Measuring Success of Offline Campaigns in Google Analytics

Posted by kirsty on Feb 17, 2011 in Blog, Web Analytics | 206 comments

Do you find it easy to track the success of your offline campaigns? Tracking your online activity is easy, with Google Analytics and Bime, but offline is a little bit more tricky. Here we explain one way it can be done.

There are actually methods out there where you can use GA to track your offline campaigns. Advancements in mobile technology have narrowed the gap between online and offline, and facilitated methods of measurement for both. Google Goggles image search feature is one technology that allows the user to conduct a web search without typing anything. It uses Optical Character Recognition technology to recognize and read characters on images, labels, logos etc. This means you can use your smartphone to take a photo of something and it will display search results for text on that image.

This basically means that it is possible to use Google Goggles to successfully measure the conversion from your offline sales/marketing materials, flyers, brochures and posters.

Step #1

Use Google URL builder tool to generate a campaign code for your offline campaign.

Step #2

Go to Qrcode.kaywa.com and paste your campaign code URL in the URL box and generate a QR code image.

Step #3

Take a picture of the QR code using Google Goggles or any other QR reader smart phone app. The QR reader will automatically decode the code and redirect you to your website while Google Goggles will read the code and present the website URL. Upon clicking the link you will be directed to your website on the mobile browser.

The UTM codes will be registered on Google Analytics, and you will be able to track the offline conversions in Google Analytics campaigns codes report.

Step #4

Incorporate the QR codes in all of your offline sales and marketing materials.

Any thoughts? Share them in the comments!