Tracking and editing goals

A goal in gas watches one metric on one profile or ad account against a value you want to reach by a chosen date. This article describes what you see on the goal detail, how gas calculates progress, when the value is updated and how to edit, duplicate or delete a goal. Creating a new goal is described in the article Creating a goal.

Before you start

• The goals module must be part of your customer account plan. If you do not see Goals in the left menu, your plan does not include it.
• The Viewer role can only look at goals. Creating, editing, duplicating and deleting is allowed for the User and Administrator roles.
• A goal can belong to the whole customer account, or only to its author. A goal marked as personal appears in the list only for the person who created it.

Where to find goals

The table has the columns Goal name, Metric, Group (the network the metric comes from), Profile / account, Progress (percentage and below it a coloured indicator with a track to 120 %), Forecast (the percentage of the goal value you will end at if the current pace continues, and below it the goal status), Progress value (the current measured value), To (end date) and Actions. The Columns button also shows the hidden columns Goal value, From and Last update time.

The page header contains a period selector. By default the list shows all goals that overlap the selected period in any way. The Only goals in this period toggle narrows the list down to goals that lie entirely inside the selected period.

Above the table you will also find the buttons Create goal, Export CSV, Export Excel, Print, Columns, Clear filters, Enter fullscreen, Table view settings and Refresh.

On a phone the list is displayed as rows with the name, metric and progress. The row leads to the goal detail, but it does not contain buttons for editing, duplicating and deleting, those are only in the table on a computer.

What the goal detail shows

The goal name is at the top. For a goal you did not name, the metric name is shown instead. Below it there are two cards:

• The left card summarises the setup: Group, Metric, Profile / account and the Time period of the goal.
• The right card is the progress card: a large percentage, next to it a badge with the goal status and the measured value in the form "value out of goal value" including the unit. Below that there is a coloured indicator and three statistics. The footer shows the Last update time and the Goal end date. Both are written as a duration ("20 minutes ago"), the exact date and time appear on hover.

Goal status

The badge next to the percentage sums up how the goal will turn out if the pace does not change:

• On track: according to the forecast you will reach the goal value,
• At risk: the forecast ends just below the goal, between 90 and 100 % of the goal value,
• Off track: the forecast ends below 90 % of the goal value,
• Achieved: the measured value has already met the goal,
• Not enough data yet: the goal does not have at least seven days of daily data, so the forecast cannot be calculated yet.

Indicator colour:

• green: the goal is reached, progress is 100 % or more,
• purple: the goal is running and on track, or there is no forecast yet,
• yellow: the goal is running and at risk,
• red: the goal is running off track, or the end date has passed and the goal was not reached.

The indicator track runs to 120 % and a mark on it shows 100 %, so you can see an exceeded goal on the indicator too: the progress continues past the mark. The same indicator is also in the Progress column in the list. As long as the measured value is zero, the indicator does not colour in and stays a grey bar.

The three statistics in the progress card

• At period end: the value you will end at according to the forecast, and what percentage of the goal value that is.
• Current pace: how much of the metric is added per day, and next to it the required pace, that is how much would have to be added to reach the goal by the deadline. When the current pace is lower than the required pace, an orange exclamation mark lights up next to the value. For average metrics (such as bounce rate) no pace is shown.
• Estimated completion: the day on which you will reach the goal value according to the forecast, and below it how many days that is before or after the deadline. When the forecast does not reach the goal even after the deadline, it says You will not reach the target at the current pace. For an achieved goal the statistic is called Achieved on and shows the day on which the reality first met the goal. Hovering over or tapping the deadline note shows the actual date and time of the goal end.

While the graph is loading, grey blocks hold the place of the statistics.

The graph and its series

The Progress graph below the cards shows the development over the whole goal period. A vertical line labelled Today (or with the date of the latest data) separates the reality from the forecast. The graph series:

• Reality: what was really measured. For metrics that add up (impressions, reach, clicks, spend, views) it is a gradually growing total from the start of measurement. For metrics with a single current value (fans, followers) it is simply that value on the individual days. For average metrics (bounce rate, average session duration) it is the average from the start of the period to the given day. The line ends at the last day for which gas already has data.
• Forecast: a dashed line of the same colour that continues from the reality at the last known day and runs to the end of the goal. It shows where you will end up if nothing changes.
• Forecast range: a light band around the forecast. It marks the range the result is likely to fall in; the further into the future, the wider it is, and the more frequent and larger the one-off jumps in the goal's history, the more it opens up. It is not drawn for average metrics.
• Same period last year: a thin grey dotted line with how the profile did in the same period a year ago. It appears only when last year's data exists for the profile and the forecast used it.
• Goal value: a red dashed line. For metrics with a single current value it is a horizontal line at the goal value. For metrics that add up it is an evenly rising line from the start to the end of the period, so you can see at a glance whether you are ahead or behind.

