Variants

Track locations, channels, and placements separately without creating a new Smart Link each time.

In this article, you'll learn what Smart Link variants are, when to use them, and how to configure each one with its own identifier, tracking values, and analytics.

What a variant is

A variant is a named version of one Smart Link. It keeps the same main destination strategy, but gives a specific placement, channel, or location its own URL and its own analytics trail.

The main Smart Link URL looks like this:

Base Smart Link URL

https://your-domain.example/l/spring-launch

Each variant keeps the same base slug and adds its own ID through the v parameter:

Variant URL pattern

https://your-domain.example/l/spring-launch?v=window-a

That makes variants ideal when you want separate reporting without creating a completely separate Smart Link for every placement.

When to use variants

Variants work best when:

one campaign is shared in several physical locations
one destination is reused across multiple channels
the same QR code design needs separate reporting by placement
you want one Smart Link to act as the tracking hub for a family of related URLs

Typical examples:

Scenario	Variant examples
One poster artwork across a mall	`north-entrance`, `food-court`, `cinema-bridge`
One campaign across channels	`newsletter`, `instagram-bio`, `window-poster`
One activation across several stores	`paris-centre`, `lyon-centre`, `marseille-centre`

The fields in a variant

Each variant includes:

Field	What it is for
`Variant Name`	Human-readable label for operators, such as `North Entrance Poster`
`Variant ID`	URL-safe identifier used in the `?v=` parameter
variant-specific `UTM Parameters`	Optional placement-level tracking overrides or additions
`Custom Variables`	Optional extra query parameters for downstream reporting

Variants can also be activated, deactivated, edited, and deleted independently from the main Smart Link.

Create a variant

Open the Smart Link form

Create a new Smart Link or edit an existing one, then go to the Variants section.

Create form showing UTM Parameters and the Variants block with the empty state and Add Variant

In the example below, the Smart Link is set up for one mall info page shared across three poster placements. Each placement becomes its own variant with a distinct Variant ID (north-entrance, food-court, cinema-bridge).

Add the variant identity

Click Add Variant, then enter:

Variant Name, such as Food Court Poster
Variant ID, such as food-court

Choose IDs that stay readable in a URL and make sense in reports later.

Add Variant dialog with Variant Name and Variant ID, plus optional UTM Parameters and Custom Variables

Click Add Variant in the dialog to save that row, then use Add Variant again for each additional placement. For the three-poster example, you would add North Entrance Poster (north-entrance), Food Court Poster (food-court), and Cinema Bridge Poster (cinema-bridge).

Add optional tracking fields

If this placement needs its own attribution, add variant-specific UTM Parameters.

If you need extra context that does not fit standard UTM fields, add Custom Variables such as a placement code, store code, or artwork reference.

Save and test the variant URL

When every variant is listed on the form, the section shows one card per placement (here, three Active variants for the same Smart Link).

Variants section with three active variant cards: North Entrance Poster, Food Court Poster, and Cinema Bridge Poster

Click Save & Activate on the Smart Link. OmniLab saves the configuration and opens the Details page (you can also open the Smart Link later from the folder list).

Open or scan a variant URL to confirm it resolves correctly. For a slug such as mall-campaign, a food-court placement looks like this:

Example variant URL

https://your-domain.example/l/mall-campaign?v=food-court

After you save: overview, edits, and QR exports

See variants on the Details page

On Details, the Configuration Overview summarizes the Smart Link and lists every variant with its own full URL (the base link plus ?v=<variant-id>). That view is the usual place to copy a link for tests, share with a teammate, or confirm which ID belongs to which placement before you print. The screenshots below use a sample Smart Link; your own URLs will show your domain and slug.

Configuration Overview on Details: base URL, destination, and three variant cards with IDs and full variant URLs

Update a variant later

To change tracking, rename a placement, turn a placement off, or remove a variant, click Edit Smart Link. In Edit Variants, open the menu on a variant card to Edit, Deactivate, or Delete.

Prefer not to change Variant ID after you have already distributed URLs, QR codes, or short links that embed the old value. Those assets encode the ID in the query string; changing it starts a “new” placement in reporting and can break existing printed materials. When you only need clearer wording for people, update Variant Name instead. Change Variant ID only when fixing a mistake or when you accept re-issuing replacement assets.

Download several variant QR codes at once

From Details, click Download QR. Under Variants, select which placements to include (Select All selects every variant). When at least one variant is selected, OmniLab downloads a ZIP containing the main Smart Link QR code plus one file per selected variant (the button label shows how many files you are about to export).

Turn on Show Smartlink label to add text under the QR in the exported image, using the Smart Link title so each file is easier to tell apart during handoff to print. Because each variant is still a separate file in the ZIP, you can match files to placements and avoid swapping the wrong code at the printer.

Design QR Code modal with three variants selected, Show Smartlink label on, and multi-file download

For format choices, sizes, and a full walkthrough, see Download QR code.

Best practices for variant IDs

keep IDs short and reporting-friendly
use one naming style across a campaign or organisation
make the ID describe the placement, not the full campaign
avoid creating duplicate meanings such as poster-a, poster-main, and main-poster for the same location
avoid renaming Variant ID after launch unless you are prepared to update every live URL or printed QR that used the old value

Think of the variant ID as your reporting key

The Variant Name is for people. The Variant ID is what distinguishes the URL and what makes the placement measurable in practice.

How variants appear in analytics

Once traffic starts coming in, Smart Links analytics can separate performance by variant. That helps you answer questions such as:

Which poster location generated the most scans?
Which email placement outperformed the others?
Which store or venue brought in the strongest traffic?

The Scans by Variant widget is usually the fastest way to compare those results.

When to create a new Smart Link instead

Create a new Smart Link instead of a variant when:

the base destination strategy is meaningfully different
the audience or objective is different enough to deserve its own reporting hub
the link should live in a different folder, team workflow, or lifecycle

Use variants when the overall Smart Link is still one family of related share assets.