Practice

Campaign Launch Checklist: Before You Send the First Click

Editorial team of Affiliate Index · Published October 30, 2026

Confirm the offer

Read the current offer terms from start to finish. Check allowed traffic sources, targeting restrictions, required disclosures, prohibited placements, and any rules about incentives or brand terms.
Confirm which actions qualify for payment and what can invalidate a conversion. Note any geographic, device, or audience limits that apply.
Check that the destination, offer details, and tracking instructions still match the terms. Ask the partner program for clarification before launching if a rule is unclear.
Save a copy of the terms and the date you reviewed them. Recheck them before making significant changes to the campaign.

Build the tracking link using the correct offer and campaign details. Confirm that all required parameters are present and spelled correctly.
Test the complete click path, from the ad through any pre-lander to the offer page. Check that redirects work and that the final destination loads as expected.
Test the postback or other conversion tracking method. Verify that a test event is recorded correctly, including the campaign identifiers needed for reporting.
Check that click and conversion records can be matched. Look for missing parameters, duplicate events, or unexpected changes during redirects.
Keep test activity separate from live results where the tracking setup allows it. Do not treat a successful page load as proof that conversion tracking works.

Open the landing page and any pre-lander on mobile and desktop. Review layout, text, images, buttons, and forms on each.
Test every important button and link. Confirm that forms submit properly and that the next step is clear.
Check loading behavior on ordinary connections. Remove broken elements and fix content that is clipped, difficult to read, or blocked by overlays.
Review every creative against the traffic source’s rules and the offer terms. Check claims, imagery, disclosures, prohibited wording, and destination consistency.
Make sure the ad does not imply a benefit or outcome that the landing page and offer cannot support. Avoid misleading urgency or claims that cannot be substantiated.
Confirm that the creative, landing page, and offer describe the same proposition. Replace any version that could confuse visitors or breach a policy.

Check the traffic source’s current rules for the format, targeting, placements, and destination you plan to use. Confirm that the campaign setup fits those rules before submitting it.
Set a daily budget cap and any available account-level spending limits. Check that the selected currency and billing settings are correct.
Write down the campaign goal before spending. Define what you will monitor and what evidence would justify continuing, adjusting, or stopping.
Set stop rules in advance. Specify when to pause for tracking failures, unexpected costs, policy concerns, or results that do not meet your own criteria.
Decide who will review the campaign and how often. Do not rely on memory to notice a problem after launch.
Keep the initial setup narrow enough to interpret. Change one meaningful element at a time when practical, and record what changed.

Choose a consistent naming convention before creating the campaign. Include useful identifiers such as the offer, traffic source, market, placement, and creative version where appropriate.
Use the same naming logic in the traffic platform, tracking system, and reporting notes. Avoid labels that are ambiguous or reused for unrelated tests.
Prepare a notes template with fields for offer terms reviewed, link and postback tests, page checks, policy review, budget cap, goal, stop rules, and launch time.
Record the final settings and any assumptions that still need checking. Keep a note of changes, pauses, and the reason for each decision.
Run through the checklist once more before enabling traffic. Start only when the offer, tracking, pages, policy fit, limits, and monitoring plan are ready.