QR Code Analytics: The Definitive Guide to Tracking and Analysis

Scanning a QR Code is as easy as using a smartphone camera, but just how easy is it to measure the performance of QR Codes for a sales or marketing campaign? 

A successful marketing campaign hinges on being able to measure its performance and make changes to improve conversion rates, and a QR Code marketing campaign is no different.

This is where QR Code analytics come into play. In this guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about QR Code analytics to help you maximize this technology in your marketing efforts.

What are QR Code analytics?

QR Code analytics encompass the real-time data, statistics, and insights that are generated from the use of QR technology. Generally speaking, QR Code analytics tell the story of how the technology was used by its audience. 

Content creators, social media teams, marketers, and entrepreneurs rely on QR Code analytics in order to:

• Find out how people are accessing their QR Codes.
  
  
• Gain valuable insights into their content’s performance.
  
  
• Make adjustments to their campaign based on metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs).

QR Code generators usually provide in-house data analytics, meaning you can access a dashboard to track the performance of your codes. This way, you don’t have to use third-party platforms like Google Analytics to track the performance of your campaign.

All in all, QR analytics are much different from other types of analytics. For example, modern website analytics track metrics like page views, click-through rate (CTR), and bounce rate.

But things like scans, location data, and timestamps are more relevant for QR analytics. 

The advantages of QR Code analytics

QR Code analytics provide data that businesses can use to make actionable changes to their campaigns. Here are the benefits of using QR Code analytics. 

Improved decision-making

Accessing important insights from a QR Code analytics dashboard makes it easier for content creators to make data-driven decisions for their campaigns. 

Analytics and metrics eliminate the need to make guesses about how a campaign is actually performing. For example, if you’ve created a QR Code for a trade show, you can review the analytical data to:

• Determine the average time a user spends browsing your content.
  
  
• Figure out whether a scan yielded a conversion.
  
  
• Distinguish single or repeated scans from unique scans.

You can interpret this data to make better-informed campaign decisions going forward. 

Measuring campaign effectiveness

Whether your goal is to drive brand awareness or improve conversions, tracking analytical data will help you determine if you’ve accomplished your goal. 

For example, many auto dealers use QR Codes to provide manufacturing and pricing information to prospects and potential buyers. At the end of the day, they can see how many times a tracking code was scanned to learn how popular their sales campaign was. 

Enhanced user understanding

By analyzing metrics like location, device type, and time of scan, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their audience’s habits and preferences. Understanding how users operate is often the first step to reconfiguring marketing campaigns that missed their mark. 

For example, let’s say you’re embedding QR Codes on promotional products. You can use QR Code analytics to view the geographical locations where each code was scanned. This kind of data makes it possible for you to create targeted QR Code digital advertising campaigns, group together lookalike audiences, and deliver relevant marketing messages to people in specific areas. 

Personalizing your marketing campaign helps to improve its reach and effectiveness, especially when your audience can relate to its message. 

Track conversion rates

QR Code analytics don’t just provide information about how scans are made. This data can also give marketers additional insight into what happens after a scan. 

If the scanner made a purchase, signed up for a newsletter through a landing page, or visited a specific webpage, you can find out through analytics. By tracking these conversion rates, you can determine if your marketing campaigns are effective.

Refine marketing strategy

Perhaps the greatest benefit of QR analytics is that you can use this data to improve your marketing strategy. Specifically, marketers can find out which Dynamic QR Codes are and aren’t producing suitable traffic and conversions. Based on this data, they can adapt their technology and reallocate resources to the most impactful QR initiatives. 

What types of data can be tracked with QR Code analytics?

QR Code tracking provides access to a wide range of metrics you can use to improve your QR Code marketing campaigns. Here are the metrics you track with QR Code analytics:

Total scans

Total scans refers to the total number of scans of each QR Code, giving a clear overview of the QR Code’s reach and effectiveness.

