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SKAN 4.0 Conversion Value Setup

Written by Jeongwon Kim,

Last updated January 25, 2024

SKAdNetwork (SKAN) is a privacy-preserving iOS framework for mobile attribution. SKAN 4.0 tracks app events regardless of the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy’s opt-in rules for iOS 16.1 or later.

SKAN 4.0 sends three postbacks per install, and the app event data are sent in two types of conversion values - fine conversion values and coarse conversion values. Setting the conversion values properly is crucial to maximize the benefits of SKAN 4.0 and get a better picture of the user's post-install activities.

Notes

To measure iOS campaigns with SKAN 4.0, ad networks must ensure SKAN 4.0 support. Without the support of major ad networks, SKAN 4.0 can't be used. As of June 2023, ad networks such as Meta Business, Google Ads, and TikTok for Business are still in preparation for releasing SKAN 4.0 support. Therefore, even if you configure the conversion values for SKAN 4.0, the iOS data can’t be viewed in Airbridge yet.

The following actions must be taken before setting the SKAN 4.0 conversion values.

1. Upgrade your Airbridge iOS SDK to 1.33.1 or later.

2. After upgrading the SDK, contact your CSM to grant access to the SKAN 4.0 Conversion Value Settings page.

3. Read the SKAN 4.0 Guide Overview before setting the conversion values.

Once the actions above are taken, you can start setting the SKAN 4.0 conversion values on the [Management]>[SKAN Conversion Value] page.

Airbridge offers four measurement components when setting the conversion values. To select a measurement component, click the “Select measurement types / + Add measurement component” button.

Measurement Components

• Attribution Overlap: Determine whether the user attributed by SKAN is also attributed by the attribution model of Airbridge

• In-app event: Measure conversion and engagement

• Revenue: Measure the revenue generated by the user

• Retention: Determine whether the user used the app during set periods. Only available when configuring coarse conversion values.

Select the “Attribution Overlap” to determine whether the events attributed by SKAN have also been attributed by Airbridge. For an event to be attributed by the Airbridge attribution model, the user who performed the event must have accepted the collection of IDFA.

• SKAN: Apple uses its attribution model for attributing conversions to touchpoints

• Airbridge: Airbridge uses its attribution model for attributing conversions to touchpoints. To learn more about the attribution model of Airbridge, click here.

To view the duplicate event data, select the “SKAN Is Also Attributed by Airbridge (IDFA)” from the GroupBy option in the Actuals or Trend Report.

Select “In-app events” to find out whether the in-app event occurred within a set conversion window. Click “+ Add event” to select the in-app event you want to measure. With this measurement component, you will know only whether users performed the selected event or not.

When you have selected an in-app event, check the “Set ranges” checkbox to create ranges and measure the approximate number of the in-app event performed.

The maximum number of ranges you can create is 63. You can click the “Auto-fill” button to create ranges in regular intervals. You can create ranges for more than one in-app event.

Select “Revenue” to measure the revenue generated by the user who performed the set in-app event. Click “+ Add event” to select events and create revenue ranges to measure the approximate revenue. The maximum number of ranges you can create is 63.

The currency displayed in the revenue range fields is the app standard currency of your app set by the admin when the app was registered in Airbridge. Numbers to two decimal places can be entered in the range fields. You can click the “Auto-fill” button to create ranges in regular intervals.

Select “Retention” to determine whether a user used the app during set periods. This component is available for the second and third postback, which means the measurement periods are window 2 (3-7 days) and window 3 (8-35 days). The window can be divided into 2 or 3 ranges.

To view the SKAN retention data, select “SKAN Retention” from the metric option and “SKAN Retention Range” from the GroupBy option in the Actuals or Trend Report.

The fine conversion values operate on the same principles as the conversion values from SKAN 3.0. If you’re upgrading to SKAN 4.0 from a previous SKAN mode, your current schema mapping is carried over for the fine conversion values.

Principles

• A maximum of 64 fine conversion values can be set.

• Fine conversion values are measured during window 1, which is 0-2 days after install.

• Fine conversion values will be available for postback data tiers 2 and 3.

• All measurement components except for retention are supported.

You can select measurement components from “Attribution Overlap,” “In-app events,” and “Revenue” and make the necessary configuration. The possible combinations you created will be mapped to the fine conversion values from 0 to 63. The priority measurement component will also be mapped when configured. In the capacity box on the right, you can click on each of the 64 conversion values to see the mapping. After saving all configurations, you can see the mapping by clicking the “See mapping” button.

