Digital Goals and the Engagement Value Scale
Digital goals are a key element of optimization on Sitecore.com and indeed any Sitecore instance. When we think about ‘goals’ in the digital sense we are referring to measurable actions that can be taken on the site. Goals have two uses for our digital optimization practice:
- Track actions we want our visitors to take when they are on Sitecore.com
- Measure the success of our content, campaigns, optimization, and personalization
To categorize the digital goals taking place on Sitecore.com, our Digital Experience Team has built out an Engagement Value Scale, using the process recommended by SBOS. This allows us to rank all key site actions that a visitor might take on a scale of 0-100, by value to the business, and by the commitment or trust required for a visitor to undertake that action.
Actions that have the highest overall value to the business and require high levels of trust from the visitor, such as forms that require personally identifiable information, will sit in the 80–100 point range. Actions that give context to a visitor’s journey but do not on their own signify a highly important action for the business will sit anywhere from 0 – 80 points.
Identifying high-value goals
To build out a successful engagement value scale you need to begin with a strong understanding of how important each digital action is to the business. For Sitecore.com, we use conversion to opportunity rates to identify our highest value goals, but we also consider broader business goals and KPIs the teams have been set for the year when determining the ranking of all goals. In our business, high-value goals include requesting a demo, downloading a high-value asset, and booking a meeting with a sales representative via chat.
The importance of low-value goals
Many actions taken on the site will not fall into our ‘high value’ range – but this does not mean that they are not worth tracking. Often, these ‘low value’ goals will provide indispensable insights into the behavior of our customers and prospects. Understanding where in a journey our prospects interact with key content or download “middle of the funnel” assets provides a wealth of opportunities for improving the digital experience.
At Sitecore, these lower value goals are also an essential aspect of our multi-touch attribution modeling, helping us to better understand the customer journey and therefore to provide relevant content and suggestions at the right time.