QR Code Analytics: A Simple Guide to Tracking Performance and Exporting Data
Creating a QR Code is the first step of your marketing strategy.
The second step is what happens after, when you get to know how your QR Code campaign has performed.
To do that, you’d have to use a trackable QR Code.
This helps you understand how effective your QR Code campaigns have been, and make data-driven decisions.
But if you haven’t checked out how QR Code analytics work, or ever created a QR Code to track metrics, this guide is for you.
In this article, we dive into the different kinds of data that QR Codes allow you to collect, as well as how it can help you fine-tune your QR Code campaigns and maximize ROI.
Read on!
What is a trackable QR Code?
Trackable QR Codes help collect data about how and when QR Codes are scanned. This data can be used to track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, understand user behavior, and improve future campaigns.
But, here’s the thing: not all QR Codes have the tracking feature.
While static and dynamic QR Codes can store information, only dynamic QR Codes are trackable.
Why static QR Codes are untrackable
Static QR Codes—as the name would suggest—cannot be changed after you create them. They can’t be altered once generated.
With static QR Codes, information is directly embedded within its structure or data pattern, making it permanent. Every scan leads to the same content, providing no option to modify the destination or gather user insights.
This lack of flexibility is what makes static QR Codes untrackable.
While they work well for simple tasks like sharing a website URL, they lack the tracking capabilities offered by dynamic QR Codes.
Why dynamic QR Codes are trackable
In a dynamic QR Code, data is not directly embedded into the QR Code.
Dynamic QR Codes are editable. They contain a short address (such as a redirect URL) that takes users to their destination, but the link can be updated or edited anytime.
This flexibility is what makes dynamic QR Codes trackable.
Only dynamic QR Codes allow you to change the QR Code destination on the backend. This is what makes a dynamic QR Code a trackable QR Code, allowing you to monitor details such as the number of scans, unique visitors, and even scan location.
This data provides valuable insights into how people interact with your QR Code campaign and helps you optimize your marketing efforts.
How to create a trackable QR Code
Let’s learn how to create a trackable QR Code using Uniqode’s QR Code generator.
Step 1: Log-in and choose a campaign type for your use case
On the top right of the dashboard, click “+Create”and choose “QR Code”from the dropdown.
You can then choose the campaign type.
Let’s assume you are directing your audience to a website. Based on this, choose “Website” to redirect to any webpage or URL.
STEP 2: Add the file or URL as the QR Code destination
Now paste the URL or link of the page.
STEP 3: Customize the trackable QR Code
Custom QR Codes with branding can help them look professional and trigger brand recall among your target audience, possibly boosting scan rates.
You can showcase your branding on the QR Codes you use by:
- Adding a logo: You can embed your brand logo into the QR Code. On the dashboard, choose “Logo” and upload the logo.
- Using brand colors: You can incorporate your brand’s color scheme by using the color palette under “pattern” and “eyes.”.
- Adding backgrounds: You can add a contrasting background, such as a color or a background image. You can also leave the background transparent.
- Adding a frame and CTA: It is an excellent practice to add frames to distinguish the QR Code on your marketing collateral. Similarly, adding a Call-to-action (CTA) helps convey what content users see upon scanning.
From “Frames,” choose one and add a CTA.
On the trackability front, with customization, you can enable GPS tracking. Turn on the option if you plan to retrieve data on the exact GPS location of your scanners.
STEP 4: Download the QR Code
Test scan the QR Code and download it in any format. For smaller print, PNG and JPEG are recommended. For digital screens, larger print, or resizing purposes, SVG and EPS are recommended.
Your trackable QR Code is now ready to be deployed.
Which QR Code metrics can be tracked?
Uniqode’s QR Code dashboard captures metrics from scans, duration, top-performing QR Code campaigns, etc.
QR Code metrics include quantitative measurements and display insights as numbers and percentages.
Select a custom date range on the dashboard to begin analyzing your QR Code’s performance. Here’s a glimpse of the metrics that you can collect when you use Uniqode’s QR Code generator:
1. Number of scans (total and unique)
You can see the number of scans per QR Code and the total number of scans for all the QR Code campaigns combined, or filter it based on the QR Code or label.
When you deploy a QR Code for a given campaign, they are bound to receive scans. This metric tells you about the number of times a QR Code is scanned within a specific time period, indicating its popularity and engagement level.
