How To Generate a Dynamic YouTube QR Code To Open in the App

Published on November 18, 2022

So How To Generate a Dynamic YouTube QR Code To Open in the App you have a YouTube channel and, naturally, you're looking to increase your subscribers. You've gone down the typical routes, i.e. promoting your YouTube channels and videos via other platforms such as Instagram and TikTok (great strategy!), through email marketing, and with Google Ads.

Now since the onset of the recent pandemic, there's another marketing tool that you've likely seen everywhere—the handy dandy QR code. And now the question is: how do you incorporate this innovative tool to boost your YouTube subscribers and views? After all, this is an opportunity that cannot by any means be overlooked—it's arguably the most popular and important way to engage with customers.

We're How To Generate a Dynamic YouTube QR Code To Open in the App sure you see where we're going with this: you do so by making your own, custom dynamic YouTube QR codes that open the YouTube app directly to your channel, video, or playlist. But if you want to effectively promote your “how-to tutorials”—whether it's learning how to change that car engine oil or how to bake the perfect multilayer cake-using those free QR code generators you find online won't do the trick.

Why? Because all those QR codes will do is send your current and potential viewers and/or customers to the YouTube web login on their default browser. Who wants to go through the hassle of remembering their login information when they're expecting the desired YouTube page to populate immediately within the app on their phone? Directing your consumers straight into the app is the key to a successful YouTube marketing campaign.

Once you know how to generate your YouTube QR code via the URLgenius platform, your opportunities to promote your YouTube content exponentially expand. You can use them on direct mail, events, posters, and even within the videos themselves.

Sounds like a quick, foolproof way to increase your YouTube subscribers, no? Let’s dive in a little deeper.

Important Notice about Firebase Dynamic Links: On August 25, 2025, Google is shutting down Firebase Dynamic Links which is part of the Firebase platform offering app deep linking capabilities. Google is no longer recommending Firebase Dynamic Links for new mobile app development projects. If you're using that technology for your linking or QR codes make sure to consider a replacement like URLgenius.

Learn more about how the strategic implementation of QR codes in your marketing campaign can be a great way to increase sales, boost app engagement, and/or drive app installs:

Youtube Video

How Dynamic YouTube QR Codes Can Increase Your Youtube Subscribers

Of course, virtually everyone is familiar with the standard QR code and how to use it. But many, if not most, might be scratching their head at the word dynamic.

A dynamic QR code is different from a regular QR code in that you—as the marketer or agency—can control the destination of the scan. And you can change the destination even after the QR code is printed and in production.

If need be, you could even change the destination of the QR code every week to promote your latest content. If you can get your audience to scan that QR code regularly (while your marketing team changes where it leads), you will have created a powerful way to get more YouTube subscribers who want to watch your videos..

When you change the destination of the dynamic QR code (even after it's printed), you won't break the experience or need to go back and reprint the code. Plus, they give you the ability to consider the lifecycle of your QR codes over time so that you may treat them like a corporate asset that drives your first-party data.

Awesome, right? Here at URLgenius, we are all about making our dynamic QR code generator a simple, yet powerful, Enterprise QR platform for you and your team.

And lucky for you, we’ve mastered this entire process so that you don’t have to—and here’s one of the easiest tutorials you’ve ever followed: how to use the URLgenius platform to generate a YouTube QR code.

Step-By-Step: How To Use the URLgenius YouTube QR Code Generator

Need to generate a YouTube QR code for your channel or tutorial video? Easy. At URLgenius, we’ve perfected the process— you don’t need any technical resources, and there's nothing to install. Let’s get started at the URLgenius home page.

To create your own QR code for your print marketing, you start with the link to the desired YouTube page— whether a video or your profile. Paste the link into the URLgenius homepage to update the link and create the YouTube QR code.

Notice that you are given the option to customize the end of the URL in order to align it with your campaign. This will also help you find the link in your list of links in the URLgenius dashboard. For example, here we’ve pasted the link to the Betty Crocker YouTube profile. We then went ahead and changed the end of the URL after the backslash to make it align with the campaign.

Next, simply select “Compose” and you'll be taken to the settings page for your app deep link and YouTube QR code where you can test it. The settings page is also where you can control the design and settings and download it in different formats for your graphic designer.

Notice in the settings that you have a 'Routing' tab where you can change the destination of the code, and that includes a few other advanced settings. You can also check to see how many times the code has been scanned and how many times the app has been opened. Contact us if you need help changing the destination!

Click 'QR Settings - Design Studio,' where you can fine-tune all of your QR code's settings before downloading it. You can change the colors, logo, and even the shape and size of your QR code. Your changes might affect your audience's ability to scan the code successfully.

Before downloading the code, make sure it is set to the right density—this will ultimately affect your visitor's ability to scan the code. Contact us if you need help setting up the QR code in terms of its density, size, color, logo, and placement.

Pro Tip: QR codes are easy to create, but it's easy to get something wrong and make the code unscannable. Whether you're using the code for video or television, print, email, packaging, or retail displays; all QR codes need to be optimized for design, size, density, channel, and placement.

Make sure to check out our QR Experience Playbook and QR Code Strategy Guide to learn more about the common mistakes and what to consider with regard to apps, websites, and QR analytics.

Also, if you need to create personalized QR codes for YouTube or any other app, URLgenius has an API. We can even create them for you and send them directly to the printer! We are QR code experts, so don't hesitate to contact us for advice.

YouTube QR Code Analytics

URLgenius will track scans separately from clicks, which is helpful when you're using the QR code and the link in a multi-channel campaign. Tracking scans is a great way to enhance your first-party data over time as you increase your understanding of how your customers and prospects like to engage with your brand. Contact us to discuss your reporting requirements.

The following chart shows the volume of YouTube app opens by platform and device. The app open rate tells you what percentage of people who scanned had the YouTube app installed for iOS and Android.

This chart shows scans by city and separately by language preference. These anonymous insights help you figure out where and how to focus your campaign, both in terms of geography and language.

Check your spending during the month at any time by clicking 'Settings' or 'Activity' from the menu. Just be aware that there is a one-hour delay in reporting.

URLgenius Is Here To Help You Increase Your YouTube Subscribers

We are always here to help you with your YouTube advertising campaigns, app deep links, and QR codes! Try using your QR code creatively across marketing channels and everywhere your customers are likely to scan it.

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