Why set goals for a web or online store at all?

Website business goals (KPIs – Key Performance Indicators) are just as important in measuring web success as business goals are in business management, because “you get what you measure”.
If you haven’t thought much about this topic before, here are a number of examples that will help you analyze and create goals for your own website or online store.

Business goals are needed to measure how much real value your website or online store creates for your business. Of course, it must also create value for your customers.

Therefore, business goals must very clearly answer the question “Why is this web/e-shop needed and what benefits does it bring?“. The business goals of the web must support the general goals of the organization, and in order to maintain focus, you should not set too many of them at once, 2-4 of the most important ones are enough.

How to set goals?

When setting goals, first of all, proceed from your company’s general business goals and analyze which ones the website or online store will help you achieve. Then use the SMART Goal model to write them down, which says that the goal must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relephant, Time-bound.

Specific – the goal must be specifically formulated and focused
Measurable – a measurable result is needed to monitor the achievement of the goal
Achievable (achievable) – set realistic goals that are achievable in the near future
Relevant – objectives must be in line with the current situation
Time-bound – a time frame must always be set

The upgraded SMARTER model also includes two additional elements:

Evaluated – periodic measurement and evaluation of goals
Review – from time to time, it is necessary to review whether the situation has changed and the goals should also be changed

Website Business Goals Examples

Here you will find a list of different ways to write down your goals and think about whether you want to achieve a specific result by a certain date or a steady growth progress over a certain period.

• Increase web visits by X% over Y time
• Achieve an average number of web visits of X visits per month by the time of Y
• Increase the number of newsletter subscribers by X% during Y period

• Achieve an e-shop turnover of X% of the total turnover during Y period
• Achieve an e-store turnover of X€ per month by the Y deadline
• Achieve an increase in the conversation rate in the online store by X% in Y time
• Increase the number of web customers by X% y period y
• Achieve X number of mobile app downloads in Y time
• Increase market share in country Z and increase e-commerce purchases from there by X% over time Y

• Reduce the number of hours spent on help desk by X% over Y time
• Reduce the number of customer support inquiries by X% over Y time

• Achieve a Net Promoter Score (NPS) score of customers on website Y over time

• Increase brand awareness as an employer and achieve X number of applications per year submitted online
• Increase brand awareness as an expert and achieve an average of X number of blog posts read per month

• Achieve an X% share of e-applications in all submitted applications
• Achieve the e-application process satisfaction index X value within Y time
• Comply with the requirements of Regulation X
• Etc.

Measuring goals

Here is an example table of how the achievement of goals can be monitored with the help of metrics. Measurement can also be done monthly instead of quarterly. If more data has already been collected, it is also good to add visual graphs.

If we go a step further from a simple table, it is worth looking at the possibilities of Google Data Studio , where you can create a live dashboard specific to your business with all the important metrics that change in real time.

EDIT: If you need help setting goals and setting up Google Analytics analytics, I recommend the services of the Estonian company Wolfes of Analytics – they are focused on this area.

You can start setting and measuring business goals at any time, but it is especially useful to do it before the project of creating a new website/e-store. If you fix the metrics of the old website, then after the launch of the new website, it is extremely good to observe how the numbers increase and the resources spent on the project have really created value for the company.