QR code with UTM tracking and Google Analytics
A QR code on a poster or flyer does not tell you where visits come from. With Krealo QR, each scan adds UTM parameters (source, medium, campaign) to the destination address and reports your short domain as the referring site: Google Analytics, installed on your site, files the visit in the right place. The defaults can be edited, and nothing changes on the printed code.
Who it’s for
- A shop that puts the same link on a poster, a flyer and a window, and wants to know which one works.
- An agency that must report on a printed campaign in Google Analytics 4.
- An event organizer comparing the programme code with the signage codes.
- Anyone whose site already measures visits with a tool that reads UTM parameters.
How it works
- Create a short link, or open the page of the one behind your existing QR code: the default UTM values are already there.
- Under “UTM parameters”, keep the values or change them: a shortcut (QR code, Poster, Instagram) or the five fields utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term and utm_content. The final address updates live.
- Save. The printed code does not change: the redirect adds the parameters.
- In your analytics tool, for example Google Analytics 4, find the campaign in the acquisition reports.
What Krealo QR adds to your address
By default, utm_source is the short domain (qr.krealomedia.com, or yours), utm_medium is referral and utm_campaign is the link’s identifier: https://example.com/menu becomes https://example.com/menu?utm_source=qr.krealomedia.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=menu. You can change each value, add utm_term and utm_content, or turn everything off with the “Add UTM parameters” switch.
If the destination address already contains utm_ parameters, the defaults are not added, so two campaigns are never mixed. What you write yourself on the link’s page, on the other hand, takes priority over the destination’s parameters. mailto: and tel: addresses, and code types that are not a web address, get no defaults.
The short domain as the referring site
A plain 302 does not say where the visit came from. So by default a person scanning goes through a minimal page that disappears at once and tells your destination the short domain as the referrer, never the link’s identifier. Bots and link previews get a normal 302 redirect. The “Show the domain as the referring site” switch on the link’s page, set per link, goes back to a direct redirect with no referrer.
Passing the short link’s parameters through
The “Pass parameters through” option forwards what is added to the short link to the destination: a link shared as qr.krealomedia.com/menu?ref=counter sends ?ref=counter to your site. The internal suffix a Krealo QR code carries (?s=q, which tells a scan from a click) is removed first.
What Krealo QR measures on its own
Independently of UTM, Krealo QR counts each link’s scans and tells a QR scan from a link click. The total is visible on every plan; the breakdown by day, country, device and hour is part of Pro.
Honest limits
- Krealo QR does not connect to your Google Analytics account and installs nothing on your site: your site must run GA4, or another tool, to read the parameters and the referrer.
- If your site rewrites the address before the tool reads it, as some redirects do, the UTM values are lost. Run a real test scan.
- GA4 is case-sensitive: “Poster” and “poster” are two sources. Pick a convention and keep it.
- The pass-through page adds a very short detour before the destination. If that bothers you, turn the referring-site switch off for that link.
- Each parameter is limited to 100 characters.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the Pro plan to use UTM parameters?
No. UTM parameters are available on every plan. Only some statistics breakdowns (by country, device or hour) need Pro.
Is Krealo QR connected to Google Analytics?
No, there is no connection to your account. Krealo QR adds the parameters to the destination address and reports its domain as the referrer; Google Analytics, installed on your site, reads them.
Which default values are added?
utm_source = the link’s short domain, utm_medium = referral and utm_campaign = the link’s identifier. You can change them one by one, add utm_term and utm_content, or turn everything off for that link.
Can I change the UTM values of a QR code that is already printed?
Yes. The parameters are stored on the short link, not in the code’s pattern. Edit them on the link’s page and save: the next scans use them.
What if my destination already has UTM parameters?
The defaults are not added, so two campaigns are never mixed. Values you write yourself on the link’s page do take priority over the destination’s.
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