Also known as: Launch Checklist, Pre-Flight Checklist
A Go-Live Checklist is the standard list of items verified before a campaign is switched live: tracking link correct, pixel/postback firing, creatives approved, targeting set, budget and caps configured, and compliance sign-off in place. It is the pre-flight check for ad operations.
The go-live checklist codifies everything that must be true before real budget starts flowing. It is worked through top to bottom: the tracking link is confirmed correct, a test conversion is fired end-to-end to prove the pixel or postback reports, creatives are checked against the broker's marketing guidelines, geo and device targeting are set, the budget and daily cap are configured, and compliance sign-off (risk warnings, disclaimers) is in place.
The reason it matters is asymmetry of cost. A broken pixel discovered at launch wastes a full day of spend with zero attributable conversions; an unapproved creative can trigger a compliance breach that jeopardises the whole partnership. Each of these is cheap to catch on a checklist and expensive to catch after the fact. Disciplined ad-ops teams keep a single reusable checklist and refuse to skip the test-conversion and compliance lines regardless of deadline pressure.
Confirm the link redirects correctly and carries the right sub-ID macros.
Run one end-to-end conversion and confirm it reports in tracker and broker panel.
Ensure every creative matches the broker's marketing and compliance guidelines.
Validate geo, device targeting, budget and daily cap against the deal.
Confirm risk warnings and disclaimers are present and approved.
Switch the campaign on only once every checklist item passes.
Why it matters for partnership: The most expensive mistakes in performance marketing happen at launch: a broken pixel or an unapproved creative can waste a full day's budget or trigger a compliance breach. A disciplined checklist catches these before money moves.
Before launching, an affiliate runs the checklist: test conversion fires in the tracker, creatives match the broker's marketing guidelines, geo and cap are set, and the risk warning is on the landing page. Only then do they go live.
Keep a reusable checklist and never skip the test-conversion and compliance-approval lines; they are the two that cause the costliest launch failures.
Treating the checklist as optional under time pressure and launching with an unapproved creative that breaches the broker's marketing rules.
A live test conversion end-to-end; if the pixel does not fire, nothing else matters because you cannot get paid.