Airbridge will keep tracking your iOS app install events when the fine conversion values have been configured at least once. When your fine conversion values exceed the limit, you will see an alert sign in the capacity box. In that case, the following actions are recommended.

• Click the [trash] icon or the [x] icon in the priority box to delete measurement components.

• Switch off the “Attribution Overlap” toggle.

• Click the [minus] icon to delete events.

• Reduce the number of ranges.

Airbridge decodes the fine conversion values in the SKAN postback into event data. For example, when SKAN 4.0 postback sends “10” as a fine conversion value, Airbridge decodes the “10” into event data according to the conversions value mapping. The decoded event data can be viewed in the Actuals Report and Trend Report using the SKAN metric and GroupBy options.

Airbridge maps the possible combinations based on the configurations saved. The measurement components and events with higher priority are mapped to the fine conversion value.

The following image is an example of how the 64 conversion values are mapped.

The priority box is where you can manage the priorities of the measurement components by using the [drag] icon. The measurement components and events with higher priority are mapped to the fine conversion value. The “Attribution Overlap” component always stays at the number 1 rank.

Coarse conversion values are newly introduced in SKAN 4.0 and operate on the following principles.

Principles

• The coarse conversion values are limited to low, medium, and high.

• The coarse conversion values are sent in the first postback of Tier 1 or the second and third postbacks of Tier 1, 2, and 3.

• Only a single measurement type and a single event can be mapped.

For setting the coarse conversion values, select a measurement component and an event and create ranges. The configurations will be mapped to the coarse conversion values. You can see the mapping in the mapping preview box on the right. When selecting the “No select” option, the coarse conversion value settings will be deleted.

In order to track the iOS app install events in Airbridge, the fine conversion values or the coarse values must be configured at least once. The following table shows the coarse conversion value mapping per measurement component.

Measuring retention with 2 ranges

By clicking the [minus] icon, you can measure retention with only 2 ranges with the coarse conversion value mapping as the following.

• Low: No event occurred

• Medium: Event occurred during Range 1 period

  • For second postback: Window 2 start day (Day 3) to set Day N

  • For third postback: Window 3 start day (Day 8) to set Day N

• High: Event occurred during Range 2 period

  • For second postback: Range 1 end day to Window 2 end day (Day 7)

  • For third postback: Range 1 end day to Window 3 end day (Day 35)

Airbridge decodes the coarse conversion values in SKAN postbacks into event data. For example, when SKAN 4.0 postback sends “Medium” as a coarse conversion value, Airbridge decodes the “Medium” into event data according to the conversions value mapping. The decoded event data can be viewed in the Actuals Report and Trend Report using the SKAN metric and GroupBy options.

By enabling the lock window, the window is immediately closed when the high coarse value is reached, and the random postback timer is initiated in 24 hours. Lock window can be used with measurement components other than “Retention” which requires a longer measurement period.

For example, if you configure the coarse conversion values like in the following image and switch on the “Lock Window” toggle, window 2 will be closed when revenue falls in the 50,001 ~ 1000,000 KRW range, and the random postback timer is initiated early.

Window 3 starts on Day 8, regardless of the lock window causing the early closing of Window 2.

The following configuration examples can help you create your own SKAN 4.0 strategy.

You can set different conversion values for each postback depending on your marketing context and conversion window. Or you can set all conversion values to the same measurement type, event, and event properties.

Example 1. The single-target approach

Example 2. The diversified approach

Example 3. The balanced approach

When using SKAN 4.0 for measuring Meta campaigns, the following need to be taken into account.

For Meta campaigns, the attribution overlap can be applied to app install events only because Meta aggregates the postbacks and shares the decoded event data with Airbridge.

Meta Business doesn't support SKAN engagement measurement. If your iOS app install campaigns are mostly Meta Business campaigns, don’t select the “In-app (Engagement)” as the measurement component when setting the SKAN 4.0 conversion values.

The revenue must be measured in 4 ranges or more in order to conduct value optimization in Meta Business.

We recommend that you prioritize the events that provide the most value to your business as the highest priority, as the measurement components and events with higher priority are used in Meta Business campaign optimization.

To use the conversion values you set in Airbridge for Meta Business SKAN integration, you need to map the events you selected in Airbridge to the Meta Business standard events and provide the Airbridge event configuration schema URL to Meta Business. For more detailed setup instructions, see the Meta Business SKAdNetwork integration guide.