9 Steps to Using and Mastering Goals within Sitecore XP 10.3

Measuring your marketing activities is essential to improving the digital experiences you create and present to your valuable visitors. However, many marketers fail to measure what matters or know where or how to do it within Sitecore. This is where goals come in.

Goals in Sitecore are used to track and measure user interactions on your website such as downloading of a whitepaper, a request for a demo, or a visit to a particular product page, etc. In essence, goals represent specific actions or achievements that you want visitors to accomplish and provide metrics that you can include on your progress reports to your CMO. They can help you gain more success in terms of conversions or engagement. Here are the nine steps to using goals within Sitecore XP version 10.3:

1. Navigate to the Marketing Control Panel:

• On the Sitecore Launchpad, find and open the "Marketing Control Panel." This is where you can manage various marketing-related features, including goals.

2. Create a Goal:

• Within the Marketing Control Panel, you'll find a section for "Goals." Create a new goal by specifying a name, description, and other relevant details.
  

• Consider the type of goal you want to track. Sitecore supports different goal types, such as Page, Event, and Outcome goals.

3. Configure Goal Details:

• Depending on the type of goal, configure additional details. For example:
  • Page Goal: Specify the page the user should visit to trigger the goal.
  • Event Goal: Choose an event, such as a button click or form submission, that triggers the goal.
  • Outcome Goal: Define the outcome and associated value for the goal.

4. Assigning Goals to Items:

• Once you've created a goal, you need to assign it to relevant items on your website. This could be a specific page, a button click, or any other interaction that you want to track.
• Edit the item properties, and under the "Tracking" section, associate the goal with that item.
  

5. Testing Goals:

• After configuring goals, it's crucial to test them to ensure they are tracking as expected. You can do this by navigating your website and completing the actions that trigger the goals.
• Use the "Experience Editor" to simulate different user interactions and check if goals are being registered in the analytics.
  

6. Monitoring Goals in Analytics:

• Goals are tracked in the Sitecore Experience Analytics. Access the analytics dashboard to monitor the performance of your goals.
  

• Analyze reports to understand how users are engaging with your site and whether they are completing the desired actions.

7. Adjusting and Optimizing:

• Regularly review your goals and analytics data. If needed, adjust goal settings, add new goals, or optimize your website based on the insights gained.

8. Engagement Value:

• The most widely misunderstood or underutilized feature is the Sitecore engagement value, which allows you to assign a value to goals, and funnel reports, to gain insights into the steps users take before completing a goal.
• Engagement value also helps you determine which actions give you the greatest return on your marketing efforts.

9. Sitecore Training and Sitecore Support by Konabos

Mastering Sitecore takes time and experience. If you are looking for some guidance and coaching on Sitecore marketing and personalization, request a Sitecore Marketing Course syllabus and we’ll help you master goals and other Sitecore marketing features.

Our comprehensive course materials and instructor-led programs guide you through more advanced goal/marketing-related features such as campaign tracking, A/B Testing, and marketing automation.

Sitecore continues to introduce new features and versions of their software, but you need not worry as our multi-year, Sitecore MVP instructors are well versed in Sitecore from version 6.5 through to the latest cloud and SaaS offerings like OrderCloud, Sitecore Send, and XM Cloud.