A single user scanning the QR Code multiple times is a possibility. To filter this out, the section underneath the total number of scans indicates unique users.
Our organization and sorting features—custom labels, multiple users, and access management—let you stay on top of how you view and utilize QR Code scan data.
Example use case: Let’s say you’re running a Christmas campaign or sale at your furniture store. Using a QR Code on a flyer outside your store, and checking metrics such as number of scans can let you know how much interest it garnered, as well as the unique users or potential customers who scanned the QR Code.
2. Time of scans (month, week, day, hour)
The daily cadence of when your QR Codes are receiving scans can be understood through the scans by time-of-day metric. The distribution of QR Code scans over different times of the day or days of the week helps to optimize campaign timing and scheduling.
Example use case: A restaurant using a menu QR Code as a tent card on tables can track the time of scans to understand rush hours better. As the metrics indicate the exact time during the day as well, it can help them plan better for breakfast/lunch/dinner rush hours.
3. Location (country, city, exact GPS)
If you run multiple campaigns across the city or country, you can see which locations are thriving and tailor your campaigns accordingly.
You can also retrieve the exact GPS location via IP addresses. All you need to do is enable the GPS option on the dashboard and retrieve metrics, provided the permission to share is enabled on the user's device.
Example use case: Let’s say you’re an international clothing store with multiple outlets worldwide. Using QR Codes on clothing labels, flyers, or even for reviews inside your store can help you track metrics. Knowing metrics such as location can help you assess store performance based on location.
4. Device operating system
Knowing which devices users use to scan your QR Code tells you a lot about your marketing audience.
Are they primarily iPhone users or do they lean more towards Android? Apart from yielding specific campaign-related insights, this metric can also give you a general sense of which device OS your core customer base ought to have, and customize the experience for that specific OS.
Example use case: Let’s say you’re a brand that launches an app for Android and iOS, you can distribute the word by sharing a single app download QR Code on your website, or via flyers, posters, etc. Via metrics such as OS, you can estimate how many potential users use which operating system, and even create personalized features based on the majority of users.
5. QR Code performance (campaigns)
To quickly understand which QR Codes are performing the best across all your campaigns, you can use a metric such as top-performing QR Codes.
This will help you tease out insights about why specific QR Codes perform better than others, filter for specific durations, and implement the same strategy across all your campaigns.
Example use case: For instance, bigger brands such as Burger King, famously known for several QR Code campaigns, run several campaigns throughout the year. Such brands can compare their campaigns during the year, such as their Super Bowl QR Code advertising campaign versus a holiday QR Code campaign, and analyze performance metrics.
How to export tracked data from QR Codes
You can export the analytics data to a CSV or PDF and analyze your campaigns in further detail.
You can also filter the QR Code based on labels, to track analytics of multiple or single QR Codes.
The CSV sheet will allow you to see how your campaigns are performing on an hourly basis. You can also email the exported data reports to your inbox and share them with relevant stakeholders.
Gain insightful QR Code scan metrics with Uniqode
Creating trackable QR Codes requires a reliable QR Code generator, as you’d ideally want to start tracking metrics from day one.
A QR Code generator that ticks the checklist for all things user-friendly, safe, and insights is Uniqode.
You can easily check QR Code metrics, enable specific tracking metrics, customize, and see individual or combined metrics on the dashboard. You also have the option to export them and share them with your organization.
All the data you upload to the dashboard and all the user data from scans are safe and secure as Uniqode is GDPR-compliant and SOC® 2 Type 2-certified.
Wondering how you can create a trackable QR Code for your next campaign? Get started below.
Frequently asked questions
No, you cannot track a QR Code for free as dynamic or trackable QR Code usually comes at a cost. You can use Uniqode’s free trial to create trackable QR Codes and access detailed analytics without any cost or commitment.
You can use the native dashboard of the QR Code generator to track QR Code analytics. Additionally, you can integrate it with Google Analytics to derive extra metrics such as user age, demographics, engagement rates, time, etc.
Of the two QR Code types- dynamic and static, only dynamic QR Codes are trackable. Dynamic QR Codes have a redirectable URL and can help track metrics such as number of scans, unique users, scan by time of the day, etc.