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Top 10 Marketing Goals Examples for 2025

Key Takeaways
  • What are the top marketing goals for 2025? The 10 key marketing goals include building brand awareness, ranking higher in search results, increasing website traffic, establishing industry authority, boosting brand engagement, generating qualified leads, converting users, increasing revenue, improving customer lifetime value, and making data-driven business decisions.
  • Why is brand awareness crucial for business success? Brand awareness is fundamental because if potential customers don’t know about your business, they cannot contact you or make purchases — digital marketing strategies like SEO and PPC help gain visibility in search results so more people can discover your products and services.
  • How do higher search rankings impact revenue? Higher search rankings increase brand awareness and contribute to lead generation and revenue goals by making your business more discoverable online — focusing on keywords related to your business ensures content appears in front of qualified leads who are most interested in purchasing.
  • What makes customer retention more valuable than acquisition? Retaining existing customers costs 10 times less than acquiring new customers, making customer lifetime value (CLV) improvement a crucial goal — loyal customers also provide valuable word-of-mouth recommendations and boost business awareness through organic advocacy.
  • How should marketing goals be structured for success? Marketing goals should be broken down into SMART objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely — this framework helps transform broad, long-term goals into actionable steps that can be tracked and evaluated for campaign effectiveness.

Looking for marketing goals examples that deliver measurable results? You’re in the right place.

Marketing goals outline what you want your marketing to achieve — like building brand awareness, attracting qualified visitors, or increasing revenue — and you’ll get more from them when you turn each one into a SMART goal and tie it to clear objectives and key results (OKRs).

In this guide, we’ll walk through 10 common marketing goals and share SMART-style objectives you can plug into your marketing plan or OKR framework.

 

Marketing goal examples for 2025

Not every business needs the same marketing goals, so use this quick chart to find the goals that best fit your situation and jump to those examples.

Marketing goal Best for Example SMART objective
1. Build brand awareness New or growing brands and companies entering new markets Rank on page one for 100 new keywords this quarter
2. Rank higher in search results Brands with some presence that want more visibility Earn three featured snippets this month
3. Increase website traffic Businesses with a live site but low-qualified traffic Increase website traffic by 25% this year
4. Establish authority in your industry Companies in competitive, expertise-driven industries Earn 20 backlinks this month
5. Boost brand engagement Brands already getting traffic but seeing high bounce rates Increase average time on site to three minutes by year’s end
6. Generate qualified leads B2B and high-consideration B2C companies Gain 50 new email subscribers this month
7. Convert users Businesses with leads or cart activity but low close rates Earn 100 new quote requests this quarter
8. Increase revenue Teams focused on channel performance and ROI Improve PPC ROI by 5% this month
9. Improve customer lifetime value (CLV) Subscription/recurring or repeat-purchase businesses Obtain 15 customer testimonials in six months
10. Make smarter decisions with data Multi-channel teams needing better attribution or insights Identify and fix five weak points in your conversion funnel this quarter

You don’t need to tackle all 10 at once. Most teams focus on the two or three goals that match their biggest bottlenecks. Newer brands or companies just getting started with digital usually prioritize awareness and traffic, while more established businesses lean into leads, conversions, revenue, and customer lifetime value.

Once you’ve chosen your priorities, turn each broad goal into SMART objectives — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely — so you know exactly what success looks like.

Let’s look at each marketing goal example below, as well as some SMART objectives that will help you reach your overarching goals.

1.  Build brand awareness

First up on our list of marketing goals is building brand awareness. This goal is especially common for businesses that are new to digital marketing, launching a new brand, or expanding into a new market.

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SMART objectives for building brand awareness

  • Rank on page one for 100 new keywords this quarter.
  • Earn 20 new Facebook followers this month.

This goal is simple — you want to get your brand in front of more people. If nobody knows about your business, they can’t contact you or purchase. So, building brand awareness is crucial if you want to generate sales and revenue (more on those goals later).

Digital marketing strategies like search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click advertising (PPC) can help you gain visibility in search results, so more people can discover your business, products, and services.

*Keep in mind, the SMART goals in this post are examples; your unique goals and budget will determine the goal numbers you set.

