Loading ...If you ask any writer whether they would prefer to be above the fold or below the fold, they will almost invariably say above. Ask a layperson, however, and you’ll get a blank look. Not everyone knows what ‘above the fold’ means, so why on earth do SEO experts talk about it so often?
‘Above the fold’ might sound like some strange farming concept involving sheep, but it’s actually a very important idea when it comes to your site’s pages. Without some knowledge of what things should appear above the fold and which are better below, you can put off site users, confuse the search engines, and generally make a mess of your search engine optimization plan. You can discuss your site’s SEO with us at SEO Consult Australia.
An old concept from the news
Regardless of the many wonderful technologies we’ve created over the years, websites are still firmly entrenched in text. As with many text-based mediums, a lot of old writing standbys have crept their way in, particularly from the news media. ‘Above the fold’ is one of them.
Journalists are a competitive lot, and constantly vie for the best position. When the news was printed on broadsheets, the best position was at the top of the front page of the newspaper, where anyone passing by would see it. The top was the most prominent section because of the way the paper was folded – hence, the best place to be was ‘above the fold’, where more people were likely to see it.
When it comes to websites, the concept still applies. If an internet user needs to scroll down to access information, there’s a big risk that the information will never be seen.
Why it’s so important
Let’s face it, there is only so much information you can cram into the space of a computer screen. As more and more people begin to use laptop computers for their regular computer use, screen size is becoming more of an issue. Some information will invariably not be visible when a user first clicks through to a page.
The answer might seem to be to simply ensure that all pages are short enough to fit on one screen. This comes with a few problems. First of all, pages don’t display with that much consistency from computer to computer. You cannot guarantee that the page will fit on all computers, and neither can you guarantee that it won’t come out looking too short.
A second reason has more to do with psychology. Not many sites have single-screen pages. An internet user that comes across a site containing no ‘folds’ is likely to feel that information has been skimped on, making the site less valuable.
Is information below the fold completely overlooked?
The ‘below the page’ concept can be used cleverly as well. Some information, like prices, you don’t want to confront users with immediately. Placing the more catchy information at the top of the page leaves the bottom of the page to finalise the sale of whatever message you’re selling. Clever use can increase conversions.
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Tags: Search Engine Optimization, SEO, SEO Consult Australia
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