I wrote up this checklist while launching a few campaigns and thought it could help others. This is by far not complete, and I’ll probably keep coming back to update it, but it’s a good start.This is probably well known to any seasoned pro, but to newbs like myself it helps to have a list to check off when launching campaigns, especially checking those links!

PPC CHECKLIST

  • Research the market you’re interested in
  • Determine a few offers you like from various networks
  • Sign up for offers you want
  • Register generic domain for niche
  • Setup hosting for said domain
  • Setup AWStats, Webalizer, Mint etc for your new domain
  • Build Two Landing Pages for testing purposes
  • Write Content for both landing pages and find/buy any images you need
  • Create Privacy and Terms of Service if needed for your LP’s
  • Keyword Research, find about 500 of them for your niche
  • Create external files to link to (/links/offer.php)
  • Setup offers in Prosper202
  • Input Landing Page Code to each landing page that P202 generates
  • Make sure your links in your external files are proper (/links/offer1.php /links/offer2.php)
  • Test all your links by hand off each landing page
  • Make sure stats show up in P202 after testing
  • Create text link ads in P202 for each LP and Offer, save in spreadsheet
  • Login to your account with advertiser (YSM, GOOG, MSN, ETC)
  • Deposit funds if required
  • Create 5-20 ads for your campaign with P202 links from before
  • Test ads and links again just to be cautious
  • Place tracking pixels on your network so you can track sales.
  • Test pixel tracking links just to be sure.
  • Insert keywords you generated earlier into their interface
  • Check demographic settings
  • Check if content network is selected or not (depending on your marketing plan)
  • Test all links one last time
  • Start campaign
  • Watch campaign, pausing any super expensive keywords and trying to find the least costly
  • Pause campaign after 3-5 days and tweak your keywords and re-run if you think it will be profitable.

Have anything to add? I’d love to see your checklist in the comments, or anything else you can think of.