Below the graph there are chips with the series names. Clicking hides a series or shows it again, a hidden series has a greyed-out chip. The forecast range can only be turned on with the forecast turned on, otherwise its chip is inactive. gas remembers the choice for your user account, so it applies to every goal you open. Below the chips there is an explanation of what the forecast is based on.

How the forecast is built

The forecast is based on the current pace, with recent weeks weighing more than older history. One-off jumps (for example after one very successful post or a short campaign) do not change the pace, they only show in the forecast range; the forecast adopts a higher pace only once it lasts longer than a week. The method differs by the kind of metric. For metrics with a single current value (fans, followers, subscribers) the forecast continues at the current pace: when growth slows down, the line flattens, and it shows a decline only when the followers have really been decreasing over the last two weeks. For metrics that add up (impressions, reach, clicks, spend) it also takes the trend into account, that is a campaign ramping up or winding down, and the weekly rhythm, that is the difference between weekends and weekdays. For average metrics (bounce rate, cost per click) it is based on the average daily value of recent weeks. If the profile has data from the same period last year, it also reflects last year's season (for example pre-Christmas growth or a summer lull); the explanation below the graph says so in that case. The forecast needs at least seven days of daily data, until then the goal has the status Not enough data yet.

For metrics where a lower value is better (for example bounce rate), the progress percentage and the goal status are calculated the other way round: the goal is achieved when the measured value is above zero and at or below the goal value. This also applies to ad spend: a spend goal is a budget cap. It is achieved once some spend has occurred and stays below the goal amount; until nothing has been spent, it shows 0 %. The percentage expresses how many times you fit within the cap, and the Off track status means that according to the forecast you will exceed the cap.

In the page header you use a toggle to choose the length of the intervals the graph is drawn in: Day, Week, Month, Quarter or Year. For long goals a week or a month is easier to read.

The goal detail can be printed with the Print button in the top right corner (on a computer) or with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P, on a Mac Cmd+P. Before printing, gas prepares the page itself, which takes a moment.

How gas calculates progress

The progress percentage is the ratio of the measured value to the goal value, that is Progress value divided by Goal value. The only difference is what counts into the measured value:

• For metrics that add up (impressions, reach, clicks, spend, views), the measured value is the total from the Start date until today, at the latest until the end of the goal. That is why a start date is entered for them when creating the goal.
• For metrics that have a single current value (number of fans, number of followers), the measured value is the last known state. No start date is entered for them, the total state is compared with the total goal value.

When the value is updated

The value is not recalculated at the moment something happens on the social network. It consists of two independent steps:

This leads to an important point: a recalculation triggered by opening the detail or by the Refresh button can end up with the same number, because new data from the platform has not arrived yet. The Last update time value on the goal detail shows when the value was last successfully recalculated.

The progress value and the graph are two different calculations

The Progress value is the stored result of the last recalculation. For a running goal it is refreshed in the background at most once every 15 minutes, so the goal list shows the last stored one. Opening the goal detail and the Refresh button on the detail request a recalculation immediately.

The graph, on the other hand, has no stored intermediate value. It is calculated every time the page is displayed, directly from the data gas has downloaded, so it contains everything that has already arrived.

The forecast and the goal status in the goal list are recalculated in the background at most once every six hours, whereas the goal detail calculates them from current data every time it is opened. The status in the list can therefore briefly differ from the detail.

The last point of the Reality line therefore corresponds to the progress value. You will mostly see them differ in the goal list, where the value comes from the last background recalculation. On the detail they line up, because opening the page requests a recalculation by itself.

Whether the recalculation really happened is shown by Last update time: after opening the detail and after clicking Refresh it should read a moment ago. If it stays on an older time, the value could not be recalculated. Either the goal is already fixed, or gas could not read the profile data.

Platforms also finalise their numbers retroactively, so values for the last few days may still change. This is common in advertising systems, where conversions are attributed to clicks with a delay.

