Say goodbye to broken QR codes and dead-end links

If you've ever tried to scan a QR code or click on a short link, only to have it lead to a dead-end page, then you know the frustration that can come with using them. QR codes are supposed to make life easier for your customers, but when they don't work, they risk angering your customer, or worse, they may distrust your QR codes or short links in the future. Well, not anymore! With BL.INK, you can create QR codes and branded short links that always lead your customer or your audience to the correct destination.

What is BL.INK and how does it work?

BL.INK is the leading enterprise link management platform and allows brands and businesses to create, manage, and monitor branded short links and QR codes.

With BL.INK, you can edit a branded short link in just a few clicks. So, if the destination needs to be updated, you'll simply log in to BL.INK, find your short link, and paste the new destination. Once you save your changes, your link will take your audience to the updated destination. This applies to QR codes as well so a permanent QR code always has a flexible destination - managed entirely by you!

Additionally, Enterprise BL.INK customers can add our Broken Link Reporting module. The Broken Link Report checks all of the links in your account daily and sends an email when it discovers any broken links. This gives you the insight and opportunity to manage your links proactively to ensure your customers aren't running into dead-ends.

How broken QR codes and dead-end links can hurt your business

If you're not using BL.INK to manage your branded short links and QR codes, then you're at risk of losing customers and opportunities. You may be using a generic

 or a random QR code generator that you found through a quick web search.

Generic QR code generators and URL shorteners may not allow you to edit your links

With generic URL shorteners and QR code generators, you often are unable to edit the destination of your short links or QR codes once they've been created. This can be detrimental to a running campaign. You could potentially lose sales, miss out on opportunities, or chase away a future customer. In addition, if you have not standardized on a single platform, your team members could be using multiple platforms to generate and manage QR codes and this leads to lack of oversight, management challenges in the future, and lost access to these precious resources.

Wasted campaign assets and marketing materials

If your campaign includes printed assets, and a link or QR code breaks, you could be wasting precious marketing dollars. Any previously printed merchandise or assets becomes unusable, and then you'd have to reprint all of your materials with an updated link. This becomes expensive and cumbersome very quickly. Yikes!

Lack of trust from your audience and customers

Additionally, if you're planning to use QR codes or short links in your future marketing efforts, your customers may no longer trust that they'll be taken to the correct destination and won't take the chance to find out. You'll have to work twice as hard to rebuild the trust of your existing audience. Using your own branded domain within the QR codes ensures that your brand is readily visible with every scan - ensuring trust and confidence in every engagement.

When a QR code or short link doesn't redirect properly, it can leave a bad impression of your brand. Your customers may think that you're not reliable, or that you don't care about their experience. In the age of Amazon and one-click shopping, customers expect a seamless and satisfying experience.

The next time you're considering using a QR code or short link for your business, use BL.INK! With our platform, you can rest assured that your links and QR codes will redirect properly and take your customers where they need to go.

The reality of broken QR codes and bad links

This is a real QR code that we ran into out in the wild:

When scanning the QR code, you'll see this yellow bubble on your camera screen:

As you can see, the yellow pop-up is missing the link preview. This means that the link was not formed correctly initially, and may cause Old Navy customers to pause before opening the link. Is it trustworthy? Where is the link taking me?

Recently, I was out to dinner and noticed QR codes on the table at the restaurant. I attempted to scan the QR code to open the menu, and this led to a broken page and a complete dead-end. Not only was I unable to look at the menu from my phone, but there was also no-where else I could go from that page.

Restaurants could be using QR codes to their benefit in so many ways! For example, they could use QR codes as a way to open the menu and view nutritional or ingredient information. This would allow restaurants to save money (and trees!) by not having to print paper menus and save the server multiple trips carrying them back and forth. It creates more opportunities for patrons to order a second round (or third!) of drinks, desserts, or even additional appetizers. 

By using a QR code on the table, they also have the opportunity to display the restaurant's website where a customer could learn more about the business history or order merchandise. But in this case, the broken link led to an error message and left me feeling frustrated.

Benefits of using BL.INK for QR codes and branded short links

There are plenty of reasons to use BL.INK, but when it comes to reliable, trackable, and editable short links and QR codes, here are just a few:

• With BL.INK, you can create and manage your branded short links and QR codes all in one place.
• Everything is editable: from QR codes and branded short links, to tags and groups, you can make changes whenever you need to!
• Our platform is user-friendly and easy to use - no technical experience is required!
• All of your links and QR codes are trackable in the BL.INK platform and we offer extensive real-time analytics that allow you to delve deeper into campaign insights and make adjustments to campaign strategy on the fly.
• BL.INK Enterprise offers optional add-on modules so that your plan fits your business needs -- both now and as you grow and evolve.
• Our support is second-to-none. We're quick to respond, eager to help, and can help offer creative solutions to complex problems. Don’t believe us? Check out our reviews.

Let's link up

When used correctly, QR codes and branded short links are powerful marketing tools, but they can be frustrating for your customers when they don't work. Using BL.INK helps you keep track of your QR codes and branded short links so you can avoid broken links and dead-end destinations.

BL.INK is easy to use and offers many benefits, making it a great choice for businesses of all sizes. If you want to learn more about using QR codes or branded short links in your marketing campaigns, let's link up.