A web-to-app funnel routes a user from a web ad or web page to a mobile app install and then, ideally, straight into the intended in-app action.
Definition
A web-to-app funnel routes a user from a web ad or web page to a mobile app install and then, ideally, straight into the intended in-app action. It is used in iGaming user acquisition when the goal is app users but the ad is best run on the web — because the app-store gambling category is restricted in the market, because web inventory is cheaper or more compliant, or because the operator wants to capture the user on the web first and convert them to the app later for better retention.
The funnel has more steps than a pure web or pure app flow, and each step sheds users: the web click, the store page, the install, the first open, the deep-linked destination, the registration, the deposit. A deferred deep link is what makes the funnel work at acceptable conversion, carrying the intended destination — a specific game, a bonus, a pre-filled registration — through the install so the new user lands where the ad promised rather than on a generic home screen.
In context
Web-to-app is measured end to end, because a strong web click-through rate means nothing if installs, opens and deposits collapse further down. Buyers track web-CTR, click-to-install, install-to-open, open-to-registration and registration-to-deposit as a chain, and the weakest link is where optimisation effort goes.
On iOS, App Tracking Transparency degrades deferred deep linking and attribution, so web-to-app conversion and measurement are both weaker there, and buyers often bid lower on iOS or lean on probabilistic and modelled attribution.
The funnel competes with two alternatives. A pure web funnel keeps the user on the web, which converts faster but usually retains worse than an app user.
A pure app funnel runs the ad in-store, which has fewer steps but is unavailable or restricted for gambling in many markets. Web-to-app is chosen when the destination has to be the app but the acquisition has to happen on the web, and its viability depends entirely on the deep-link plumbing working reliably across both platforms.
Worked example
A buyer runs a web-to-app funnel for a licensed casino in a market with no store gambling category. Web-CTR is 1.4%, click-to-install 22%, install-to-registration 35%, registration-to-deposit 30%, giving a blended cost per FTD of $64 on Android.
On iOS the same funnel converts worse because the deferred deep link often fails post-ATT, so the buyer bids 25% lower there.
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