About a week after the end date gas recalculates the goal for the last time and then leaves its value alone. The result stays fixed as final. The graph, however, keeps being drawn from current data, so if the platform has finalised the numbers for the last few days, the Reality line can end higher than the fixed progress value.

Alerts about a goal status change

When the goal status changes, gas sends a notification to all user accounts of the customer account, in the application and by e-mail. It arrives in three situations:

• the goal went Off track,
• the goal got back on track from the Off track status,
• the goal was achieved.

The notification arrives only on an actual status change and at most once every seven days for a single goal, so fluctuation around the threshold does not flood the list. The text contains the goal name, what percentage of the goal you will end at according to the forecast, and the current and required pace; the Open goal button leads straight to the detail. A change to the At risk status sends no notification, you only see it in the list and in the detail.

You turn the Goals group off or on in Settings → User profile → Notifications, separately for the application and e-mail and, if you wish, only for selected customer accounts. The article Notification settings describes it in detail.

Editing a goal

A change of the goal value is not saved as history, so later you will not be able to find out that the goal was originally different.

If a goal has ended and you want to continue measuring, move the date in the End date field into the future when editing. This starts the goal again and gas begins recalculating the value once more.

Duplicating a goal

Duplicating is useful when you want the same goal again for another period or for a different profile.

Duplicating creates a new goal, so it counts towards the goal limit of your plan.

Deleting a goal

Deletion cannot be undone. Neither the goal nor its measured history is stored anywhere and it disappears for your colleagues too. At the same time one place in the goal limit is freed up. There is no delete button on the goal detail, a goal is always deleted from the list.

Common problems

The graph shows a higher number than the progress value

The two numbers are produced in different ways. The graph is calculated every time the page is displayed from the data gas has downloaded, while the progress value is the stored result of the last recalculation. The most common reasons for a difference:

• You are looking at the goal list. There the value comes from the last background recalculation, which for a running goal happens at most once every 15 minutes. Open the goal detail to request a recalculation immediately.
• The goal has already ended. About a week after the end date gas fixes the progress value and no longer recalculates it, while the graph keeps being drawn from newer data. This is common in advertising, where platforms finalise their numbers retroactively. The Refresh button no longer changes the value in this case, which is intended. If you want to keep measuring, edit the goal and move End of measurement into the future.
• The profile data cannot be read. When the connection has expired or permission for a specific profile is missing, the recalculation ends without a result and the last known value remains. You can tell because Last update time stays on an older time even after you click. Check Settings → Customer account → Linked accounts to see whether a warning is shown for the profile.

If the goal is running and the difference persists even after clicking Refresh, write to us through the contact form.

Progress does not move at all for several days

Most often data stopped arriving from the platform, because the account connection expired or was revoked. Check in Settings → Customer account → Linked accounts whether the profile shows a paused connection label, and reconnect it. The other possibility is that the metric really is not changing, for example no new followers are coming in.

The progress value is empty and there is a grey bar instead of the indicator

The measured value is still zero. This happens with a freshly created goal on a cumulative metric where the measurement period has not started yet, or right after editing a goal, when the value is being calculated again. Wait for the next recalculation, or click Refresh.

Progress suddenly jumped up or down

Platforms finalise their numbers retroactively, especially in advertising, where conversions are attributed with a delay of several days. For the number of fans and followers the value can also go down, when people unfollow the page or the platform removes fake accounts. Please report a jump of tens of percent without an obvious reason through the contact form.

The goal disappeared from the list after it ended

The list filters goals by the period selected in the page header, so a finished goal appears in it only if it overlaps the selected period. Set the period so that it covers the duration of the goal, and if you have the Only goals in this period toggle switched on, switch it off.

A finished goal is no longer recalculated

That is intended. About a week after the end date gas recalculates the value for the last time and then fixes it as the final result, so that later adjustments on the platform side no longer change a finished evaluation. If you want to continue measuring, edit the goal and move the End date into the future.

The goal points to a profile we have unlinked in the meantime

When a profile is unlinked from the customer account, gas stops downloading data for it, so the goal progress stops. The goal itself stays in the list, unlinking the profile does not delete it. Either link the profile back in Settings → Customer account → Linked accounts, or delete the goal.

The goal shows the text "not exists" instead of the profile name

The profile the goal points to is no longer in gas. This happens when all customer accounts unlinked it and gas removed it after some time. Such a goal has nothing to measure, delete it and, if needed, create a new one on a profile that is linked.

