How to Choose Journey Stage Tags for Your Content
Journey stage (also called buyer stage) tags help you organize content by where it fits in a customer’s decision process. Tagging content correctly makes your library easier to search, sequence, and recommend—both for humans and for AI agents.
This guide explains each stage, how to decide what to pick, and common pitfalls to avoid.
What “Journey Stage” Means
A journey stage tag answers one question:
“What job is this content doing for the user right now?”
Not “what is the content about?” Not “who is it for?” But what decision or learning step it supports.
A single piece of content can support more than one stage, but in most cases there’s a primary stage that matches the main intent.
The Core Stages (with plain-English definitions)
Use whichever labels your product shows. These are the common meanings:
1) Awareness / Problem Discovery
Goal: Help someone recognize or name a problem/opportunity. User mindset: “Something feels off—what’s going on?” or “I want to improve X.”
Content types that fit here:
Educational explainers
Industry trends or “why this matters”
Thought leadership / “what good looks like”
Pain-point spotlights
Beginner overviews
Good signals in the content:
Defines a problem
Frames stakes or impact
Uses broad language (“teams like yours often…”)
Doesn’t assume the user knows solutions yet
2) Consideration / Solution Exploration
Goal: Help someone evaluate different approaches or categories of solutions. User mindset: “What are my options? How do people solve this?”
Content types that fit here:
Comparisons of methods, tools, or frameworks
“How to choose…” guides
Deep dives into strategies
Case studies focused on approach
Feature breakdowns without a hard sell
Good signals in the content:
Mentions multiple possible solutions OR how to evaluate them
Talks about requirements, criteria, or tradeoffs
Assumes the user already agrees there’s a problem to solve
3) Decision / Vendor Selection
Goal: Help someone choose a specific solution, product, or provider. User mindset: “Which one should I pick? Is this the right fit?”
Content types that fit here:
Product demos or walkthroughs
Pricing / packaging explanations
ROI or business-case calculators
Implementation plans and timelines
Competitive comparisons
Proof-heavy customer stories
Good signals in the content:
Answers objections
Shows results, numbers, or guarantees
Focuses on your solution’s fit
Includes CTAs like “book a demo” or “start trial”
4) Adoption / Onboarding (Post-Purchase)
Goal: Help a new customer succeed after they’ve chosen a solution. User mindset: “How do I set this up and get value?”
Content types that fit here:
Getting started guides
Setup, configuration, and integrations
Best practices for first wins
Training or certification content
30/60/90-day playbooks
Good signals in the content:
Assumes the user has access to the product
Focuses on usage and workflow
Success milestones, not persuasion
5) Retention / Expansion / Advanced Use (Post-Adoption)
Goal: Help mature users deepen outcomes, scale, or expand use. User mindset: “How do we level up? What’s next?”
Content types that fit here:
Advanced tips / power-user workflows
New feature enablement for existing users
Cross-team rollout guidance
“How leaders scale this” stories
Expansion-focused case studies
Good signals in the content:
Speaks to experienced users
Focuses on optimization or strategic growth
Assumes product familiarity
How to Pick the Right Stage (a quick decision method)
When you’re unsure, use these steps:
Step 1: Identify the starting knowledge level
Ask: What does the content assume the reader already knows?
If it assumes zero context → likely Awareness
If it assumes they know the problem but not solutions → Consideration
If it assumes they’re comparing vendors or ready to buy → Decision
If it assumes they already bought/started → Adoption
If it assumes they’re already successful → Retention/Expansion
Step 2: Look at the main promise
Ask: What outcome does the content promise?
“Understand the problem” → Awareness
“Explore options / choose an approach” → Consideration
“Choose us / prove fit” → Decision
“Get started / set up” → Adoption
“Optimize / scale / deepen value” → Retention/Expansion
Step 3: Tag the primary stage first
If your content spans multiple stages, tag:
Primary stage: the dominant intent
Secondary stage(s): only if truly meaningful
Example: A case study that teaches how to approach the problem but ends with a small product pitch is still Consideration primary, Decision secondary.
Examples (to make it feel real)
Example A: “Why teams struggle with onboarding new hires”
Defines a pain
Broad, educational ✅ Awareness
Example B: “3 ways to structure a content tagging system (with pros/cons)”
Multiple approaches
Helps evaluate tradeoffs ✅ Consideration
Example C: “Tourial vs. Competitor X: feature-by-feature”
Vendor comparison
Objection handling ✅ Decision
Example D: “Getting started: tagging your first playlist”
Assumes product access
Setup guidance ✅ Adoption
Example E: “How to scale tagging across regions”
Advanced workflow
Expansion use case ✅ Retention / Expansion
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake 1: Tagging by topic instead of intent
Wrong: “This is about pricing, so it’s Decision.” Right: If it teaches how pricing models work in general, it could be Consideration.
Mistake 2: Tagging by who you want to reach
Stages are not personas. Wrong: “This is for executives → Decision.” Right: Executives still need Awareness content sometimes.
Mistake 3: Over-tagging every stage
Too many stages makes tags meaningless. Stick to 1 primary + up to 2 secondary.
Mistake 4: Confusing Adoption vs. Retention
Adoption: “How to start / set up / first wins”
Retention/Expansion: “How to optimize / scale / go deeper”
If You’re Still Unsure…
Pick the stage that matches the sentence:
“After reading this, the user should be able to ______.”
Fill in the blank:
name the problem → Awareness
compare solution types → Consideration
choose a provider → Decision
start using the product successfully → Adoption
get more value / expand use → Retention
Why This Matters
Correct stage tagging helps:
Your audience find the right content faster
Your team build better sequences and playlists
AI agents recommend the right next step
Analytics show gaps in your content journey
Even rough tagging is better than none—aim for consistency over perfection.
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