Mobile App Ads Helper

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Facebook provides mobile app ads helper to help advertisers verify that their apps' deep links and events are set up correctly. In order to use the app ads helper and analytics, you have to be registered at least as an insight user for the app. Users can be added in the Roles -section of the app settings. After a user has been added, the invitation must be accepted in here.

It might be a good idea to link this tool also to your developer developing the mobile app.

Verifying Facebook SDK Setup

Under iOS and Android setup, diagnostic information regarding the Facebook SDK implementation is shown on each platform separately. In addition, if there's a problem, there's also steps to fix it.

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  • The Facebook app setup tick shows whether the Facebook SDK is included correctly in the app.

  • Installs over the last 7 days ticks indicates whether there's installs for the app recorded by Facebook in the last seven days. One can use this as an indicator whether Facebook SDK is initialized correctly.

  • Deferred Deep Linking indicates whether the app has been configured correctly from Facebook's point of view to receive deep links after installation of the mobile app.

  • Install Invalidation (IOS Only) determines whether you are able to exclude users who have your app installed.

Verifying Mobile App Events for Mobile app DPA

In the App Events History section one can check the events sent by the app in the past 60 days. This includes all events sent via the Facebook SDK; the DPA events (ViewContent, AddToBasket, Purchase) as well as custom events. From the drop down, platform and app version can be selected.

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In order to verify the parameters sent by the custom events for DPA, the Facebook Analytics For Apps → Events → Most Recent report can be used. The events and parameters required are the same as in desktop.

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Event and Deep link testing tool

Mobile app ads helper tool

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At the bottom of the page, there are two tools that helps identifying issues before starting campaigns.

App Event Tester shows you in near real time what events are sent to Facebook while you use the app on your own device. Using this tool can be verified eg. that the DPA events are sent correctly.

Deep link tester allows you to verify and test deep links and deep link behavior before having campaigns live. The deep links can be tested in two ways:

  1. If "send notification" is selected, a notification will be sent to your Facebook mobile app. Clicking the notification opens the app similarly as it would be opened after clicking a Mobile App Engagement ad, when the user has the app installed.

  2. By selecting the "send deferred" -option, the deep link behaviour after an app install can be tested. There won't be notification delivered to your app. However, after uninstalling and reinstalling the app, the first time the app is opened, it will be opened as it would be opened after installing the app from an ad click.

There's no point of selecting both of the options at the same time because if they are, clicking the notification will open the app similarly to the case (1).

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