The metric the goal tracks has been discontinued on the network

Platforms retire some metrics and stop providing data for them. You can recognise it in the graph: the Reality line ends on a specific day and does not continue, even though the goal is running. Such a goal cannot be finished, create a new one on a metric the platform still provides. However, a replacement metric is usually calculated differently, so it will not continue smoothly from the previous numbers.

The word "undefined" appears instead of the group and metric and the graph stays empty

The metric the goal is based on is no longer offered in gas. The detail opens, but there is nothing to calculate or draw. Delete the goal and create a new one on one of the offered metrics. If you are not sure which one to choose, write to us through the contact form.

The Forecast line is missing in the graph

The forecast is drawn only when it has something to calculate from: it needs at least seven days with measured data and at least one day must remain until the end of the goal. For a freshly created goal and for a goal that has already ended it is therefore not in the graph and the goal has the status Not enough data yet. Also check the chips below the graph: you may have hidden the Forecast series, the choice is remembered for all goals.

The forecast promises much more than is realistic

The forecast is based on the pace of recent weeks and adds the weekly rhythm and last year's season when they are available. A one-off spike (for example one very successful post) does not change the pace, it only widens the forecast range. It does not know about the end of a campaign or an exhausted budget, though: while the campaign runs, it keeps counting on its pace. How uncertain it is can be seen from the width of the Forecast range. Treat it as an "at the current pace" guide, not as a promise.

The forecast did not rise after a big jump

A jump that lasted only a few days (for example after a viral post or a short campaign) is treated by the forecast as a one-off event: it does not count it into the pace, it only widens the Forecast range by it. The jump itself of course stays in the reality and the progress has moved by it. If the higher pace lasts longer than a week, the forecast adopts it.

The percentage is higher than 100 % and the progress continues past the mark on the indicator

The indicator track runs to 120 % and a mark on it shows 100 %, in the detail and in the list alike. Progress past the mark means the goal is met and exceeded, you do not need to do anything else. Above 120 % the indicator stops, the percentage above it keeps growing.

The indicator is yellow or red even though the goal is still running

While the goal is running, the colour follows the status: yellow is At risk, red is Off track. Open the progress card and compare the Current pace with the required pace; the orange exclamation mark next to the pace says it is growing more slowly than needed. Either step up the activity, or move the deadline or lower the goal value when editing the goal.

The Same period last year line is missing

It is drawn only when the profile has data in gas from the same period a year ago and the forecast used it. For a profile linked less than a year ago, or when last year's data covers only part of the period, neither the line nor its chip is in the graph.

The forecast range cannot be turned on

The range is tied to the forecast. Turn on the Forecast chip first, which unlocks the Forecast range chip.

I received a notification that a goal is off track

It means that according to the forecast you will end below 90 % of the goal value. The notification states the current and the required pace, the Open goal button takes you to the detail. The next alert for the same goal arrives no sooner than in seven days, and only on another status change. If you do not want these notifications, turn off the Goals group in Settings → User profile → Notifications.

I cannot see a colleague's goal in the list

The goal may have been created as personal. The form contains the Goal is intended for... option, and when it is set to "only for me", the goal appears in the list only for its author. Ask your colleague to edit the goal and switch it to the option for the whole customer account.

The Create goal button is missing or unavailable

Either you have the Viewer role, which can only look at goals, or you have used up the goal limit of your plan. When the limit is used up, gas writes it directly next to the button ("Goal limit reached ... Upgrade your plan or delete an unused goal."). Delete an unused goal, or write to us through the contact form.

We have more goals than the plan allows and some of them stopped being calculated

When the number of goals exceeds the plan limit, gas keeps recalculating only the oldest goals up to the limit and does not get to those above the limit, so their value stays where it is. gas sends a notification about it to the customer account administrators. The solution is to delete goals you do not need, or to upgrade your plan, in which case write to us through the contact form.

An ad spend goal does not match the amount in the advertising system

The goal value for spend is entered excluding VAT, which is also mentioned in the hint below the field in the form. Advertising systems also keep finalising the spend for the last few days, so the numbers even out after a few days. If the difference persists even after a week, write to us through the contact form.

On a phone the goal cannot be edited or deleted

In the mobile view the list is rendered as rows without action buttons. You can start editing from the goal detail with the pencil button, but duplicating and deleting is offered only by the table on a computer.