AppsFlyer ESP 2.0 integration

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AppsFlyer is a mobile attribution and marketing analytics platform. To enable link tracking in email campaigns, Pushwoosh wraps URLs, and the ESP 2.0 solution ensures deep linking keeps working by sitting between Pushwoosh and your domain to serve the association files required for iOS Universal Links and Android App Links.

This integration also sends link click data to AppsFlyer, giving you full visibility into email performance alongside your other marketing channels and letting you measure the real impact of email on user acquisition and engagement.

Integration overview

Integration type

• Source: Email links wrapped with your Click Tracking Domain (CTD). Clicks go to AppsFlyer first.
• Destination: Final URL. Traffic is routed via AppsFlyer, then redirected by Pushwoosh to the destination.

Prerequisites

• Pushwoosh application with email sending configured
• AppsFlyer account with the ESP 2.0 integration. This is a premium feature. Contact your AppsFlyer CSM or AppsFlyer support to get access.

Synchronized entities

Source

• Email link clicks (via your Click Tracking Domain)

Destination

• Click events and attribution data in AppsFlyer
• Final URL (web page or deep link) where the user is redirected

Use cases

• Email click tracking: Measure email link clicks via AppsFlyer.
• Deep linking from email: Keep Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android) working when links in emails are wrapped.

How the integration works

Once the integration is live, each click goes through three steps:

1. Link wrapping: Pushwoosh replaces links in your emails with tracking URLs on your CTD, for example: https://clickpush.yourdomain.com/json/1.3/emailRedirect?d=...

2. Click attribution: When a user taps the link, the request goes to AppsFlyer first. AppsFlyer records the click and forwards the request to Pushwoosh:

   GET https://<Pushwoosh CNAME target>/json/1.3/emailRedirect
   Host: <your CTD>

3. Redirect: Pushwoosh returns a redirect to the final URL or deep link. The user lands on the destination or inside the app via Universal Link / App Link.

Setting up the integration

Pushwoosh vs AppsFlyer

Pushwoosh is only involved in the initial CTD setup. The rest of the integration is completed on the AppsFlyer side.

Step 1. Create and activate a click tracking domain

The Click Tracking Domain (CTD) is the domain part of a tracked link URL shown in an email message. It combines a subdomain with your main domain, for example, clickpush.esp-integrations1.com. The subdomain is created in your domain’s DNS settings with your domain provider, usually by adding a CNAME record.

New CTD required

Creating a new CTD is mandatory for the AppsFlyer ESP 2.0 integration, even if you are already using an existing click tracking domain. Using a new one avoids impacting traffic for your current email campaigns.

For details, see AppsFlyer’s guide: Set up your ESP integration with AppsFlyer.

1. Decide which subdomain you will use as your CTD (for example, clickpush.esp-integrations1.com).

2. Contact Pushwoosh support or your Customer Success Manager to activate the CTD for your app.

   Make sure to send:

   • Your Click Tracking Domain (for example, clickpush.esp-integrations1.com)
   • Pushwoosh Application code (for example, XXXXX-XXXXX). In Pushwoosh Control Panel, it appears below the application name.

Pushwoosh will:

• Activate the Click Tracking Domain for that application.
• Send you the CNAME target to use in DNS.

Step 2. Configure DNS

In your domain’s DNS settings, create a CNAME record so your CTD points to Pushwoosh:

Type	Name / Host	Value / Target
CNAME	Your CTD (for example, clickpush.esp-integrations1.com)	CNAME target from Pushwoosh

Wait for DNS changes to propagate. This may take a few minutes to several hours, depending on your DNS provider and TTL settings. Once the CNAME is active, Pushwoosh can use your CTD to wrap links in emails.

For example

https://clickpush.esp-integrations1.com/json/1.3/emailRedirect?d=...

Tipp

Before continuing, send a test email and click a link. Confirm that the link uses your CTD.

Step 3. Start the integration in AppsFlyer

In the AppsFlyer platform, start the ESP 2.0 integration. Follow the AppsFlyer guide to set up your ESP integration.

AppsFlyer will ask for the following details:

• Click-tracking domain: your CTD (for example, clickpush.esp-integrations1.com)
• ESP endpoint: the CNAME target provided by Pushwoosh

AppsFlyer will validate the configuration. Keep the CTD CNAME pointing to the Pushwoosh CNAME target until the validation is complete.

Step 4. Update CNAME to AppsFlyer

After AppsFlyer validates the setup, it will give you a routing domain (for example, jyvls.espclicks.appsflyer.com).

Update your CNAME so the CTD points to AppsFlyer instead of Pushwoosh:

Before:

clickpush.esp-integrations1.com → Pushwoosh CNAME target

After:

clickpush.esp-integrations1.com → jyvls.espclicks.appsflyer.com (use the domain provided by AppsFlyer)

Propagation time

After you update the CNAME, the integration can take up to 24 hours to start working.

After switching the CNAME, send a test email and verify that links open correctly and clicks appear in AppsFlyer.

What happens next

Once the change takes effect, click traffic goes through AppsFlyer’s infrastructure. AppsFlyer provides the routing layer, SSL, AASA (Apple App Site Association), and Android App Links.

Pushwoosh continues to wrap links and serve redirects. No further configuration is needed in Pushwoosh.

To learn more about setup and testing on the AppsFlyer side, see:

Set up your ESP integration with AppsFlyer

Email service provider integration guide