Module 2

Decision Point

Q: How do I set up a Decision Point?

Three ways. Phone number, email, and text message links are all recognized automatically with no setup. For anything else, add a marker directly to a button or link in your template, or set up a URL pattern rule in Settings that matches links by their address, with no template editing needed.

Q: Can a Decision Point be counted more than once per visit?

Yes, and this is the key difference from Reader Progress. A milestone is passed once. A Decision Point click is a real, separate signal each time it happens, so repeat clicks on the same visit are all counted.

Q: Does a click count as a conversion?

No. A click on a donate button tells you someone clicked it, not that a donation was completed. A click on a phone number tells you someone tapped it, not that the call was answered. Decision Point stops exactly at the click.

Q: Do I need a developer to add markers?

Not for most cases. Phone, email, and text message links need nothing. Other links can usually be covered with a URL pattern rule in Settings. The developer marker exists for precise control when you want it, not as a requirement.

Did readers reach the actions you actually care about, counted every time it happens.

Direct Answer

What Is Decision Point?

Decision Point is Semantic Journey's content engagement analytics module for measuring reader actions. It counts clicks on whatever you decide matters, a donate button, a phone number, a signup link, independently of whether that reader also finished the piece, using automatic detection, a developer marker, or a URL pattern rule.

It is one of two modules, alongside Reader Progress, that make up Semantic Journey's approach to content engagement analytics.

Three ways to set one up

You decide what counts as a Decision Point on your site. There is no fixed list of goals, and no assumption about what matters to your content.

Automatic detection

Phone number, email, and text message links are all recognized and counted with no setup required.

A developer marker

Add a marker directly to a button or link in your template for precise control.

A URL pattern rule

Set a rule in Settings that matches links by their address, no template editing.

Why Decision Point matters for editorial decisions

A piece of content can be fully read and still fail at the one thing it was written to do. Reader Progress can show a strong Reached the End count while the actual goal, a donation, a phone call, a signup, never happens. Without a separate measurement of reader actions, that gap is invisible: the reading numbers alone look like success.

Decision Point closes that gap by counting actions independently of reading progress. Seeing a strong completion rate next to a near-zero Decision Point count on the same piece is a specific, actionable finding, not a hunch: it points directly at the call to action itself, whether its placement, its visibility, or its wording, rather than at the writing.

Repeatable, unlike a milestone

Reader Progress milestones are passed once, the same way a runner crosses a finish line once. A Decision Point is different. Every click on a marked link or button is a real, separate signal, so the same reader clicking twice on the same visit is counted twice. That is by design: it tells you exactly how many times the action happened, not just whether it happened at all.

Specification

Specification	Value	Unit
Automatic schemes	tel:, mailto:, sms:
Maximum fires per Decision Point	Unlimited	per page view
Setup for custom links	URL pattern rule or developer marker
Data stored	Aggregate daily count	per Decision Point
Personal data collected	None

What Decision Point doesn't measure

A Decision Point click is not a conversion, a sale, or an attribution claim. A click on a donate button tells you someone clicked it, not that a donation was completed. Decision Point stops exactly at the click; what happened after is a fact it does not have and will not guess at. It also isn't tied to Reader Progress: a click is counted whether or not that same reader also finished the piece.

Common questions

How do I set up a Decision Point?

Can a Decision Point be counted more than once per visit?

Does a click count as a conversion?

Do I need a developer to add markers?

Pair it with Reader Progress

Decision Point tells you what readers did. Reader Progress tells you how far they got to get there. Both modules are free, on WordPress or as a self-hosted Static build.

See Reader Progress →