QR Code Miscues Can Waste Marketing Investment

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They look a little like ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that have been given a high-tech makeover.
Quick Response (QR) codes — square pixelated designs that can be scanned with smart phones — have been turning up more frequently over the past year or so in advertising and marketing materials. You might see the digital barcodes in the corner of a poster, on the back of a business card or worked into the artwork on a pamphlet.

But unless marketers use them properly, QR codes are about as relevant as the antiquated form of writing they resemble, says one of Canada’s leading Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts.
And unfortunately that’s currently the problem – the vast majority of marketers and the clients they represent are not using QR codes to track their campaigns effectively, says Scott Wilson, founder and CEO of RankHigher.ca, a Burlington, Ont.-based internet marketing and SEO firm.

"QR codes used the right way can be a fantastic marketing tool," says Wilson. "Wouldn’t it be great to be able to track your web traffic directly back to that beer coaster in the restaurant or the coupon you mass mailed to thousands of homes? That’s vital information for any marketer. The problem is that most companies are missing these marketing opportunities because of basic mistakes."

According to Wilson, these are three common QR code miscueswith simple solutions:

• Problem: Using cookie-cutter QR code patterns churned out by online generators, which are mistakenly read as direct traffic to a website by Google Analytics.
Solution: Have the QR code send traffic to a URL location where Google’s tracking software can monitor your marketing work and redirect to the desired location.

• Problem: Using long URLs in QR Codes makescomplicated codes that are difficult or impossible for consumers to scan.
Solution: Keep the URL short so your QR code will be simpler and easier for scanners to read, not to mention easier to fit on a business card.

• Problem: Using third-party services, like bit.ly, to shorten URLs attached to QR codes, leaving them vulnerable to potential technological problems or service changes.Solution: Host your QR code URL on your own domain so you have full control to quickly fix errors. If a third party URL shortener goes down, so does your entire QR code marketing campaign.

Companies making these simple QR code errors can be left unable to track any return on their marketing investment, Wilson says.

"After going to the expense of launching major marketing campaigns, it’s important to be able to trace exactly what’s generating consumer traffic and what isn’t," he says. "QR codes can do that for you — but if they’re used incorrectly, they’re really just an interesting-looking design in a little black and white box."

About RankHigher.ca:
Based out of Burlington, Ontario, RankHigher.ca was formed in 2004 under the name eMotion Picture Studios. The firm of 20 identifies Internet opportunities, builds SEO optimized web sites, runs Google AdWords campaigns, optimizes Google Places, writes and shoots marketing & training videos and provides a wide range of other new era internet services for clients like Apple, Pepsi, Gerber, Siemens, Cadbury and more.