QR Codes have become extremely popular and it's hard to go outside your house without seeing them in one place or another – you'll find them on beer bottles, posts, magazines, even on the web.

Using them in the right places can drive customers to your business, increase interest and help them share their experiences with their friends.

But getting it wrong not only makes QR codes useless, but you lead to you being the butt of internet-based satirical commentary.  The WTFQRCODES website (caution advised due to content) recently went viral and has gained some popularity – readers can submit bad uses of QR codes for the world to see (and mock).

The site is excellent at demonstrating how some thought needs to go into the use of QR codes. It's not just a case of creating a QR code and sticking it everywhere your customers might see it. You have to give some thought to where to put it and what the contents should be. A simple link to your homepage might not be of much use, but a link to a custom (mobile friendly) landing page will be highly more effective.

In other cases, it might be better to offer simple contact information available with ease. QR codes have been used to link to company Facebook and Twitter accounts to make it easier for customers to follow you without the need to hunt for your account online.

Things to avoid:

• Putting QR codes in places where they can't be used – like 50 feet in the air.
• Using QR codes on buses, vans and moving vehicles, where scanning would be difficult or impossible (or even likely to cause an accident).
• Placing adverts in underground places where QR codes can't be scanned due to lack of phone signal
• Not thinking about your QR code use – like this advert encouraging people to keep their valuables hidden from pick-pockets, but also asking them to use their expensive smartphone to scan the code.
• Putting the QR code in a place where scanning it might be dangerous – like near a railway line.

Things to do:

• Test your QR code. Make sure it works and goes to the right place!

There are plenty of excellent uses for the QR code rubber stamp, including making your customers life easier. A QR code on correspondence might make it easy for them to quickly take advantage of a special offer on your website or get in touch without having to search for your details. Read our other blog article for more tips on QR code use and what it can do for your business.