App Store Link Builder
Build clean, trackable App Store and Google Play links with campaign parameters — no guesswork on the URL format.
Every store link you share is a measurement opportunity — if it is built correctly. Apple’s campaign links attach a provider token (pt) and a campaign token (ct) to the standard apps.apple.com URL, which lets App Store Connect’s App Analytics attribute downloads to the specific campaign that drove them. Google Play does the equivalent with a referrer parameter carrying UTM values.
The formats are fussy and easy to get subtly wrong: a mistyped parameter fails silently, and you lose the attribution without any error. This builder assembles the URLs for you — enter the app, name your campaign, and copy a link that is guaranteed well-formed for either store.
How to build a campaign-tracked store link
- 1
Enter your app — by name search or by pasting its store URL — so the builder resolves the correct base link.
- 2
For App Store links, add your provider token (pt), found in App Store Connect under App Analytics, and a campaign token (ct) naming this campaign, e.g. “newsletter-jul”.
- 3
For Google Play links, fill in the UTM fields (source, medium, campaign) and the builder encodes them into the referrer parameter.
- 4
Copy the finished URL and use it in your email, social post, ad, or QR code.
- 5
Check downloads by campaign later — in App Analytics for iOS, or your Play Console acquisition reports for Android.
How Apple’s pt and ct parameters work
A campaign link for iOS looks like apps.apple.com/us/app/your-app/id1234567890?pt=123456&ct=summer-launch&mt=8. The pt value is your provider token — a numeric ID tied to your App Store Connect organization, shown in App Analytics when you create a campaign link there. The ct value is free text you choose per campaign, up to 40 characters, and it is what App Analytics groups downloads by. The mt=8 parameter is a legacy media-type marker for apps; harmless to include and still conventional.
Attribution is counted when a user taps the link and installs; App Analytics then reports impressions, product page views, and downloads per campaign token under its acquisition sources. The two classic failure modes are using someone else’s pt (attribution goes to the wrong organization) and reusing one vague ct like “social” everywhere — token hygiene, with one distinct ct per placement, is what makes the data usable.
Google Play links and general link hygiene
Play campaign links use the standard product URL — play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.example.app — with a referrer parameter whose value is a URL-encoded UTM string, e.g. referrer=utm_source%3Dnewsletter%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dsummer. The encoding is the trap: the ampersands and equals signs inside the referrer value must be percent-encoded, or the string is truncated at the first raw ampersand and your campaign data silently disappears.
Whichever store you link to, a few habits keep the data clean. Use lowercase, hyphenated campaign names so “Newsletter” and “newsletter” do not split into two rows. Never wrap store links in a third-party shortener that strips query parameters. And when the same campaign spans both platforms, mirror the campaign name in ct and utm_campaign so the two stores’ reports line up.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find my provider token (pt)?
In App Store Connect: open App Analytics, go to the acquisition section, and create or view a campaign link — the pt value shown there is your organization’s provider token. It is the same number for all your apps, while the ct value changes per campaign.
Do campaign parameters work if the user already has the app installed?
The link still opens the App Store product page (or the app, depending on context), but campaign attribution in App Analytics is about driving new downloads and re-downloads. Taps from existing users show up in impressions and page views rather than as new-download conversions.
What happens if I share a store link with no parameters?
It works perfectly for the user — it just teaches you nothing. The install is attributed to generic web-referrer or browse buckets, and you cannot tell your newsletter apart from your Twitter bio. Parameters cost nothing, so any link you distribute deliberately deserves them.
Can I use the same ct token across different channels?
You can, but you will regret it: App Analytics aggregates by token, so one shared token merges every channel into a single undifferentiated row. Use one distinct ct per placement — “podcast-jun”, “blog-footer”, “email-onboarding” — and the acquisition report becomes a channel comparison for free.
Is there a character limit or format rule for the ct value?
Apple allows up to 40 characters for the campaign token. Stick to letters, numbers, and hyphens; avoid spaces and special characters, which require encoding and invite breakage when links are copied between tools.
Should the link include a country code like /us/?
apps.apple.com links include a storefront path segment, and the store generally redirects signed-in users to their own storefront regardless. For international audiences, using your primary market’s code is fine — but region-specific campaigns can link their target storefront directly for a cleaner landing.
See what happens after the tap
Campaign links tell you which channel drove the download; Appalize’s App Store Connect analytics show what happened next — impressions, conversion rates, and retention in one dashboard.
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