Are you trying to improve your search engine marketing results? Whether you want to rank better in organic or paid search, setting a SMART goal can help you track and achieve those results.
In this article, we’ll look at SMART goals and how they apply to your search engine marketing.
What are SMART goals?
SMART goal setting first appeared in the business world in 1981. It is an abbreviation that stands for the following.
S – selector
Specific goals are clearly stated with a specific amount. Common, but not specific, SEO goals can be:
- Improve search rankings.
- Increase organic search traffic.
- Build a variety of links.
- Develop new content.
In general, the main goal of any SEO campaign is to increase visibility in search engines. To make your goal specific, you need to be precise How do It will increase your visibility in search engines.
A local company, for example, might set a specific goal to claim new local listings/quotes in the next quarter.
M – measurable
Quantifiable goals can be set. The example above for a specific target needs a specific amount of local lists to claim it.
To make it a measurable goal, the local business might update it to claim 25 new local listings in the next quarter.
Now, it is specific and measurable.
A- Achievable
Is the goal you set for your SEO strategy achievable?
To answer this question, you need to know if the end result you want is achievable. With the local listings goal above, they should know that there are still 25 local directories left for them to claim.
Note that while the goal should be achievable, it should also be challenging to achieve. If a goal is obtained easily or quickly, this indicates that the measurable part of the goal was not ambitious enough.
Historically, A stood for customizable. This is also a good component of the SMART goal.
Who will be involved in completing any tasks necessary to achieve the goal? Make sure someone is responsible for every step of the goal completion process.
R – relevant
Is your goal related to your business needs? In the case of a local business seeking to claim local business listings, the answer is yes, and the goal is closely related to the business and the success of its marketing efforts.
By claiming local listings, a local business will increase its visibility in search results. The listings themselves have the potential to cover most of the first page of search results, as well as help boost local rankings in the map package.
In the past, R also represented real when A was customizable.
Is your goal realistically achievable with the current resources you have to invest in? Or will you need to invest in resources before you can start the goal.
A small business with a single owner may not realistically be able to achieve the goal of claiming several business listings while managing other business operations at the same time.
On the other hand, a local chain with a marketing team may be able to claim more listings in the same time frame.
T – exact time
Time-bound goals are just goals that have a time frame for completion.
With the local business example, the goal might be to claim 25 listings by the end of the quarter.
Assuming this is realistic, it will ensure that you are working toward your goal in a timely manner.
What happens when we don’t add a time frame to the goal?
In most cases, the goal that has no deadline is put on the back while the goal that has a deadline is focused on until the goal is achieved.
Why are SMART goals important?
Unfortunately, it turns out That study that is often cited From Harvard or Yale showing success to MBA students based on goal setting is a myth. However, we have research showing that effective goal setting for marketing.
According to a study by CoSchedule, marketers who set goals are 376% They are more likely to report success in their marketing efforts versus those who did not set goals. Furthermore, 68% of marketers surveyed set deadlines always or most of the time.
The success of SMART goals is generally related to goal specificity. In contrast to a very loosely defined goal, a specific goal must be thought of. You have to analyze where you are, where you want to be, and exactly what it takes to get there.
Even the American Psychological Association includes the basic components of SMART in its dictionary as Definition of goal setting:
“…a process that sets specific behavioral goals that are time-based and are measurable, achievable, and realistic.”
Locke’s theory of goal setting Explain Why these components improve performance:
At least four mechanisms explain why goal setting improves performance: (a) it focuses and directs activities, (b) it regulates energy expenditure, (c) it promotes perseverance because the effort is sustained until the goal or sub-goal is reached, and (d) it can promote development. New strategies for improving performance”.
Examples of SMART goals for search engine marketing
Using some of the most important general goals for your SEO campaigns, the following are examples of setting SMART SEO goals.
search ranking
One of the most important goals of most SEO campaigns is to increase search rankings.
Of course, saying that this is your goal is far from defining. It is difficult to be specific to a scale that fluctuates regularly.
With that in mind, here’s an example of a SMART search rankings goal.
Increase your search rankings [specific keyword] Second to the first page of search results by the end of the year.
To determine if this is feasible, you will need to evaluate your competitors in organic search. Compare the quality of your content with their inbound and inbound links.
generate traffic
Generating traffic from organic search is the ultimate goal of efforts to improve search rankings.
To create a SMART goal for traffic generation, consider modifying the following:
Increase organic search traffic by 25% by the end of the next quarter.
To determine if this is feasible, you will need to evaluate your organic search competitors for your top keywords.
Link building
Links are key to helping Google discover and identify your content Quality and its relevance to search queries. To create a variant cookie, you will need to select a SMART link building target.
Get 50 related links to our site in the next quarter.
To determine if this is possible, create a list of the pages most likely to win links.
If you have 10 pages of link-worthy content, it’s realistic to assume that you can get five links per page.
Sales / Transfers
Do you want your search engine optimization to generate qualified leads or sales on your website? Create a SMART goal focused on revenue-generating conversions.
He increases [sales revenue/leads generated] of organic search by 10% by the end of the year.
If you know how well your organic search traffic is currently converting, you should be able to extrapolate a realistic increase.
main sockets
If you want to achieve your SEO goals, consider setting SMART goals.
Create smart, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound and well-thought-out goals.
Use these additional tips to ensure SMART goal success:
- Know why you are setting a specific goal. The reason (eg potential for return on investment) motivates you and your team to complete the objective.
- Write down your SMART goals Don’t just formulate it in your mind and forget it.
- Create accountability for each step in the process With regular meetings and progress reports.
More resources:
- How to set up Google Analytics goals and 10 tips for moving forward
- Content with Purpose: How to set goals for each piece of content you create
- SEO for Beginners: An Introduction to SEO Basics
Featured Image: It’s Yours / Shutterstock
