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First-Time Setup Checklist

Get your first campaign tracking in under 30 minutes
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Written by Ervis
Updated 3 months ago

TL;DR

Follow this checklist to set up ClickFlare in the correct order and verify that clicks and conversions are tracking properly before sending real traffic.

  • Set up a custom tracking domain

  • Create a traffic source

  • (Optional) Prepare a landing page

  • Create an offer

  • (Optional) Add an affiliate network

  • Create a campaign

  • Add conversion tracking

  • Test clicks and conversions

  • Verify data in reports

  • (Optional) Enable cost & Conversion API integrations

If you complete these steps in order, your ClickFlare setup is ready.

Why This Checklist Matters

ClickFlare has a clear internal logic and dependency structure.
Some entities must exist before others can be selected or linked.

Most beginner issues happen when:

  • Steps are done out of order

  • Campaigns are created before required components exist

  • Tracking is not tested before traffic is sent

This checklist ensures you:

  • Follow the correct setup sequence

  • Understand what is required vs optional

  • Validate everything before spending money on traffic

What You’ll Need Before You Start

Make sure you have:

  • An active ClickFlare account

  • A destination URL (affiliate offer, product page, or form)

  • Access to your domain DNS (recommended)

  • Access to your conversion endpoint (affiliate network, platform, or backend)

Step-by-Step: First-Time Setup Checklist

Step 1: Set Up a Custom Tracking Domain (Highly Recommended)

Before creating anything else, it’s strongly recommended to set up a custom tracking domain.

By default, ClickFlare provides a dedicated domain that may be shared with other users. While useful for testing, shared domains can be affected by other users’ activity and may get flagged by browsers, ad platforms, or security systems.

Using your own custom domain helps you:

  • Maintain full control over your tracking setup

  • Reduce the risk of domain flagging or blocking

  • Improve tracking reliability and long-term stability

A single subdomain (for example, track.yourdomain.com) is enough.

📌 If you don’t have a custom domain yet, you can temporarily use the default domain for testing, but you should switch to a custom domain before sending real traffic.

Related resources:

  • Dedicated vs Custom Domains

  • Domain Setup & SSL

Step 2: Create a Traffic Source

Create at least one traffic source in ClickFlare.

The traffic source:

  • Defines how ClickFlare expects incoming parameters

  • Provides templates for cost tracking and Conversion APIs

  • Helps organize campaign data

At this stage:

  • A basic traffic source setup is enough

  • Cost and Conversion API integrations can be configured later

Related resource:

  • Add a Traffic Source in ClickFlare

Step 3: (Optional) Create a Landing Page

If your setup includes a landing page:

  • Prepare it before creating the offer

  • Ensure it can pass the ClickFlare Click ID forward

Typical flow:
ClickFlare → Landing Page → Offer

If you don’t use a landing page, you can skip this step.

Related resource:

  • Passing Data to a Landing Page

Step 4: Create an Offer

Create your offer using:

  • An affiliate offer URL

  • A product or checkout page

  • A lead or form page

Make sure:

  • The offer URL loads correctly

  • The ClickFlare Click ID is appended to the destination

This is critical for proper conversion attribution.

Related resource:

  • Landers & Offers Setup Explained

Step 5: (Optional) Add an Affiliate Network

Affiliate networks are optional, but recommended.

They help you:

  • Organize multiple offers

  • Use pre-built postback templates

  • Simplify conversion tracking setup

If you work directly with an advertiser or your own backend, you can skip this step.

Related resource:

  • Affiliate Networks in ClickFlare

Step 6: Create a Campaign

Now that all required components exist, create your campaign.

During campaign creation:

  • Select the traffic source

  • Select a landing page (if used)

  • Select the offer

  • Generate the ClickFlare tracking URL

This tracking URL is what you will test and eventually use in your traffic source.

Related resource:

  • Create Your First Redirect Campaign

Step 7: Add Conversion Tracking

Set up at least one conversion.

