Goals need to be macro and micro level.

Everyone wants more sales right? It's one of the most common reasons to start learning about digital marketing.

More sales is a macro goal that's impacted by many smaller (micro) goals.

1. Sales can be impacted by paid ads, your own assets like your email list and then organic media driven by things such as SEO and social. Each ad has a micro goal of raising awareness, getting a lead or closing a sale. All of these are measurable micro goals. Little steps on the way to the bigger macro goal.
2. Then there is how the assets you use to attract customers actually work. Are they user friendly? Does your website help or hinder the prospect in finding your calls to action? Each step is a little micro step that can be measured.
3. Then there are the calls to action of your offers. Are they converting at a high or low level? Can you improve conversion by testing different approaches to the content of each action? Each call to action is a micro goal. A little step towards your bigger goal.
4. Finally there is retention of current customers and getting repeat purchases. This becomes your own media channel to reach customers. Each email impression, open, click through and engagement is a little step towards a sale.

Measuring these micro goals helps identify all the ways you have to increase sales.

That's what became to be known as conversion rate optimisation (CRO).

A fancy acronym for a simple idea.

Measure what works and do more of it. Do less of the stuff that doesn't.

It's not just digital marketing either it's life. Every big thing you want to achieve has a series of steps to get there.

A Challenge then….

Go to your analytics tool.

Find out how many people came to your website last month.

Then find out how many visited because of search engines and how many came because of social media.

Did you have a “So what does this mean moment?” If you did, congratulations. You just took your first step toward becoming a data detective.

Now if you feel inclined, put into the comments the questions that came to your mind when you found the numbers.

I'll do my best to help answer your questions.