How to Track QR Code Campaigns in Google Analytics with UTM Parameters

The eternal frustration of print advertising is the attribution black hole. You spend £5,000 on a direct mail campaign, your website traffic spikes the following week, and you cannot definitively prove a connection. With QR codes and UTM parameters, that problem is solved. Every scan becomes a trackable click — attributable to a specific campaign, channel, and creative.

What are UTM parameters?

UTM parameters (Urchin Tracking Module) are tags appended to a URL that tell analytics platforms like Google Analytics 4 exactly where a visitor came from. They look like this:

When a visitor arrives via this URL, GA4 records the session as coming from source "flyer", medium "qr", campaign "summer2026" — giving you precise attribution in your reports.

The five UTM fields explained

• utm_source — Where specifically the traffic came from. For print campaigns: flyer, poster, business-card, packaging.
• utm_medium — The channel type. For QR codes, always use qr or print.
• utm_campaign — The campaign name. Use something meaningful: summer-sale-2026 or product-launch-q3.
• utm_term — Optional. Used for paid search keyword tracking. Rarely needed for QR campaigns.
• utm_content — Optional. Differentiates between multiple creatives in the same campaign. E.g. red-banner vs blue-banner for A/B testing.

Setting up UTM in Unqode SmartQR

1. Open a URL QR code in your Unqode SmartQR dashboard (or create a new one).
2. Scroll to the UTM Parameters section (available on Pro and Business plans).
3. Fill in utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign at minimum.
4. Save. Unqode SmartQR automatically appends the parameters to the destination URL on every scan — you don't need to modify the URL itself.

The help centre has a full UTM setup guide with field-by-field instructions and naming convention recommendations.

Viewing QR traffic in GA4

In Google Analytics 4, navigate to Reports → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition. Change the primary dimension to Session source / medium. Look for entries like flyer / qr or poster / print.

To see campaign-level data, add a secondary dimension for Session campaign or use Reports → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition and filter by your campaign name.

For a deeper view, use Explore → Free Form exploration and combine session source, medium, campaign, and conversion events to build a full attribution report you can export for client or board presentations.

UTM naming conventions that don't break

The biggest UTM mistake marketers make is inconsistent naming. GA4 is case-sensitive, so QR, qr, and Qr create three separate entries in your reports. Establish these rules before your first campaign and document them:

• Always lowercase: utm_medium=qr, never utm_medium=QR
• Use hyphens, not underscores or spaces: summer-sale, not summer_sale or summer sale
• Use dates in campaigns: product-launch-2026-q3 is searchable years later
• Keep sources descriptive: manchester-flyer is more useful than just print

Common use case examples

For marketing-specific QR code strategy including retargeting pixels and A/B testing, see the marketing campaigns use case guide. And the QR code analytics guide covers what the Unqode SmartQR dashboard shows you alongside your GA4 data.