2. Rank higher in search results

Next up on our list of marketing goals is ranking higher in search results. This goal is a good fit for companies that already have some brand awareness or traffic but want to show up more often for high-intent searches.

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SMART objectives for ranking higher in search results

  • Earn three featured snippets this month.
  • Improve ranking for 50 keywords this quarter.

Higher search rankings translate to increased brand awareness and contribute to your lead and revenue goals since more people will find your business online and contact you or purchase. When setting search ranking goals, make sure to focus on targeting keywords related to your business.

This will ensure your content appears in front of qualified leads — people most interested in purchasing your products and services. And ultimately, it’ll earn you a higher return on investment (ROI).

3. Increase website traffic

Ranking higher in search results helps more people find your business, and it sends more traffic to your website — the ultimate destination for converting leads. Once on your site, visitors can check out the content that answers their questions and helps them learn more about your business, products, and services.

This goal is ideal for teams that have a functional website but aren’t yet getting steady, qualified traffic from search, social, or paid channels.

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SMART objectives for increasing website traffic

  • Increase website traffic by 25% this year.
  • Improve PPC click-through rate (CTR) by 5% this quarter.

Be sure to include internal site links and calls-to-action (CTAs) to help visitors navigate your site and take the next step.

4. Establish authority in your industry

Getting people to recognize your business is great, but you know what’s even better? Getting them to trust you. If you want people to buy, you need to show them you’re an authority in your industry.

This goal is especially important for businesses in competitive or complex industries where expertise and trust heavily influence buying decisions.

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SMART objectives establishing authority in your industry

  • Earn 10 blog post shares this month.
  • Earn 20 backlinks this month.

How do you build authority online? Consider creating helpful, informative content that answers searchers’ questions and positions you as a trustworthy source. Sharing SEO-optimized content is also a great way to boost your rankings in search results, which also helps you earn more website visits.

5. Boost brand engagement

When people arrive at your site, you want to keep them engaged. If they don’t like what they see on your site, they’ll waste no time hitting the back button — which can contribute to high bounce rates.

This goal typically makes sense once you’re already generating traffic and want visitors to stay longer, explore more content, and interact with your brand.

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SMART objectives for boosting brand engagement

  • Respond to 90% of new social media comments this month.
  • Increase average time on your site to three minutes by the end of the year.

High bounce rates send negative signals to Google that hinder your ability to rank in search results. So, make sure you set some achievable goals related to boosting engagement and interaction with your brand.

6. Generate qualified leads

This goal is a strong fit for B2B and high-consideration B2C companies that rely on form fills, demos, or quote requests to feed their sales pipeline.

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SMART objectives for generating qualified leads

One of the main things you’re going for is to create leads — or, more specifically, to create qualified leads. What that means is that you need to attract the interest of people who have an interest in what you offer. You need to target keywords that will be looked up by people who are likely to buy.

7. Convert users

Once you have your leads, you need to get them to take that final step and buy from you. Conversion goals are best for businesses that are already generating leads or cart activity but want to improve how many of those opportunities turn into paying customers.

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SMART objectives for converting users

  • Earn 100 new quote requests this quarter.
  • Increase first-time customer purchases per month by 3%.

Online marketing strategies like SEO, PPC, and more focus on attracting people to your site, but once they’re there, you have to turn them into loyal customers. Be sure to include plenty of conversion opportunities on your website and online marketing materials  — and make it easy for people to take the next step.

8. Increase revenue

This next marketing goal example is the primary goal of most marketing campaigns — generate revenue. This goal is a priority for companies that already have some marketing engine in place and want to understand which channels and campaigns actually move the revenue needle.

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SMART objectives for increasing revenue

  • Improve PPC ROI by 5% this month.
  • Increase total revenue by 25% this year.

Ultimately, all of your marketing efforts are aimed at generating revenue. And setting revenue goals helps you more accurately evaluate your marketing campaigns and identify channels that drive the best results for your business.

9. Improve customer lifetime value (CLV)

Many businesses also set marketing goals to improve customer lifetime value (CLV) or the total value of customers from first to last purchase. It costs 10 times more to reach a new customer than it does to retain an existing customer.

This goal is especially useful for subscription-based businesses or brands with repeat purchases, where long-term relationships drive most of the profit.

