How to keep records of your ads and traffic

To keep records of your ads and traffic, save a dated copy of every ad, headline, image, pre-lander version, targeting setting and placement list you run, plus a sub ID map that ties each one to your tracking links. Store them in one folder structure by campaign, so you can answer buyer, return and platform questions later.

Why keep records of your ads and traffic

Questions about a lead often come long after the ad that produced it was paused. When they come, the answer depends on what the person saw before they reached the form. If you kept the record, you can answer in minutes. If you did not, you are guessing.

Records also protect your results. Returns are deducted under the return terms agreed during onboarding, and a pattern of returns from one source is easier to fix when you can see exactly what that source ran. See why leads get returned.

Ad records vs consent records

Two kinds of records are easy to confuse. They are kept by different parties.

You do not need to store consent records for leads that submit on a Summit lander, and you should not try to recreate them on your own pages. For what consent records contain and how long businesses keep them, see TCPA consent record-keeping. For why consent wording must stay as provided, see consent language publishers must not change.

What records to keep

• Ads. A screenshot or export of every ad as it ran: primary text, headline, description, call to action button and the final URL with parameters.
• Headlines and images. The exact headline text and the image or video file for each version, with a version name.
• Pre-lander versions. If you use an advertorial or pre-lander, a saved copy (HTML file or full-page capture) of each version, with the date it went live and the date it changed. See advertorials and pre-landers for lead gen.
• Targeting. Locations, age ranges, audiences, keywords and match types, negative keywords and exclusions, with the date of each change.
• Placements. For native campaigns, the placement or site lists you ran and the ones you blocked. For Meta, the placement settings.
• Sub ID map. Every sub ID value with the campaign, ad set, ad, state group and start and end dates it stands for. See the sub ID naming template.
• Tracking links. Which tracking link each campaign used, and which offer it pointed to.
• Claims support. For any factual claim in an ad or pre-lander, the source that supports it.
• Test notes. What you tested, the stop rule, the result and what you decided.
• Platform messages. Disapprovals, warnings, appeals and their outcomes.
• Third-party traffic. If anyone sends traffic under your account, who they are, which sub ID they use and what they ran.

Claims support deserves its own folder. The FTC’s Advertising FAQs explain that ad claims must be truthful and evidence-based, and its policy statement on advertising substantiation covers the reasonable basis advertisers need before making objective claims. Keep the evidence with the ad that used it.

How to set up a record system, step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Create one folder per campaign

   Name it with the source, offer and campaign code you use in sub IDs, for example “meta-roof-c03”. Inside, add folders for ads, pre-landers, targeting, results and notes.

2. 2

   Step 2: Start a change log

   One spreadsheet per campaign with a row for every change: date, what changed, old value, new value, sub IDs affected and why.

3. 3

   Step 3: Save before launch

   Before any ad goes live, save its copy, image, final URL and targeting into the folder. Make this part of your launch routine. See the campaign launch checklist.

4. 4

   Step 4: Save on every edit

   When you edit an ad or a pre-lander, save the new version as a new file with a new version name and date. Never overwrite the old one.

5. 5

   Step 5: Keep the sub ID map current

   Add each new sub ID value the day you create it, and add an end date when it stops. Do not reuse a value for a different ad.

6. 6

   Step 6: Export results when you pause

   When a campaign or ad is paused, export its results by sub ID with dates and save them in the results folder.

7. 7

   Step 7: Back up

   Keep a second copy in a separate storage location, and check now and then that you can open old files.

Why platform history is not enough

Ad platforms keep some history, but it is limited and not built for your questions. Google Ads change history lists changes to your account, campaigns and ad groups during the past 2 years, and Google says data older than that is not available. Deleted ads, closed accounts and edited pre-landers on your own server leave no history at all unless you saved it.

• Pause ads rather than deleting them, so the platform keeps what it can.
• Do not rely on the platform to show you how an ad looked on a given date. Keep your own screenshot.
• When a platform disapproves an ad, save the message and the ad together. Google explains its ad review process; a clear record of what you ran and what you changed helps if you appeal.

Using your records when a question comes in

1. Find the lead’s tracking link, sub ID values and date in your reports.
2. Look up the sub IDs in your map to find the campaign, ad set and ad.
3. Open the change log and find the versions that were live on that date.
4. Pull the ad, the headline, the image and the pre-lander version from the folders.
5. Send a short reply with the files attached: what ran, where, when and to whom.
6. If the record shows a problem (an overstated claim, loose targeting), fix it, log the fix, and say so in your reply.

If a question is about consent on a lead, answer the part you know (how the person reached the lander) and email team@summitleads.ai with the tracking link, sub ID and date. The consent record is on the Summit side.

Common mistakes

• Overwriting pre-landers. The version a lead saw is gone. Save each version as a new file.
• Reusing sub ID values. Old leads then point to the wrong ad.
• Deleting losing ads. Their history disappears with them. Pause instead. See when to cut a losing lead gen campaign.
• Keeping records only in one inbox or one laptop. Use shared folders and a backup.
• Trying to store consent yourself. For Summit offers, consent is captured on the lander. Keep ad and traffic records instead.
• No record of partner traffic. If someone else runs ads under your link, you need their records too.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• TCPA consent record-keeping: What consent records contain.
• Tracking links and sub IDs explained: The IDs that tie records to leads.
• Reading your publisher reports: Sold, unsold and returned leads by sub ID.
• Publisher traffic guidelines: What every campaign must follow.
• Meta ad policies for lead gen affiliates: Platform rules your records support.

Already generating leads on your own forms? Sell your leads instead.