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One of my clients asked me how to make a QR code for their offline collateral – including business cards, brochures, flyers and posters – that customers can use to go to my client’s website via their smart phones.
Here’s how you can set this up in less than 30 minutes (and for free). You can see the video version here. This assumes you have Google Analytics installed for tracking purposes. Ready?
1 – Copy the Link to Your Landing Page
First things first. Go to the page that you want people to go to. Ideally, it should be mobile-ready (easily readable on a mobile phone). Copy this link directly from your browser so you get it right!
2 – Build Your Custom URL
Go to the custom URL builder in Google Analytics. Plug your URL in and include details about campaign source, medium and campaign name (the rest is optional). These forms are free-form, so put details that will help you identify the source of this campaign (e.g. “business card QA code”).
3 – Create Your QR Code
There are many free QR Code creators available. Here is the one I use for this tutorial: QR Code Builder
4 – Download Your Code and Test
Once you generate the code, download it as a picture file and test it using a QR code reader on your phone.
5 – Check Your Analytics
Go to Google Analytics. On the left navigation bar, go to “Sources > Search > Campaigns” and then find your campaign (it may take a few minutes to show up – make sure you refresh your browser). Are you seeing the results of your test?
6 – Place Your QR Code Into Your Collateral
Take this image and place it (or have your designer place it) in your business cards or other marketing materials. I use cards from Moo.com – I can past custom images into my business cards.
Ready?
QR codes are a great way to get tech-savvy people to access your site using their smart phones. Are you ready to give it a shot?
Let me know how you’ll use this in the comments below.
Twitter: ghua
says:
I had this plan before to use QR codes for map location, I need to try it :D
Thanks for the tools!
Siegfried recently posted..LastPass – free password manager
Twitter: rtmixmktg
says:
Siegfried – great idea about using the QR code for linking to a map. Thanks for sharing and let us know how it goes!
Tom Treanor recently posted..Why Your Tech Startup Needs an SEO Content Strategy (All Shiny Objects Eventually Get Dull)
Twitter: priyachandra
says:
I’ve never actually thought of using Google’s custom URL this way. The last QR code I did for a client we used bitly which was OK as the code was only used in one location but for multiple locations this is a great idea. Thanks Tom.
Twitter: rtmixmktg
says:
Hi Priya. Yes, the client preferred to track everything in one place so having it show up in analytics made the most sense. Thanks for sharing your approach!
Tom Treanor recently posted..Why Your Tech Startup Needs an SEO Content Strategy (All Shiny Objects Eventually Get Dull)
Twitter: printervegas
says:
QR codes are really taking off and people are loving to use them. Your instructions for tracking are great. The tracking part is what can really help you to know what works and what doesn’t work. The custom URL information is really helpful.
We’ve been using QR codes on some marketing collateral but to be honest I hadn’t even thought about having one on my business card. Thanks for that advice!
Jesse Christopher recently posted..Admail for Conventions and Shows: A Perfect Way to Announce Your Presence