Once upona time (about 1997), above the fold referred to what was visible on the front page when a newspaper was folded. This critical real estate was vital in getting people to buy your paper and was reserved for the day's big news and eye-catching headlines. To the web site owner, above the fold is still your most valuable real estate, except now it refers to what your visitors can see without scrolling down.
New visitors will make a snap decision about your site after one or two seconds. Is this site worth spending any more time on? In these one or two seconds they will only look at what is visible. They don't have time to scroll down until they have already decided to stay. This has obvious implications for your web design. The exciting, eye-catching headlines need to be above the fold or that visitor who you invested so much time getting to your site, is going to leave and never return.
When designing your web site, understanding where the fold's location is vital but not easy. A newspaperis the same size no matter which news vendor is selling it but the visible size of web page is dependent on the user's computer and web browser. The most common size of browser window is 1024 pixels wide and 768 pixels high but can vary from 320x240 to 2560x1600 or more. So the position of the fold is moveable and it is changing every year as PC's screens become bigger. At the moment (February 2008) over 90% of visitors will have screens 768 pixels high or larger.
Effective use of those 768 pixels is key to affordable SEO web site design because what is above the fold can make a big difference to your profitability. One of the biggest wastes is with web site logos. Many blogs (due to the default settings of many blogging tools) have large areas dedicated to the blogs' title, description and a profile of the site's owner. Do any of these keep visitors on your web site or make money? Sometimes the answer is yes, a good logo or snappy title can capture the visitor's attention. Most of the time the answer is no. Keep the size of your logo and title small. Move the profile right down the page or remove it entirely.
Look at what else appears above the fold, especially on those landing pages you have carefully crafted to target specific keywords. Make sure the content's main title, containing your keyword and is visible so that visitors are quickly reassured that this page deals with the topic they are looking for. For similar reasons you also want your first paragraph to visible. Web site furniture, such as search boxes and internal links to your archives should be moved down the page. These are important navigational tools for your visitors but they only become useful once the visitor has already read and scrolled down the first page.
When implementing an affiliate strategy on your site, chose the adverts and affiliate links that are to be above the fold with care. These adverts can grab a visitor's attention just as much as your carefully crafted content. However, above the fold isn't automatically the best place for adverts as your carefully attention to good SEO content writing will draw readers below the fold.
The one final ingredient is white space. That's right, areas with nothing on them. What isn't there is just as important as what is there. A web site crammed with adverts and content is difficult to read. Its too busy, distracting and stinks of desperation. A site with lots white space looks elegant, controlled and confident because it doesn't need to use every pixel. Balance is everything in good SEO web site design. Use those 768 pixel well, combining content, adverts and space so that everything above the fold can be quickly seen and read by the visitor.
Chris Tregenza runs a variety of web sites including MiceLife, writes free seo articles and a SEO Blog
Better search engine placement through article writing.