Worried your campaign targets are too vague to prove anything? SMART goals for marketing turn a hope like “more traffic” into a specific, measurable, time-bound target. Check each goal against five questions, then track it.
This guide sits within our wider coverage of digital marketing, where clear goals sit behind every campaign.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Marketers who set goals, versus those who don’t | 376% more likely to report success |
| Businesses that fail to reach their goals | As many as 90% |
| Criteria in the SMART framework | 5 (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) |
| Sample blog traffic goal | 25% increase with 10 new articles, 10 refreshed articles and 20 social media posts |
| Sample newsletter goal | 20% increase in sign-ups |
| Sample landing page goal | 5% conversion rate increase this quarter |
These figures come from Wrike’s goal-setting guide (last updated April 2025) and Brandwatch’s SMART marketing guide (published April 2025). Figures can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
Why SMART goals help marketing projects
SMART is an acronym for five criteria: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, as set out in Wrike’s guide. The point is to give each project one clear target that a team can plan around and check later.
Wrike’s guide cites research that marketers who set goals are 376% more likely to report success than those who don’t. Brandwatch adds that as many as 90% of businesses fail to reach their goals, and uses that to argue for building a strategy around each goal. Both are vendor-published figures, so treat them as a nudge rather than proof.
Vague aims are the problem the framework fixes. Brandwatch says it helps turn vague ambitions into specific targets a team can achieve and prove with real numbers (Brandwatch). Wrike’s example is a shoe store that, instead of a general plan to increase sales, aims to sell more boots in December, which leads to a plan to advertise boots and incentivize sales (Wrike).
The five checks, one at a time
Run every draft goal through these five questions before it goes into a plan.
- Specific. Focus on one target and answer who, what, where, when and why, as Wishpond advises. Brandwatch contrasts “increase social media presence” with the sharper “gain 1,000 new Instagram followers” (Brandwatch).
- Measurable. Attach a metric you can check. Brandwatch calls “increase newsletter sign-ups by 20%” measurable, while “get more sign-ups” is too vague (Brandwatch).
- Achievable. Match the target to your resources, time and budget. Wrike warns that stakeholders or teams may resent expectations they feel are unrealistic, which leads to poor morale.
- Relevant. Tie the goal to the wider business plan. Brandwatch notes that a viral TikTok challenge might not be relevant if your core audience isn’t on TikTok (Brandwatch).
- Time-bound. Give the goal an end date or period. Brandwatch’s example is to “increase landing page conversion rate by 5% this quarter” (Brandwatch).
If you have to prioritise, start with specificity. Carly Fauth of Money Crashers, quoted in Databox’s guide, argues that all of the other elements are based on how specific the goal is.
How to write a SMART goal step by step
Use this sequence for any campaign or project, from a content push to a paid promotion.
- Start from the business objective. List rough ideas, then keep the ones that support top priorities. Brandwatch suggests involving other departments or leadership so everyone agrees on marketing’s role (Brandwatch).
- Pick one outcome and one metric. Rewrite “increase website traffic” as “increase organic website sessions by 20% in the next six months”, Brandwatch’s own example (Brandwatch).
- Back-calculate to test it. Brian Cairns of ProStrategix Consulting told Databox his team back-calculated the traffic and spending a client goal would need, to be sure it was actionable and reasonable (Databox).
- Add the deadline and allow for lag. Cairns knew there was a lag between visits and appointments, so the final goal was to raise appointments by at least 10% by month 3, which meant lifting visitors by a minimum of 100% by month 1 (Databox).
- Track it during the campaign. Consistent monitoring lets you change course mid-campaign rather than waiting until the end to assess what worked (Brandwatch).
Wrike’s blog example shows the fine-tuning. The measurable draft aims to lift blog traffic by 50% with 10 new articles, 10 refreshed articles and 20 social media posts, while the attainable version keeps the same output but sets the target at 25% (Wrike).
Worked examples you can adapt
Swap in your own metric, baseline and dates. Each example below comes from a published guide.
- Traffic: increase website traffic by 30% in the next quarter through content marketing and SEO strategies (Wishpond, August 2023).
- Relevance: increase email newsletter subscribers by 15% to support the upcoming product launch (Wishpond, August 2023).
- Sales: increase sales by 15% in the next six months, which Brandwatch calls challenging yet doable with a solid plan (Brandwatch).
- Direct mail: Tino Jaimes of Compramos Casas Texas aims for 3 closed contracts in a 12 week period, and plans for 6 signed contracts because roughly half run into unforeseen issues such as liens or unclear title (Databox).
Goals work best when each one has a home in the customer journey. A quick read on what is a marketing funnel helps you pick one metric per stage, such as traffic near the top and sign-ups lower down.
If creators are part of the plan, what is influencer marketing covers the basics before you commit to a reach or follower target.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Vague verbs. “Improve” and “grow” say nothing about how you will know you succeeded. Add a number and a date.
- Targets set too high. Wrike says that if a target is impossible with the resources, time or budget available, it may be a waste of everyone’s time (Wrike).
- Goals cut off from strategy. A target that does not serve the wider plan, like the TikTok example above, pulls effort away from what matters.
- Set and forget. Without regular checks you only learn the result when it is too late to change anything.
- Ignoring delays. If the result you want lags behind the activity, build that gap into the deadline, as Cairns did for his client (Databox).
Frequently asked questions
What does SMART stand for in marketing?
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Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, according to Brandwatch. Wrike uses “attainable” in place of “achievable”.
Does every goal need all five elements?
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Databox’s guide says a SMART goal has all five things included (Databox). If one is missing, the goal is usually vague, unrealistic or open-ended.
How ambitious should a target be?
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Ambitious enough to matter, but possible with your resources. Brandwatch describes a 15% sales increase in six months as challenging yet doable with a solid plan (Brandwatch).
When should you check progress?
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During the campaign, not only at the end. Brandwatch notes that consistent monitoring lets you make changes mid-campaign (Brandwatch).
