Glossary

Covers content engagement analytics as a category, and Reader Progress and Decision Point, the two free modules. Semantic Journey (Static) also has a separate, paid Content Optimization Engine module with its own terminology (Performance Matrix, Quadrant, Threshold Opportunities); that module isn't covered here.

Action Engagement category concept

Whether a reader reaches an action you have marked as mattering, such as a donate button or a signup link, during or after consuming content. Semantic Journey measures this through Decision Point.

At a Glance Reports feature

The row of summary tiles at the top of the dashboard: Started Reading, Reached the Middle, Read Most, Reached the End, and Decision Point clicks. Totals across every piece of content in whatever date range is currently selected, not a single article's numbers. Each tile links to "View details," which scrolls to that content's own row further down the page.

Bounce Rate generic analytics term

The share of visits where someone left after viewing a single page. A standard traffic metric, not something Semantic Journey reports: a low bounce rate tells you a page didn't immediately lose the visitor, not whether they read what was on it. Reader Progress answers the second question directly.

Completion rate Decision Point metric

Used specifically to rank the Reads Without a Decision list: the share of readers on a piece who reached the end, regardless of whether they clicked anything afterward. A high completion rate paired with zero Decision Point clicks is exactly what that list is built to surface.

Content Consumption category concept

Whether and how much of a piece of content someone actually took in, as distinct from whether the page merely loaded. Reader Progress is Semantic Journey's implementation of measuring this.

Content Engagement Analytics category

Analytics focused on what happens when people actually experience content, rather than on audience or traffic characteristics. This is the category Semantic Journey belongs to: it measures reading progress and reader actions, not sessions, devices, or traffic sources.

Content Performance category concept

How well a specific piece of content achieves what it was written to do. Semantic Journey measures two components of this directly: how far readers got (Reader Progress) and whether they acted (Decision Point). It does not measure content performance in terms of search rankings or traffic volume.

Decision Point module

The module that counts clicks on whatever you decide matters: a donate button, a phone number, a signup link. Unlike Reader Progress, a Decision Point can be counted more than once per visit, since each click is a real, separate signal, not a milestone a reader either passes or doesn't. Counted independently of reading progress: this product never links an individual click to where a specific reader was in the piece when they made it.

Decision Point click Decision Point metric

One recorded click on a marked link or button. The At a Glance tile shows the total across all your configured Decision Points combined, for the selected date range.

Editorial Analytics category concept

Analytics built around the questions an editor actually asks: did people read this, and did they act on it. Distinct from marketing or traffic analytics, which answer questions about audience acquisition rather than content performance.

First-Party Analytics category concept

Measurement that happens entirely on infrastructure you control, with no data sent to a third-party analytics vendor. Semantic Journey (Static) is self-hosted on your own server; the WordPress plugin stores its data in your own WordPress database. Neither sends data anywhere else.

Highest drop-off sort option

Sorts the content list so pieces with the steepest decline between Reader Progress milestones appear first, surfacing where readers are leaving rather than which pieces get the most traffic overall.

Info tip interface element

The small "i" icon next to certain labels on the dashboard. Hover or focus it to see a short explanation of exactly what that number does and doesn't mean, in place rather than requiring a trip to documentation.

Most readers sort option

Sorts the content list by Started Reading count, highest first. The default sort order when the dashboard loads.

Privacy-First Analytics category concept

Measurement built around aggregate counts rather than individual visitor profiles. Semantic Journey stores no cookies, no session identifiers, and no data that identifies a specific reader, for either module.

Reached the End Reader Progress milestone

The reader stayed for the conclusion. The fourth and final Reader Progress milestone. Some readers see the piece through to the end: this count, together with Decision Point, is what separates a piece that gets finished from one that also gets acted on.

Reached the Middle Reader Progress milestone

The reader kept going past the point where most readers stop. The second Reader Progress milestone. Many readers continue past the opening: a sharp drop between Started Reading and this milestone usually means the piece is losing people very early.

Read Most Reader Progress milestone

The reader made it through the large majority of the content. The third Reader Progress milestone, between Reached the Middle and Reached the End.

Reader Engagement category concept

Whether a reader progresses through content rather than merely loading the page. Reader Progress is Semantic Journey's specific implementation, measured through four fixed milestones rather than a continuous scroll percentage.

Reader Progress module

The module that counts four fixed milestones per piece of content: Started Reading, Reached the Middle, Read Most, Reached the End. Detection is based on the reader's position relative to the content, not scroll depth or time on page, and each milestone fires at most once per page view. Answers "how far did my readers get," not "how far through the article am I," which is what a reader-facing progress bar shows instead.

Reading Completion category concept

Whether a reader reached the end of a piece, or another meaningful point within it. Reached the End is Semantic Journey's specific measurement of this.

Reads Without a Decision Decision Point feature

A list of content with completed reads but no recorded click, ranked by completion rate. This does not mean no call-to-action exists on the page, only that no click was recorded for one in the selected period. The clearest signal on the dashboard for content that holds attention but isn't converting that attention into action.

Scroll Depth generic analytics term

How far down a page a visitor scrolled, usually reported as a percentage. A common proxy for reading, but an imprecise one: a page can be scrolled past without being read. Reader Progress uses fixed content milestones instead of a continuous scroll percentage, specifically to avoid this ambiguity.

Started Reading Reader Progress milestone

The reader moved past the headline and into the piece. The first Reader Progress milestone, and the base every other milestone's percentage is shown against.

Terms cover Reader Progress and Decision Point. Reader Progress · Decision Point · Get started.