Tracking QR Codes Using Google Analytics

QR Codes is an easy to use technique to connect the web and the print mediums. QR codes can be placed on print ads & materials, and are scanned via mobile devices and smartphones. The call to action for QR codes can range from ringing a phone, to collecting email addresses to imparting a second-to-none mobile experience for the user. Redirecting mobile users to a landing page or a website that has been done specifically for the mobile users is one of the best call to action that a QR code enabled ad can have.

Why is Tracking Important?

The QR codes can be used in different means and formats like flyers, stickers, newspaper ads or even paper carry bags.  In order to understand what mediums are working the most, you need to track your campaign. Even within a medium if you are using different ad copies, text options or images, tracking of QR codes tell you a lot about which versions performed better over the other ones.
How to Track QR Codes?

Going step by step always helps in designing a fool-proof system and same holds true with tracking of QR codes too.

• Campaign Planning and Structuring: Depending on what parameters need to be tracked (like location/source/medium), it is important to structure a campaign. If your print ads are scheduled to run in two of the leading newspapers in your town, you may be interested in measuring the performance of one against the other. If the content within those two print ads differs on different days, not only would you need to track individual newspapers, but the ad copy too, that varied. Each segment that you need to create should have a different QR code.
  
• Using Google’s URL Builder: Google URL builder ads parameters to your QR code URLs so that they are tracked by Google Analytics. The reports are populated under the “Campaign” sub-tab of the “Traffic Sources” section. Campaign Source and Campaign Medium are two mandatory fields that the Google URL builder tool requires for you to tag the URLs.
  
• Shortening of the URLs: Bit.ly and goo.gl are the two most popularly used URL shortening services on the web which have web analytics of their own. These services are a boon for QR codes as the creative tends to become bigger in size with a longer URL. If you are advertising in a leading daily, space might be a constraint and you want the creative to appear more prominent rather than the QR code itself.
  
• Generating QR Codes: Kaywa and Zxing are probably the most used services for generating QR codes. The URL shortening websites bit.ly and goo.gl also generate the QR codes on their own. Click on the info page link next to the shortened URL output page and you will find your QR code. In goo.gl, just click the “Details” link and you will find the QR code.
  

QR codes, along with Microsoft tags are on a song. These codes are seeing an increased adoption by businesses and a newer way of targeting the smartphone audience who want interactivity anywhere, anytime.

Source :-  http://www.ocularconcepts.us/blc/blog/tracking-qr-codes-using-google-analytics

How Web Design is Evolving for Tablet Users

Apple has again started created waves in the tech sphere with the recent launch of its iPad 2. Devices like iPad which are neither computers nor mobile phones and have a size and shape, screen resolution and screen width between a laptop and a smartphone, are known as “tablets”.

While the iPad or the iPad 2 doesn’t needs an introduction, a thing which makes many website owners curious is – how my web design should accommodate users who are using a tablet like the iPad 2? Wouldn’t the experience be slightly dithered when my website is accessed on a monitor with a lower screen resolution? This reasoning is very true as is the fact that just like the mobile technology; the tablets are transforming web design too. Let us look how website design is involving to work seamlessly on tablets.

“Above the Fold” region

The region visible to website users without scrolling is known as above the fold area on a website. Due to usage of different screens, web designers need to scale back the fold which was once increased due to large screen monitors getting popular. This was the scene a couple of years back. Important information, navigation and content now need to be shrunk in a smaller area because the screen width and depth are decreasing.

Adaptive Design

Most tablets let users browse content vertically as well as horizontally. To appear properly in both these orientations, it is important that a technique called adaptive CSS is used which dynamically changes the margins based on the orientation of viewing.

Flash is No More Flashy

HTML 5 is the preferred replacement option for flash. Apple no longer develops devices that support Flash and proposes HTML 5 as the solution for video and other media embedding. Many websites like CNET have already started moving towards HTML 5 and flash is becoming obsolete with every passing day.

Spread Out Navigation

Just like a mobile phone, going minimalistic is the way with your navigation. Users can make repetitive mistakes while trying to access a particular section because of the proximity of the navigation links. Buttons which are well spaced are in use to avoid touch errors.

General tips and best practices that work well for mobile website design work with tablets too. Clear and legible text with correct font size, simplified navigation schemes and proper button sizes all help while users are at work using a tablet. If you intend to offer a far richer experience to users with native OS applications, here is a link to a list of App design guidelines for tablets.

Tablets are a medium for users to get in touch with you and like every medium, there are technological nuances that dictate what should and should not be done. If proper emphasis is given to all the web design aspects, chances are high that your web design firm will give a satisfying user experience.

Source :-  http://www.ocularconcepts.us/blc/blog/webdesign/how-web-design-is-evolving-for-tablet-users