Module 1

Reader Progress

Q: How does Reader Progress detect these milestones?

A small script watches the reader's position relative to your main content, using the browser's own visibility detection. It does not track scrolling as a behavior and does not calculate a scroll percentage.

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

No. Each of the four milestones fires at most once per page view. Reader Progress reports how many readers reached each point, not how many times a reader crossed it back and forth.

Q: What happens if a page can't be measured reliably?

Semantic Journey stays quiet rather than report a number it cannot stand behind. If a page has very little traffic, if a reader has JavaScript disabled, or if the page structure cannot be read reliably, no count is recorded for that view.

Q: Does this replace time on page or bounce rate?

It answers a different question. Time on page tells you how long a tab was open. Reader Progress tells you how far into the actual content a reader got, which is not the same thing.

How far readers actually got through a piece of content, counted, not estimated.

Four milestones, no percentages

Reader Progress watches for four moments in a reader's path through an article. Each one fires at most once per page view, and each is reported as a plain count.

Started Reading

The reader moved past the headline and into the piece.

Reached the Middle

The reader kept going past the point where most readers stop.

Read Most

The reader made it through the large majority of the content.

Reached the End

The reader stayed for the conclusion.

How it detects position, not scrolling

Reader Progress uses the browser's own visibility detection to watch where the reader's viewport sits relative to your main content. It is not measuring scroll speed, scroll percentage, or session duration. It is answering one question at four fixed points: did the reader's position reach this part of the piece.

If a page cannot be measured reliably, for example if a reader has JavaScript turned off, Semantic Journey records nothing for that view rather than guess. An honest gap in the data is worth more than a number that is not true.

Common questions

How does Reader Progress detect these milestones?

Can a milestone be counted more than once per visit?

What happens if a page can't be measured reliably?

Does this replace time on page or bounce rate?

Pair it with Decision Point

Reader Progress tells you how far people got. Decision Point tells you what they did next. Both modules are included in the same free plugin.

See Decision Point →