6 iPhone or iPad. A small banner appears at the top of the page, listing basic app information, along with a link to view it in the App Store.
If you have a web site and an app in the app store, you have no reason NOT to use this.
This is one of those things that helps grease the path to conversions – anything you can do to make it easier for somebody to buy your app.
It’s very easy.
First, if you use WordPress, I already created an easy-to-use plugin. Install it, add your app ID to the appropriate page or post, and save. Done.
If you are using anything else, Apple provides the code you will need, but here is an example:
<meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=418978327, affiliate-data=partnerID=30&siteID=yNu*KhQy60I" />
Try the demo from an iOS device.
This code needs to be placed inside the web page’s header, but make sure to replace the app ID and affiliate siteID first.
Finally, there’s one more option to add app arguments if your application does that (ask your developer if you don’t know). Apple can walk you through.
With further app integration, you can pass information from your website to your app. Yelp does this when you end up on a company’s profile.
Adding the code shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes. It’s an easy way to direct people from your website to download your app, and every little bit helps.