Written by Matt Zavadil
Updated February 29, 2024
Digital marketing goals.
We all have them.
Or do we?
Almost every business talks about goals, but not all businesses know how to set effective goals for digital marketing.
There’s a lot that goes into marketing – from developing a marketing strategy to creating and executing campaigns, to measuring results.
But at the heart of it all is your marketing goal. This is the end result you’re working towards, and everything you do should be directed towards achieving it.
Without goals, it’s easy to become scattered and unfocused.
In this article, I’ll discuss seven main goals of marketing, as well as how to set marketing goals that are effective and achievable.
What Are Marketing Goals?
A goal in marketing is the desired outcome you want to achieve.
It’s what you want to achieve with your marketing campaigns, and it should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
For example, a common marketing goal is to “boost brand engagement.”
While this may be a worthy goal, it’s not specific enough.
How will you measure success? How much brand engagement and awareness do you want to increase? By when?
To create an effective marketing goal, you need to get specific.
A better way to phrase this goal would be something like: “Boost brand awareness by X% in Y months.”
Now that’s a SMART marketing goal.
Why Is It Important To Set Goals?
Setting goals for marketing is important for two reasons:
First, it helps to focus and guide marketing efforts.
Without marketing strategies and goals, it’s easy to become scattered and unfocused.
Second, using goals will help you measure success.
If you don’t know what you’re aiming for, how can you tell if you’ve achieved it?
Business goal setting is a key part of effective marketing planning.
Marketing Goal Examples
Here are common marketing goal examples, along with explanations of what they mean and how to set them:
Increase brand awareness – As mentioned earlier, this is a vague goal that can be improved by getting more specific.
Increase web traffic – This goal is measurable (you can track website visits) and achievable (you can do things like improve your search engine ranking).
Generate qualified leads – A lead is a potential customer who has expressed interest in your product or service.
Increase conversion rates – This means turning more visitors into customers for either your own products or to earn commissions via affiliate marketing.
Create a social media presence – Having a social media presence involves creating accounts on various social networks and then posting content regularly.
Increase customer value – Increasing customer value means getting customers to spend more money with you.
Increase revenue – This is the bottom-line goal for most businesses.
Examples of Poorly-Defined Goals in Marketing
Now let’s take a look at some examples of business goals that are poorly defined and need to be improved:
Generate more sales – This goal is too vague. How much more sales? By when?
Get more website visitors – This goal is measurable, but it’s not specific or achievable.
Make people aware of our company – This goal lacks specifics and isn’t measurable.
Examples of Well-Defined Goals in Marketing
Here are some examples of goals that are well defined and SMART:
Generate 100 more leads in the next month – This goal is specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound.
Increase conversion rates by 20% in the next quarter – This goal is also specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound.
Grow social media following by 500 fans in the next six months – This goal is well defined and includes a timeframe.
Create a social media presence on Instagram – This goal doesn’t have a timeframe attached to it, but it’s still specific and achievable.
How To Set The Best Marketing Goals
Now that I’ve gone over some examples of digital marketing goals, let’s take a look at the top seven goals from a different perspective.
Let’s talk about how to specifically set these goals so you get the most value from them inside your business.
1. Increase Brand Awareness
To make this goal effective, you need to boost brand engagement by a certain percentage in a specific timeframe.
A goal like this is more likely to lead to actionable steps and measurable results.
Some ideas for how to boost brand awareness:
- Run ads
- Sponsor an event or charity
- Get involved with public relations
- Create marketing collateral
2. Increase Website Traffic
As you think through how to increase website traffic, it’s important to set a realistic goal.
It’s possible to increase website visits by hundreds or even thousands of percent, but if you’re starting from scratch, that might not be feasible in the short term.
A more achievable goal could be something like increasing website visits by 20% within six months.
Some ways to increase website traffic:
- Improve your search engine rankings
- Optimize your website for a better user experience
- Produce improved content
Don’t forget to tie increased traffic to an improvement in website monetization results.
3. Generate Qualified Leads
This is one goal where it’s especially important to get specific.
