Before enabling Yandex Direct, test one complete path: a person's search, the advert, the page, the enquiry and the employee's response. Complete a launch-readiness sheet showing what has been checked, what blocks launch and who will fix it. For the first pass, choose one offer and allow around ninety minutes; estimate corrections separately.
You can check a prepared campaign without spending its budget. You need advert copy, final URLs, campaign settings access and someone who can find a test enquiry. If a contractor manages advertising, ask them to show these during a joint meeting. You do not need to hand over your account password. This guide concerns Yandex Direct, an advertising platform widely used in the Russian market; check the settings available to your campaign.
First describe a suitable enquiry
Complete five lines: what you offer; to whom; where you provide it; which tasks you handle; and what information you need for an initial response. Add limitations, such as support only for existing shops on a particular system or delivery only to regions the company serves. These conditions will help you check searches and the page.
Illustrative example: a company supports online shops. A suitable enquiry includes the URL of an operating shop and a fault description. A training request or job search is a different task. A request for a new website also needs a separate offer. Record these distinctions before discussing cost per click.
Alongside this, state what an employee will do after an enquiry: check website availability, request safe diagnostic information and agree on the next step. You cannot promise an exact fix time for an unknown fault before diagnosis. The page should explain the initial help and what determines the subsequent estimate.
Match the search, advert and page
Take several representative search phrases from each group, including borderline ones. Classify them as “suitable”, “unsuitable” or “needs clarification”. This is a manual intent check. It does not forecast enquiry numbers or replace analysis of actual searches after launch.
| Example search | Decision | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Bitrix online shop support | Check the full path | Matches the service |
| Bitrix developer vacancy | Exclude this intent | The person is looking for work |
| Checkout error | Clarify the context | May be looking for instructions |
For each suitable phrase, read the advert and open its final URL. The page should present the same service, material terms and a clear next step. If the advert promises help with an existing shop but the page starts with building a new website, record the mismatch. A fix might be linking to an existing suitable page, clarifying the advert or adding a short conditions section.
Open additional links and contact details separately. Check the destination after redirects, whether the offer retains its meaning on mobile and whether an old promotion remains. Do not test your own advertising with repeated paid clicks: use prepared URLs and available advert-preview tools.
How to check exclusions
List unsuitable intents for your service: vacancies, training, do-it-yourself instructions or another product. Do not copy someone else's entire negative-keyword list. For example, “free” may appear in a suitable search for a free diagnosis if that diagnosis really is part of your offer.
Direct supports negative keywords and phrases; the official help guide explains their behaviour and interaction with keywords. Ask the specialist to demonstrate which searches a proposed exclusion removes. Do not treat one list as universal protection across every targeting type and placement: check your campaign's actual settings.
Follow the page on a real phone
Open the advertising URL in your phone's browser over an ordinary mobile connection. Record the device, browser, time and URL. Start without a form already open. Visitors should find the offer, terms and enquiry route without searching several menus.
- Read the price or how it is calculated. Check that the service unit and included scope are stated.
- Open evidence of experience: a relevant case study, sample result or process description. Check that the link works.
- Tap the main button. If a specific package was selected, its name should carry through to the form or enquiry.
- Enter data with the on-screen keyboard open. Check that it does not hide the required field, error or submit button.
- Tap the phone and email links. Verify the number and address in the application that opens; you do not need to place a call.
- Try submitting an empty form. The error should explain what to fix; no successful-enquiry message should appear.
If the site has several form types, test each: a separate page, popup and package enquiry. Identical appearance does not prove identical processing. For a fuller review, use the service website self-audit.
Reconcile the test enquiry with its records
Warn the employee and agree on one test enquiry on your own website. Enter your own working contact details and “TEST — do not process this enquiry”. If the form triggers a paid action, reservation, invoice or automated mailing, first agree on a safe test method with the provider.
After submission, find the record in the company's enquiry system. Verify time, service and source page. Then check the employee notification. Check the on-screen success message, saved record and delivered email separately. If the email does not arrive, the enquiry may still be in the log, but its owner must know where to look.
Ask to see the analytics event for an accepted enquiry. Track button clicks and form opens separately. If advertising optimises for a click labelled “lead”, a validation error can look like a completed goal. The Metrica goals guide provides a detailed test procedure.
Refresh the confirmation page and go back. Compare repeated events with the original record to identify duplicate counting. Ask a developer to test server failure and resubmission on a test copy; do not disable a live form for an experiment.
Record the first launch's boundaries
In the readiness sheet, record geography, placements, schedule, selected goal, spending limit and monitoring owner. For each, save the actual account setting. Availability varies by campaign type, as the campaign settings guide explicitly explains. Replace a verbal “the budget is limited” with the setting name, period and amount.
Clarify how the limit works over time, who can change it and when the owner can see spend. Choose the amount according to your own means and agreed test; no universal budget is safe for every service. Decide separately how to handle out-of-hours enquiries: a promise of a quick response must match the team's actual operation.
Agree on stop conditions: website unavailable, form losing enquiries, actual offer differing from the advert or spend exceeding approved limits. Name someone authorised to pause ads and a way to reach them. Planned traffic-quality assessment needs accumulated data; a technical failure should not wait until the reporting period ends.
An issue that can be verified and closed
Illustrative entry. Support page, mobile browser. After selecting “Online shop support”, the form opens, but the package name is absent from the saved test enquiry. The employee cannot see which offer was selected. Task: transfer the selection with the enquiry. Acceptance: agreed tests for two packages are submitted in turn, each record contains its own value, and a general enquiry without a package is also accepted.
You do not need to prove future sales growth here. Reproduce the lost context, correct it and repeat the check. “Improve form conversion” is not comparably testable. Keep an evidence link, owner and retest date in the working sheet.
When a new campaign or website is unnecessary
Do not order a new website because of one mismatched heading or a missing service name; assess a local fix first. Do not expand advertising while the team cannot respond to existing enquiries. If the offer changes every week, agree its scope and terms first so that advertising does not promote an outdated version.
An existing campaign does not necessarily need rebuilding from scratch either. Retain its settings and result history, identify specific gaps and discuss testable changes. A complete rebuild should be justified by identified limitations, not merely by a new contractor's arrival.
Short glossary
- Landing page: the URL an advert leads to.
- Targeting: conditions for choosing audiences or impressions.
- Negative phrase: a condition excluding search phrases under the advertising system's rules.
- Goal: an action measured by analytics; its name does not prove an enquiry was received.
- Launch readiness: your internal record of verified conditions and remaining blockers.
If questions remain after completing the sheet, you can share one advertising path and its discrepancies with us for a Direct preparation review. Decide whether to launch after checking the specific issues.
Apply this to your task
Test one advertising path before spending budget and list its blockers and acceptance criteria.
Advertising launch-readiness sheet: open the worksheet · Download the CSV to complete. Free access, no registration. Use it yourself or share it with your provider.