Choose the method that fits your setup:

  • Postback (recommended)

  • Script or pixel

  • API Integration (when available)

For initial testing:

  • One conversion is enough

  • Advanced rules and filters are not required

Related resource:

  • How Conversion Tracking Works in ClickFlare

Step 8: Test Traffic Flow (Visit → Click) 

When testing your setup, it’s important to understand how ClickFlare records events.

In ClickFlare, events are recorded as follows:

  • Visit
    A Visit is registered when someone clicks your ad or opens the ClickFlare campaign URL.

  • Click
    A Click is registered when the user clicks from the landing page to the offer.

This means:

  • Opening the ClickFlare tracking URL directly will register a Visit

  • Clicking through the landing page will register a Click

What to test

  1. Open your ClickFlare tracking URL in a browser

  2. Confirm that:

    • A Visit appears in ClickFlare logs

    • You are redirected correctly to the landing page or offer

  3. If using a landing page:

    • Click through the landing page

    • Confirm that a Click is registered

📌 If no Visit appears, the tracking URL is not working.
📌 If Visits appear but Clicks do not, the landing page click-through is not tracked correctly.

Step 9: Test a Conversion

A Conversion is registered when ClickFlare receives a conversion event from your destination.

This can happen via:

  • Postback

  • Script or pixel

  • API integration

What to verify

  • A Conversion appears in ClickFlare

  • The conversion is linked to the test Visit / Click

  • The conversion status is successful

At this stage, you should see:

  • Visits → from the ad click or tracking URL

  • Clicks → from the landing page (if used)

  • Conversions → from the conversion event

Step 10: Verify Data in Reports

After testing clicks and conversions, review your campaign reports to confirm that all events are recorded correctly.

By default, ClickFlare reports use the following event types and columns:

  • Visits
    A Visit is registered when someone clicks your ad or opens the ClickFlare campaign URL.

  • Clicks
    A Click is registered when a user clicks from the landing page to the offer.

  • Conversions
    A Conversion is registered when ClickFlare receives a conversion event (postback, script, pixel, or Conversion API).

What to verify in reports

Make sure that:

  • The Visits count increases when you open the tracking URL or click the ad

  • The Clicks count increases only after clicking through the landing page (if used)

  • The Conversions count increases only when a conversion event is triggered

If your setup does not use a landing page:

  • You will typically see Visits and Conversions

  • The Clicks column may remain at zero, which is expected

Reporting time considerations

When reviewing conversion data, you can choose how conversions are displayed:

  • Visit timestamp – shows conversions based on when the original visit happened

  • Postback timestamp – shows conversions based on when the conversion occurred

Make sure you use the same timestamp logic when comparing ClickFlare data with traffic source or affiliate network reports.

Understanding how Visits, Clicks, and Conversions appear in reports is essential for interpreting performance correctly and avoiding false discrepancies.

Step 11: (Optional) Enable Cost & Conversion API Integrations

Before scaling traffic, you may optionally:

  • Enable cost tracking from your traffic source

  • Set up Conversion APIs for attribution and optimization

These steps improve reporting accuracy and platform optimization but are not required for initial validation.

How to Know Your Setup Is Correct

Your setup is working if:

  • Test clicks appear in logs

  • Conversions are recorded

  • Conversions are attributed to clicks

  • Reports show consistent data

If all four are true, you’re ready to send traffic.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Creating campaigns before required components exist

  • Sending traffic before testing conversions

  • Testing conversions without a test click

  • Forgetting to pass the ClickFlare Click ID to the destination

  • Comparing reports using different timestamps

Related Resources

  • How ClickFlare Works (High-Level Overview)

  • Create Your First Redirect Campaign

  • How Conversion Tracking Works in ClickFlare

  • Visit vs Postback Timestamp Explained

  • Common Beginner Mistakes in ClickFlare

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