What does a “lead” mean to your business? How many leads do you need each month/week/day? What kind of lead qualifies as success?
When you have a specific number in mind, it’s much easier to devise a plan for how to reach that goal.
Some ideas for generating leads:
- Understand intimately the needs & pain points of your target audience
- Develop marketing content that’s helpful and relevant – eBooks, whitepapers, blog posts, etc.
- Generate traffic through paid search campaigns
- Set up lead capture forms on your website
4. Increase Conversion Rates
If you want this marketing goal to be effective, it needs to be measurable.
You need to track things like conversion rates from all marketing channels (paid ad campaigns, email marketing, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, etc.) so you can see which ones are working best for you.
Then you can focus more of your efforts on the channels that generate the most conversions.
Some ideas for increasing conversion rates:
- Test different marketing headlines
- Split test different versions of your landing pages
- Optimize forms for faster submission
- Talk regularly with your sales team
- Create social media posts with a strong call to action
5. Create a Social Media Presence
This goal is all about putting your company in front of as many people as possible.
But it’s not enough to just have a social media profile – you need to actively engage with followers, post interesting content, and participate in relevant discussions.
Some tips for creating a successful social media presence:
- Identify the social networks that are most important to your business
- Start by creating profiles on those networks
- Develop a content plan that includes both original and curated content
6. Increase Customer Lifetime Value
The goal of this marketing goal is to increase the amount of money that each customer spends with your business.
Some ideas for increasing customer value:
- Develop a loyalty program that offers rewards for repeat customers
- Upsell customers on higher-priced items
- Cross-sell complementary products and services
- Focus on quality customer service
7. Increase Revenue
This marketing goal is the only reason any business exists. And like all effective marketing goals, it needs to be specific and measurable.
One way to make this goal more specific is to set a target revenue amount for a certain period. For example, “raise revenue by 20% in the next quarter.”
Another way to make this goal more specific is to set a target number of new customers. For example, “acquire 100 new customers in the next year.”
Some ideas for increasing revenue:
- Develop a marketing budget and stick to it
- Generate qualified leads with high conversion potential
- Increase awareness among potential customers
- Engage in effective campaigns (PPC, email marketing, social media marketing, etc.)
Related Reading: CPA Marketing Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It? What's an Affiliate Partner? Why Start an Affiliate Marketing Business?
FAQs About Goals & Marketing Efforts
Let’s review a few more questions that you may want the answers to as you work to set SMART marketing goals.
What are the 4 goals of marketing?
Four important goals can be to increase website visits, generate leads, increase conversion rates, and increase ROI.
How do I set SMART goals for marketing?
Goals are SMART when they’re Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. You should also make sure your goals are aligned with your company’s overall business strategy.
What is the goal of a marketing team?
Marketing teams work to increase ROI for the company by acquiring new customers and retaining existing customers.
How do you measure marketing success?
One way to measure success is by looking at the ROI (return on investment). You can also track things like website traffic, leads, and conversions to see how your marketing campaigns are performing.
Another way to measure success is by surveying your customers to get feedback on their experience with your business. Customer satisfaction surveys are a great way to get insights into what you’re doing well and where you can improve.
What is the goal of strategic marketing?
The goal of strategic marketing is to create a marketing plan that will help your company achieve its overall business goals.
What are some common marketing mistakes?
Some common marketing mistakes include failing to define your target market, not having a clear marketing strategy, and not measuring your marketing efforts.
What is a realistic marketing budget?
A realistic marketing budget will vary depending on the size of your business and the marketing channels you plan to use. You should also factor in things like marketing research, design and development costs, advertising expenses, and salaries for marketing staff.
Can goals in marketing be short-term or long-term?
Yes, your goals can be either short-term or long-term. It’s important to set both types of goals so that you can have a mix of quick wins and long-term success.
Final Thoughts On Goals & Marketing Strategy
The bottom line is that all marketing goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. By following these guidelines, you can set quality lead and revenue goals and achieve each business objective that you aim at.
