UTM builder for QR codes

Build a tagged URL for a printed code and see what Google Analytics 4 will actually do with it before you print anything. Nothing you type is sent anywhere; the whole tool runs in your browser.

Start from what you are printing (optional)

Where the code should send people

The page a scan opens. A scheme is added if you leave it out.

The result

A static code of this exact URL. Every tag makes it denser, and a typo means a reprint. A code from an account prints only a short link, so the tags stay editable.

Your tagged URL

https://example.com/menu?utm_source=flyer-a5&utm_medium=qr&utm_campaign=spring-2026

What GA4 will show for a scan of this code

Session source

flyer-a5

Session medium

Default channel group

Unassigned

What GA4 will do with this medium

GA4 has no default channel rule for "qr", so these scans report as Unassigned. Add a custom channel group matching medium = qr to give it a name in your reports.

Show me how5 steps

Step 1 of 5
Open Channel groups
In GA4, click “Admin” (the gear, bottom left). Under “Data display”, open “Channel groups”. You need the Editor role or above.
Step 2 of 5
Create a group
Click “Create new channel group” and name it, for example “Channels with QR”. Your first custom group starts as a copy of GA4's default group. A standard property holds two custom groups, so if you already have two, add the channel to one of them instead.
Step 3 of 5
Add a QR channel
Click “Add new channel” and name it “QR code”. Click “Add condition group”, choose “Medium” and “exactly matches”, type qr, then click “Save channel”.
Step 4 of 5
Move it to the top, then save
A new channel lands at the bottom, and GA4 files a session under the first channel that matches. Click “Reorder”, drag “QR code” to the top, click “Apply”, then “Save group”.
Step 5 of 5
Read it in your reports
Open “Reports”, then “Acquisition”, then “Traffic acquisition”. In the table's dimension menu, pick your group. GA4 may list it as “Session custom channel group” rather than by its name. The group applies to past data too.

Why QR scans show up as Unassigned

GA4 sorts traffic into channels with substring and regex rules on the medium, not exact matches. There is no default rule for a QR medium, so scans land in Unassigned unless you add a custom channel group. Worse, a medium that merely contains certain text is claimed by a channel it has nothing to do with: anything containing cp is treated as paid traffic, and anything containing mobile or notification is treated as a push notification.

The warnings above are those rules, checked as you type. Getting this wrong is not a typo you notice: the campaign reports fine, in the wrong channel, and the print run is already out.

Printing this code

A tagged URL baked into a static QR image is permanent: fixing a tag means a reprint. Codes made here append their tags at scan time instead, so the tagging stays editable after the artwork is at the printer, and the image never changes.

Make a code with these tags

UTM builder for QR codes

Where it goes

Where it is printedflyer-a5 / qr

Campaignspring-2026

Why QR scans show up as Unassigned

Printing this code