Track which flyer brings customers
One code per flyer, street or shop window. The scan counts tell you where the next print budget should go.
To track which flyer brings customers, give each version or drop location its own editable QR code and compare the scans. Each code is a short link that counts scans by day, so the flyer at the gym and the flyer in the café report separately. After a week you know which one earns a second print run.
Every flyer reports back
Two flyers, two codes. Each scan lands on your page and adds one to that flyer's count.
How to set up flyer tracking
Decide what you compare
Pick one question per run: two headlines, two neighbourhoods or three shop windows. Comparing too many things at once makes the numbers hard to read.
Make one code per version
Create an editable code for each version and name it after the place or the variant, such as "Gym noticeboard" or "Headline B".
Point them at the same page
Send every code to the same landing page. If you use web analytics, add a campaign tag to each destination so the visits are labelled there too.
Print each code on its own batch
Keep the batches apart at the print shop. A mixed-up pile ruins the comparison before the flyers leave the door.
Worked example: a yoga studio's spring flyers
- Three places, three codes
- The studio prints 300 flyers: 100 for the library board, 100 for two cafés and 100 for a door drop. Each pile carries its own code, all leading to the trial class page.
- What the scans show
- After two weeks the dashboard shows most scans from the cafés, a handful from the library and almost none from the door drop.
- What the studio does next
- The next run goes to more cafés, the door drop is cut, and the café codes are pointed at the summer timetable without reprinting a single flyer.
Fixed or editable for flyer tracking?
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Fixed QR code (static)
A fixed code sends people straight to your page and cannot be counted, so it cannot tell you which flyer worked. It suits a one-off flyer where you only need the link.
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Editable QR code (dynamic) Our pick for this job
Tracking needs editable codes: each scan passes through a short link that counts it, by day and by code, and you can change where a code points after the flyers are out. The 14-day trial includes 25 editable codes, Starter is $9 a month with 50, and a campaign pass covers 50 codes from $49, paid once.
Reading the numbers well
Scans are not customers
A scan shows interest, not a sale. Ask new customers where they heard about you, or print an offer code per flyer, to see which scans turned into visits.
Compare like with like
A flyer in a busy café meets more people than one on a quiet board. Compare scans against how many flyers each place took.
Give it time
Flyers on noticeboards keep working for weeks. Judge a run after two weeks, not two days.
Questions and answers
Before you print
- Is it free?
- Fixed codes are free: make as many as you like, download a PNG with no sign-up, and get every other format and print files with a free account. Editable codes come with a plan, a pass, Keep-alive or the 14-day trial.
- Can I change the link after printing?
- Yes, with an editable code. It holds a short link you control, so you can point the printed code somewhere new any time, and the next scan opens the new page. A fixed code keeps the link it was made with.
- Can I use my own domain?
- Yes. A custom domain is included on passes, from Starter, and during the trial. Starter covers one subdomain, for example go.yourbrand.com, and apex domains start on Pro.
- What happens if I stop paying?
- Editable codes work to the end of your paid period, and after a failed payment every code keeps working for 14 days. Turn codes back on within 12 months. Fixed codes keep working as long as their links do.
How many codes do I need for one flyer run?
One per thing you want to compare: per location, per headline or per mailing area. Three to five codes per run is plenty for a small business, and it keeps the comparison readable.
Can I see which flyer brought a sale?
Scans show which flyer people responded to. For sales, pair each flyer with its own offer code or ask at the till, then compare the two numbers side by side.
What if the offer on the flyer runs out?
With editable codes, point the printed codes at a new page, such as next month's event, and the flyers still in circulation keep earning scans instead of showing an expired offer.
What does the scan count record?
Each scan with its time and broad details such as country and device type. People who scan see your page as normal, and oqrely never puts ads on your redirects.
What happens to the codes after the campaign?
When a plan or pass ends, editable codes stop forwarding. Point them at a lasting page first, or keep up to 15 of them redirecting on Keep-alive for $3 a month.
Print the next run where it works
Make your first tracking code here, add one per location in the app and watch the scans by day.