Much like website traffic, total QR Code scans represent the most basic benchmark for QR campaigns, and their importance depends on your marketing goals. For example, if you’re aiming to increase conversions, tracking QR Code total scans may not matter much. However, if you’re driving brand awareness, total scans may be your most important metric to measure. 

Unique scans

Unique scans are much more specific than total scans. This metric provides the number of unique devices or users that scanned the QR Code, differentiating it from repeated scans by the same device. This can give marketers a clearer picture of what’s really taking place in their campaign. 

Location data

Users can view the geographical regions where their QR Codes were scanned, enabling them to understand which areas their campaigns are most effective in.

Location data is essential for local marketing campaigns. For example, a doctor’s office might use QR Codes in their promotional materials. By doing so, they can leverage location data to see where scans are coming from. Then, if they want to spread the news about their free vaccinations, they can use this data to know which locations and demographics to target. 

Scan timestamps

QR Code generators don’t just reveal how scans happen but also when they happen. The platforms provide data on when each scan took place, helping users identify peak times for engagement.

This type of user behavior data can help you optimize your marketing campaign for more functionality and success. For example, if you know your audience engages with your codes primarily in the afternoon, you can structure future campaigns to reflect this trackable data. 

Device type & operating system

Understanding your target audience’s preferences and characteristics is key to building a successful marketing campaign. With QR Code analytics, you can leverage SMS data to find out which devices your audience is using to interact with your Static QR Codes.

Particularly, marketers can understand which devices (like iPhones or Android phones) and operating systems their audience primarily uses. You can use this information to create tailored campaigns across different operating systems and smartphones to provide cohesive and personalized marketing experiences. 

Browser information

Not only can marketers figure out which devices their audience is using to access their QR Codes, but they can also see which browsers they use as well. This information makes it possible for marketers to deliver customized marketing messages across different browsers, such as Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. 

Referral source

For QR Codes that link to websites, the platform may provide insights into where the code was scanned from. As a result, you can use QR Code analytics to provide additional support to your digital marketing efforts. For example, if you’re regularly tracking website traffic, QR data can offer additional insight into where website users are coming from. 

Live notifications

One of the greatest benefits of QR Code analytics is that data collection happens in real-time. In fact, some premium features might include real-time notifications when a QR Code is scanned.

Live notifications can help track conversions down the funnel—right when they happen. 

Exportable data

QR Code generators provide the added benefit of exporting the data you collect, either for further analysis or to integrate it with other tools. Whatever the case, you can fully control how you process, interpret, and integrate your data with your existing marketing suite. 

Using QR Code analytics vs. Google Analytics

Many times, Google Analytics is used to measure the performance of QR Codes, usually by tracking referral sources. However, using a dedicated QR Code analytics platform is better than using Google Analytics because you can manage all of your important data in one place. 

Here are the reasons why you should use QR Code analytics instead of a third-party service:

Purpose-built for QR Codes

QR Code generators are designed explicitly for creating and managing QR Codes, offering specialized features and a user-friendly interface for these tasks. They also provide a convenient dashboard for scouting helpful analytics to measure your campaign’s performance. 

Integrated analytics

With a QR Code generator, the analytics are integrated into the QR Code creation process. Users don’t need to set up separate tracking parameters or URLs, streamlining the tracking data measuring process.

QR Code-specific metrics

QR Code generators provide QR Code-specific metrics, such as unique scans, total scans, scan locations, device types, and timestamps. These insights are tailored for QR Code campaigns and are not natively available in Google Analytics without additional configuration.

QR Code Generator: Your one-stop solution for QR Code insights

QR Code analytics give marketers the tools to make data-driven decisions and refine their marketing campaigns from start to finish, and the best analytics come from quality QR Code generators. Unlike with Google Analytics, users can receive metrics specific to QR Codes from one centralized location.

If you’re ready to track the performance of your QR data and get in-depth insights into every aspect of your QR Code marketing campaigns, you can get started with QR Code Generator. Sign up for an account today!