The Art Of Setting Google Analytics Goals

Hi!

Let me ask you a question.

How do you set goals in Google Analytics?

This may seem like a common question, but it's important to consider if you really want to get anything done.

Many people have SMART goals, or for example, goals based on revenue, acquisition, inquiry, engagement, or some custom goals.

So far so good; but there is one problem.

Most business goals actually consist of many smaller goals. If you don't tend to these smaller goals it can be really hard to ever reach your bigger business goal which is possibly generating ROI.

Let's consider an example. If you want to run an ad campaign, you'll need to first set out your campaign KPIs, who you want your ads to be shown, how much you think you'll need to spend on it, and why you're running it, among many other considerations.

These are all smaller goals that you'll need to complete to reach your set KPIs. You'll find, the more you break down your bigger goals, the even smaller goals will come about. Yet, you'll also find that as you complete these smaller goals, you'll find a great sense of accomplishment, which is an excellent motivator. Because these smaller goals are like taking small steps to reach targets.

So, your foundation smaller goal list for running an ad campaign could look something like this:

• Define campaign goal(s)
• Create a plan
• Define the target audience
• Finalize a platform to run a campaign
• Determine how many hours/minutes per day you can spend
• Figure out how many resources you need to involve
• Estimate the final budget
• Create an outline of landing pages
• Select keywords
• Determine how much research will need to be done
• Complete writing text ad copies etc.

As you check off each smaller goal, you'll be one step closer to achieving campaign goal(s)!

That's the beauty of breaking down your big goals into smaller ones. They will be easier to tackle - so easy, in fact, that it may be hard for you to resist doing them!

Breaking down big goals is only part of the path to reaching them. In fact, setting goals meaningfully in Google Analytics is a big step in and of itself.

To understand what I mean by this, keep on reading this post.

How to set goals in Google Analytics to be a great digital marketer?

Achieving goals deserves a party but setting these goals in the first place is a great feat in itself.

While the big goals serve as a destination, the journey is probably the most significant part of the process. It reflects your progress, your growth, and your ability to take control and steer your campaign towards success.

Whatever your goal is, once you’ve set your sights on your goal, the next stage is to take a confident approach towards how you will get there.

To do that -

1. Be very specific

When it comes to setting your goals in Google Analytics, honing in on its specifics is crucial for success.

Get clear on what you want to set as your goal so you can create solid funnels towards it.

It may not seem significant, but creating funnels in your goal by specifying a definite step, will help create and structure the goals needed to achieve it more purposefully.

2. Identify the groundwork you need to achieve your goal

It’s easy to set a goal and forget it. But this way of going about achieving goals will only give you back superfluous results.

Self-managing your goals is a crucial step in the digital marketing process. This involves taking control of your website, owning its code, and making sure you set up the Analytics tracking code onto your website properly to make it happen.

3. Focus on manageable goals only

The secret to achieving your business goals is to create smaller goals within each step and take action. We should focus on progress, no matter how small it may seem.

These small steps build up the platform, to make the whole process much less daunting and overwhelming.

In the ad campaign scenario, there are several smaller goals you could think about implement:

• Decide to make an appointment with the client asking what budget would be available to you if you were to go into Google and Facebook ads. Get ideas on how much you would need to allocate in each platform to reach your campaign goal on time
• Set up and start to make adjustments to the tracking code for capturing conversions accurately
• Research and commit adding new keywords to the existing list a certain amount each month for expansion of campaigns
• Make sure you meet with your client each month to make sure your ad campaign plan remains the best one for him. Research new trends to move effort into to reap the best returns in ROI
• Start investing in social media to building up a library of content that covers where you want to go

Think about starting a new platform to promote the client’s product/service that will help you get the most out of their total advertising budget.

4. Get started

Creating a KPI sheet in which you can start writing down figures like, conversions, conversion rate, and results after conversion rate optimization is where the magic happens. This is where the real momentum towards your running the campaign objective starts!

Create a calendar (for example, think of a Google spreadsheet), share it with your client, and start by writing in every little step until your campaign’s goal has been reached.

As I mentioned earlier, it may seem such a small step but it’s crucial and is the most important element in your digital marketing project’s success. Once you cross this off, you can focus on the meeting itself, then once that’s ticked off, you are in a position of starting the next task, and so the process continues. You are now on your plan for achieving your campaign goal.

5. Review, revise, repeat

Taking a step back and reviewing your campaigns’ performance is essential for keeping the focus on the right track.

It’s impeccable to sit down and take a look at your digital marketing plan. Check how far you’ve come. Also, think about changing any of the remaining steps in light of goal conversion data.

Has anything changed?

Do you still feel the same about your goal? It’s normal with changing business requirements, change in marketing and advertising goals over time also changes.

Are there any new funnel steps you want to add as a result of Google Analytics?

Remember, realigning your goal to any changes is important and it’s also important to keep on the right trajectory towards it.

Be the best personal goal-setter, become a professional goal-getter

Having personal goals gives you purpose and the feeling of becoming a better version of yourself in professional matters.

But it’s the smaller steps within these bigger goals that the progress and success really lying:

• Whatever your goal is, make sure you set specific action plans when you want to achieve it. This helps you focus on the necessary steps much more efficiently
• Research and find the best route to get to the end result
• Break the primary goal down into smaller, manageable secondary goals
• Create a schedule for achieving each smaller goal

Review your goal journey and validate the purpose of a goal periodically, readjusting steps according to changes in context. Keep going and always focus on the end goal. Remember the ‘why’ behind your goal throughout to keep you driven and confident.

Hopefully, you’ll reconsider how you can set up your goals in Google Analytics and break down a big goal into smaller goals and start optimizing campaigns’ ROI! If so, please share your feedback here.

Cheers!

Partha