Tracking the effectiveness of offline marketing campaigns can be challenging without the right tools in place. Whether you’re using posters, brochures, direct mail, or QR codes, creating dedicated URLs and tracking visitor activity can provide valuable insight into campaign performance.
In this guide, we’ll walk through a practical approach to implementing URL redirects and Google Analytics tracking in WordPress using the Redirection plugin and UTM parameters.
Issue Background
Many organizations promote their websites through printed materials that direct visitors to custom URLs or QR codes. These campaign-specific URLs are often designed to be simple and memorable while ultimately directing visitors to a destination page elsewhere on the website.
Without proper redirect management and analytics tracking, it’s difficult to determine how many visitors arrived through a specific marketing campaign and what actions they took after landing on the website.
The objective was to create trackable campaign URLs that redirected visitors appropriately while capturing meaningful engagement data.
Diagnosis
A review of the WordPress installation revealed that the Redirection plugin was already available but had not been configured for the new campaign URLs.
Additionally, analytics tracking needed to be implemented so campaign traffic could be attributed correctly within Google Analytics 4.
The solution required combining URL redirects with UTM parameters to ensure campaign performance could be measured accurately after launch.
Resolution Steps
Configure redirect rules
The Redirection plugin was used to create dedicated redirect paths for campaign URLs.
Examples included:
- /2026 redirecting to the homepage with campaign-specific UTM parameters.
- /go redirecting to the homepage with a separate source identifier.
Using redirects allows organizations to place short, memorable URLs on printed materials while preserving campaign attribution data.
Add UTM parameters
UTM parameters were appended to destination URLs to pass campaign information directly into Google Analytics.
Common UTM values include:
- utm_source
- utm_medium
- utm_campaign
This structure enables marketers to identify which campaign, medium, and source generated website traffic.
Implement Google Analytics 4 tracking
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) was configured to receive campaign traffic data.
For WordPress websites, plugins such as Complianz can simplify Google Analytics integration while helping manage privacy and consent requirements.
Once connected, GA4 automatically records visits associated with the supplied UTM parameters.
Test redirects and analytics
After implementation, redirect URLs and QR codes were tested to verify:
- Redirects resolved correctly.
- UTM parameters were preserved.
- Traffic appeared in Google Analytics reports.
- Campaign attribution data was recorded accurately.
Use Redirection logs for supplemental reporting
The Redirection plugin includes logging capabilities that record visits to redirected URLs.
This provides an additional layer of reporting that can be useful when analytics tracking is limited by cookie consent preferences or browser privacy settings.
Administrators can review redirect activity through:
Tools → Redirection → Logs
These logs provide a reliable count of visits to campaign-specific URLs.
Final Outcome
By combining the Redirection plugin, UTM parameters, and Google Analytics 4, organizations can accurately measure the performance of offline marketing campaigns and QR code initiatives.
This approach provides both high-level engagement metrics and detailed visitor behavior insights while maintaining flexibility for future campaign adjustments.
For businesses investing in print marketing, event promotions, or direct mail campaigns, proper redirect tracking can provide valuable data that helps optimize future marketing efforts.
If you’re looking to improve campaign attribution, configure Google Analytics 4, or implement advanced WordPress tracking solutions, contact Freshy to discuss your project.
