Plan around the launch date
A launch gives the campaign a calendar. Start with the date that matters to your team and the period you want to compare. Record the site’s baseline before adding campaign traffic so that the later comparison has a clear starting point.
- Before the launch. Save the baseline period, GA4 sessions and the registration or enquiry counts from your own systems. Confirm the landing page, campaign labels and country set.
- During launch week. Use the agreed dates and pacing. Keep campaign traffic identifiable in the available acquisition data and record any changes to the launch plan.
- After the launch. Compare the agreed periods and filters. Review visits, key events and confirmed registrations or enquiries as separate observations.
The campaign window and the platform’s reporting window are different settings. Agree both before the start; a launch date does not establish when a third-party estimate will become available.
Choose countries, sources and pacing
Choose mixed countries or one region: US/UK, Europe or RU/CIS. Bring the country set that matters to your launch and discuss the actual sources, dates and pacing before starting. The available settings and final quote are agreed for the project.
For a launch with a fixed announcement date, include that date and the period before and after it in your brief. If the schedule changes, discuss how that affects the agreed campaign window.
The traffic calculator and free-test conditions use the same tariff as the Similarweb traffic service. The price block above comes from that tariff; campaign scope is agreed before the start.
Decide what to measure in GA4
Use the existing GA4 property to define the question before the campaign:
- Sessions: record the GA4 session metric, dates and country filters used for the baseline and later comparison.
- Campaign labels: agree UTM parameters for the links where they apply, then review the campaign’s source, medium and name in acquisition data. Use the GA4 UTM campaign guide for the tracking check.
- Actions: check which collected events are marked as key events. A count only describes the event configured in that property.
The GA4 traffic page explains the acquisition reports and measurement limits. Agree which existing reports will be used; a traffic campaign does not itself configure tracking or verify the system that receives a form.
Read visits and registrations separately
Visits describe site traffic in the context of a particular platform. They do not count completed registrations or accepted enquiries. Keep those results in separate columns and confirm them in the product or enquiry system.
Similarweb provides an external estimate; GA4 measures activity through the property’s collection and processing rules. Keep the platform, period and filters beside each observation. The Similarweb service has more detail on checking an estimate without treating it as a guaranteed campaign result.
Send the launch brief
Share the website, launch date, preferred countries and the question you want the campaign to answer. Add the planned landing page and existing GA4 reports when useful. A short first message is enough to start the discussion.
Use pricing and the traffic test to review the budget and conditions. For the campaign itself, discuss your launch with Extcorp.