Most tests of a new traffic source fail for boring reasons: the postback was never checked, the budget was spread over too many placements to learn anything, or the campaign was cut on day one because the first hours looked bad. This checklist spreads a test over seven days, with one decision per day, so that at the end you know whether the source deserves more money.
It is written for adult offers and uses Lana Network as the example where a concrete setting helps, but the steps work on any network.
Before day 1: decide what success means
Write down two numbers before you spend anything:
- Your target cost per conversion. For a subscription offer, the most you can pay for a first purchase and still make money over the subscriber's life. For a lead offer, the most you can pay per lead.
- Your test budget. Enough to buy a meaningful number of conversions at that target. A rough rule is room for at least 20 to 30 conversions at your target price; less than that and the result is mostly noise.
If you cannot write both, the test has no finish line. Our guide to buying adult traffic covers how to pick them.
Day 1: account, deposit and tracking
- Fund the account. On Lana Network, deposits are prepaid: you only spend what you deposited, and a campaign leaves the market as soon as your balance minus today's spend reaches zero. Today you fund in USDC on Solana, from 100 USD, on your Billing page: send the transfer, paste its transaction hash, and the amount is credited once our team confirms it, so fund a day before you want to launch. Details in funding your account.
- Know the limits. New accounts can commit at most 200 USD per day across all campaigns, and above 500 USD of cumulative deposits we ask for your company details. Plan the test inside those limits.
- Prepare the postback. Generate your token on the Postback page and paste the postback URL into your tracker now. Do not worry if a check answers
ERROR: bad token: the token only starts working once your account is approved, with your first campaign. You will test it on day 3.
Day 2: build one campaign, narrow
- One offer, one format, one country, one device. On Lana Network, the strongest demand today is United States mobile. Start there unless your offer only works elsewhere.
- The landing URL. It must be https and carry the four parameters, once each:
ocid={click_id},occ={campaign_id},osrc={zone_id}andosite={src_hostname}. Our landing review guide lists what gets a landing approved. - The creative. A popunder needs no creative: your landing page opens in a new tab. Banners are served from images you upload and we approve.
- Submit for review. A campaign stays a draft until our team reviews it and switches it live. Nothing is spent before that. Step by step in creating your first campaign.
Day 3: test the postback, then set the bid and the budget
- Test the postback as soon as the campaign is approved. Check the URL on the Postback page, send a made-up click id (the answer should now be
ERROR: unknown click_id), then convert once for real and find it in Reports. Keep the daily budget low until all three pass: a test without conversion data is a test you cannot read. Our plain guide to S2S conversions walks through it. - Start at or a little above the public floor. Floors per format, country group and device are public on our advertisers page. On a first-price auction the highest eligible bid wins and pays its own bid, so bidding far above the floor on day one mostly means paying more for the same visits.
- Cap the day. Set a daily budget, at least 1 USD, at roughly a fifth to a third of the total test budget, so one bad day cannot eat it all.
- Pick the pacing. "Even" spreads spend over the day and shows you every hour of traffic. "As fast as possible" spends early and can leave you blind on evenings, which are often the best hours for adult offers. Start with even. More in budgets, caps and pacing.
Day 4: read the first 24 hours
Look at the data the morning after launch, but judge only what a single day can tell you:
- Spend and volume. Did the campaign spend? If not, your bid is probably at the floor while others bid above it. Raise it in small steps.
- Conversions arrive at all. Even one or two prove the tracking works end to end. Zero conversions on real spend is a tracking question first and a traffic question second.
- Placement spread. Which sites and zones took most of the spend? Note them, do not act yet.
- Do not judge cost per conversion yet. Subscription buyers often pay hours after the click, and one day is too few conversions for a price.
Day 5: first cuts, by placement
- Block placements that spent without anything. A site that took a large share of spend with zero leads or sales is a candidate. On Lana Network each campaign has its own list of blocked sites.
- Do not cut the whole campaign. A source is rarely uniformly bad; it is usually a few placements that are.
Day 6: adjust the bid
- Placements converting below target: raise the bid a little to win more of them.
- Volume too low overall: raise in small steps and watch whether cost per conversion moves with it.
- Cost per conversion far above target everywhere: lower the bid before you stop.
Day 7: decide
Put the week side by side with your two numbers:
- At or under target on enough conversions: scale slowly, by raising the daily budget step by step rather than doubling.
- Close to target: run a second week with the cuts from day 5.
- Far above target after the cuts: stop. That is a valid result, and the budget bought the answer.
Invalid impressions found after the fact are credited back to your balance when each day is settled, so the final numbers can be slightly better than the live ones. Wait for settlement before the last call.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I spend on a first test of a new adult traffic source?
Enough for at least 20 to 30 conversions at your target cost, inside the network's daily limits. Less than that, and one lucky or unlucky day decides the result.
When should I cut a campaign on a new network?
Not on day one. Block placements that spent without results from day 5, adjust bids on day 6, and decide on day 7 against the target you wrote down before launch.
What is the minimum deposit on Lana Network?
100 USD, in USDC on Solana, from your Billing page. You paste the transaction hash, the deposit is credited once our team confirms it, and new accounts can commit at most 200 USD per day across all campaigns.
Should I start with a high bid to get volume?
No. On a first-price auction you pay your own bid, so start at or a little above the public floor and raise in small steps while you watch cost per conversion.
Why do I see no conversions after the first day?
Check the postback first: send a test click and one real conversion. If tracking works, it may simply be too early, because many subscription buyers pay hours after the click.