Push Notification Tracking

Measure how well your push notifications perform by attributing app opens to a Linkrunner campaign. You put a campaign link inside the notification, and when the user taps it, your app passes the link to the SDK’s handleDeeplink function.

How it works

You create a campaign in Linkrunner and copy its link
You send a push notification that carries the link
The user taps the notification and your app opens
Your app passes the link to handleDeeplink
Linkrunner attributes the app open to the campaign, and it shows up in your campaign analytics

Prerequisites

Linkrunner SDK installed and initialized in your app. See your platform’s guide: Android, iOS, React Native, Flutter, Expo.
handleDeeplink implemented in your app. Refer to your SDK guide (Android, iOS, React Native, Flutter) for the base setup.
A push notification provider (Firebase Cloud Messaging, OneSignal, Braze, CleverTap, etc.) already sending notifications to your app.

Setup

Create a campaign

In the Linkrunner Dashboard:

Click “Create Campaign”
Name it after the notification or push campaign (for example, Diwali Sale Push)
Copy the campaign link

Create one campaign per push campaign, not one per notification. All opens from that push campaign then roll up under a single campaign in your analytics.

Add the link to your push notification

Include the campaign link in the notification’s data payload under a key your app reads on tap (for example, link).

{
  "notification": {
    "title": "Diwali Sale is live!",
    "body": "Up to 50% off, today only."
  },
  "data": {
    "link": "https://get.yourdomain.com/diwali-sale"
  }
}

If your provider supports a “launch URL” or “deep link” field (OneSignal, Braze, CleverTap all do), you can put the campaign link there instead. The OS then opens your app with the link, and your existing deep link listeners receive it. Using CleverTap, WebEngage, or MoEngage? See Push Notification Providers for exact steps.

Pass the link to handleDeeplink

When the user taps the notification, read the link from the payload and pass it to handleDeeplink.

Android
iOS
React Native
Flutter

With Firebase Cloud Messaging, data payload keys arrive as intent extras in your launcher activity:

override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
    trackPushOpen(intent)
}

override fun onNewIntent(intent: Intent) {
    super.onNewIntent(intent)
    trackPushOpen(intent)
}

private fun trackPushOpen(intent: Intent) {
    intent.extras?.getString("link")?.let { link ->
        LinkRunner.getInstance().handleDeeplink(link)
    }
}

Read the link from the notification’s userInfo in your UNUserNotificationCenterDelegate:

func userNotificationCenter(
    _ center: UNUserNotificationCenter,
    didReceive response: UNNotificationResponse
) async {
    let userInfo = response.notification.request.content.userInfo
    if let link = userInfo["link"] as? String {
        await LinkrunnerSDK.shared.handleDeeplink(url: link)
    }
}

With @react-native-firebase/messaging:

import messaging from '@react-native-firebase/messaging';
import linkrunner from 'rn-linkrunner';

// App opened from the background by a notification tap
messaging().onNotificationOpenedApp((message) => {
  const link = message?.data?.link;
  if (link) linkrunner.handleDeeplink(link);
});

// App opened from a killed state by a notification tap
messaging()
  .getInitialNotification()
  .then((message) => {
    const link = message?.data?.link;
    if (link) linkrunner.handleDeeplink(link);
  });

With firebase_messaging:

// App opened from the background by a notification tap
FirebaseMessaging.onMessageOpenedApp.listen((message) {
  final link = message.data['link'];
  if (link != null) LinkRunner().handleDeeplink(link);
});

// App opened from a killed state by a notification tap
final message = await FirebaseMessaging.instance.getInitialMessage();
final initialLink = message?.data['link'];
if (initialLink != null) LinkRunner().handleDeeplink(initialLink);

If your provider opens the campaign link as a launch URL instead, you don’t need the code above. Your existing handleDeeplink deep link listeners already receive the link.

Test it

Send a test notification with the campaign link in the payload to your own device
Tap the notification
Open the campaign in the dashboard and verify the app open appears in its analytics

Troubleshooting

Opens are not showing up in the campaign? Log the value you pass to handleDeeplink and confirm it is the exact campaign link. A missing or misspelled payload key (link) is the most common cause. Works when the app is in the background but not from a killed state? Cold starts need their own handling (getInitialNotification on React Native, getInitialMessage on Flutter, onCreate extras on Android). Make sure handleDeeplink is called after the SDK is initialized. The notification opens the browser instead of the app? Your provider is treating the link as a web URL. Use the data payload approach, or set up deep linking so the campaign link domain opens your app directly.

Need help? Contact support@linkrunner.io

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Troubleshooting

SDK-less Integration

Push Notification Tracking

How it works

Prerequisites

Setup

Troubleshooting

​How it works

​Prerequisites

​Setup

​Troubleshooting

How it works

Prerequisites

Setup

Troubleshooting