How to add UTM parameters to a QR code and see scans in Google Analytics

You put a QR code on ten thousand flyers. A week later you open Google Analytics and see a small bump in direct traffic, and nothing labeled flyer. The campaign worked, but your analytics cannot tell. UTM parameters fix that.

What UTM parameters are

UTM parameters are tags added to the end of a link. They look like this:

https://example.com/spring?utm_source=flyer&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=spring-sale

When someone opens that link, Google Analytics and most other tools read the tags and file the visit under that source, medium and campaign. There are five:

Why QR code visits need them

A phone camera opens your link with no referring website. Analytics has nothing to credit the visit to, so it lands in direct, next to people who typed your address. Your print work disappears into the noise. Tagging the link lets you name the source yourself.

A naming scheme that stays useful

Tags are only useful if they are consistent. A few rules keep reports clean:

• Lowercase everything. Flyer and flyer show up as two sources.
• Use hyphens, not spaces. spring-sale, not spring sale.
• Keep medium broad. Use print or qr for every printed code, and put the detail in source and content.
• Tag each placement. The front window and the counter card deserve different utm_content values, so you can see which one works.
• Write it down. A short shared list of approved names saves you from qr, QR and qr-code in the same report.

Static codes make tagging harder

On a static code, the tags are part of the link inside the pattern. A longer link means a denser code with smaller squares, which is harder to scan from a distance. And once it is printed, you can never fix a typo in a tag.

A dynamic code only holds its short link. The tags are added when someone scans, so the pattern stays open, and you can correct or change the tags after printing.

Counting every scan, not just every visit

UTM tags only count visitors whose page loads and runs your analytics. People on slow connections, people who turn back, and pages that block analytics all go uncounted.

A scan event sent by the QR code service itself closes that gap: it arrives in Google Analytics for every scan, with details like the country, the device and where the scan was sent. Comparing scans with tagged visits also tells you how many people drop off before your page loads.

Setting it up in KuikCode

In the editor, open Tracking & Advanced settings and turn on Campaign parameters (UTM). Fill in source, medium, campaign and, if you like, content and term. KuikCode adds them to the destination on every scan. On Starter and up.

To send each scan to Google Analytics as a qr_scan event, or to Meta as a QRScan event, connect your accounts in Settings, Integrations, then switch them on per code. Scan forwarding is included from the PRO plan.

KuikCode also keeps its own scan analytics for every code, so you see scans even without any setup.