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SMART objectives for improving customer lifetime value

  • Obtain 15 customer testimonials in six months.
  • Find and respond to 10 Google reviews this month.

So, improving customer loyalty and lifetime value is an extremely valuable goal. Loyal customers can also provide great word-of-mouth recommendations and boost awareness of your business. To accomplish this goal, focus on providing quality customer service.

Treat your customers well, and you’ll inevitably have some that do the same for you. Of course, quality site design and content play a role in inspiring customer loyalty too.

10. Make smarter business decisions with marketing data

The final marketing goal example focuses on evaluating your marketing efforts and using data to improve your campaigns and overall business decisions. Basically, make sure you learn from your marketing process.

This goal fits teams that have multiple marketing channels running and want a clearer view of what’s working, what isn’t, and where to invest next.

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SMART objectives for making smarter business decisions with marketing data

  • Analyze your SEO campaign and use data to improve SEO conversions by 25% this year.
  • Identify and fix five weak points in your conversion funnel this quarter.

Track what’s working and what isn’t with tools like Google Analytics and RevenueCloudFX, and learn everything you can about your customers. This will help you be more effective at everything you do.

FAQs

What are marketing goals?

Marketing goals are specific objectives a business sets to guide its promotion efforts—these help align strategy, budget, and performance measurement.

How do you set SMART marketing goals?

Use the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) to ensure goals are clear, trackable, and tied to business outcomes. Follow these steps to set effective SMART marketing goals:

  • Start with a business outcome. Decide what you want marketing to impact. For example, establish whether you want more qualified leads, higher revenue, or better customer retention.
  • Make it specific and measurable. Replace vague goals like “get more leads” with clear numbers like “generate 100 qualified leads per quarter from organic search”.
  • Check that it’s achievable. Look at your past performance, current resources, and budget to make sure the goal is realistic but still pushes your team.
  • Confirm it’s relevant. Tie each goal back to bigger business priorities, like entering a new market or growing a specific product line.
  • Set a clear timeline. Give the goal a deadline, such as “this month,” “this quarter,” or “by the end of the year,” so you can track progress and know when to evaluate results.

What are common marketing goals?

Common goals include increasing brand awareness, generating more leads, driving sales or revenue, improving customer retention, or expanding into new markets.

How do you choose the right marketing goals?

You can choose the right marketing goals by aligning your overall business objectives, matching your available budget and resources, and addressing your audience’s needs or gaps in your current performance. Here are a few steps you can follow:

  1. Review your business objectives. Identify what the company is trying to achieve this year. Is it looking to launch a new product, grow revenue in a specific region, or improve profitability?
  2. Audit your marketing funnel. Look at your data to spot weak points. Are you missing awareness, traffic, leads, conversions, or repeat purchases? That tells you where marketing can make the biggest impact.
  3. Match goals to your stage. Newer brands and businesses just starting with digital often focus on awareness and traffic, while more established teams lean into leads, revenue, and customer lifetime value.
  4. Consider your audience and resources. Choose goals you can realistically support with your team, budget, and channels. For example, you might focus on SEO-heavy goals if you have content resources, or lead-gen goals if you have a sales team ready to follow up.
  5. Prioritize two or three goals at a time. Instead of trying to tackle all 10 at once, pick the goals that address your biggest gaps and focus your campaigns and reporting around those.

How do you track the progress of marketing goals?

You can track the progress of your marketing goals by doing the following:

  • Assign KPIs to each goal. For example, use impressions and branded search volume for awareness, organic sessions and PPC clicks for traffic, form fills or demo requests for leads, and revenue or return on ad spend for sales-focused goals.
  • Set up tracking in your tools. Use platforms like Google Analytics, your CRM, ad platforms, and tools like RevenueCloudFX to capture the data you need for each KPI.
  • Build simple dashboards or reports. Create views that show performance by goal and channel so you can quickly see what’s improving and what’s falling behind, allowing you to allocate budget appropriately.
  • Review performance on a regular cadence. Check in weekly or monthly to compare results against your SMART targets, spot trends, and identify campaigns or pages that need attention.
  • Adjust based on what you learn. Reallocate budget, update targeting, test new creative, or optimize landing pages based on what the data tells you, rather than waiting until the end of the year.

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