Document every traffic source before a dispute turns a clean campaign into a guessing game

Create one evidence folder per campaign. Record the affiliate ID, network offer, traffic source, placement, landing page, tracking parameters, and approval terms. Keep the original files, not just screenshots or edited exports.

Log how each visit was generated: ad account, domain or app, creative, audience rule, placement, redirect path, and conversion event. Preserve timestamps, click IDs, server logs, and lead status where allowed. Never rely on a dashboard that can overwrite historical data.

Keep a change log for launches, pauses, bid changes, URL edits, and tracking fixes. Save invoices, insertion orders, email approvals, and written answers to compliance questions. Label every file consistently so another person can reconstruct the campaign without asking you to explain it.

Before disputing a chargeback, clawback, or traffic-quality flag, build a short timeline: what was approved, what ran, what changed, and what the logs show. Separate facts from assumptions, and redact unrelated personal data.

Good documentation is not a defense created after a flag; it is a routine record that makes legitimate traffic easy to verify.