Above the Fold in SERPS – Where Exactly is the Fold?
So where exactly is the fold?
It seems every site owner wants the same thing. Essentially a page one Google listing for their website(s). But not just a page one ranking. They want to be above the fold in Google. In a nutshell being above the fold refers the portions of a webpage that can be visible without scrolling. Now there’s plenty of research to say above the fold isn’t much of an issue when looking at actual websites, afterall visitors will scroll. However, when looking at SERPs it’s a different story. Why? Well let’s assume all results on a SERP will give you the solution you’re after, which one do you pick? Lets put it this way chances are you won’t need to scrolling. If you offer the same service as ten others then you can see why being above the fold can help.
Additionally, Google knows time is paramount that’s why we have Google Instant. So being above the fold makes sense when you’ve got a page one listing.
For now let’s look at the ‘bread and butter’ of listing – organic website listings (I’m aware as I’m sure you are as well about Google Places, images, video etc to get up above that fold – but lets keep things simple for now). When analysing organic listings and being above the fold there are some factors to consider:
a) Choice of keywords – I’ll talk about this another time. Essentially what’s the point of having a number one listing on page one of Google for the keyword phrase “ndjksdfhkjsdfbjhbsd kcjsbd” – It doesn’t mean much. You’d rather be ranked for keywords where there’s sizeable search volume (but targeted nevertheless).
b) Screen resolution will determine how big that ‘fold’ really is. Currently with a 1680×1050 screen resolution (my bad – I know I should be working on a 1920×1080) I can see 6.5 results for a SERP that does not return any pictures or other media in the results. But do I have a typical resolution setting? Screenresolution.org is a great site providing statistical data for providing stats on users screen resolutions. It pays to see how big the fold is for other users out there. But hang on there a minute – what if I want to be more specific with my ‘fold’. Well why not have a look at the current demographic of your site? Google Analytics can provide such info, including browsers and screen resolution of users. If you’re above the fold for you’re ‘tribe’ hey that’s great. But what about the second fold more later…
c) Revenue – at the end of the day Google’s dough comes from good old ad clicks. You may have noticed that Google constantly moves things around the SERP. Take Google Maps Places, some searches it will be on right then another search and it will be in the main column. The Google plan will be of course to get your eyes on those ads…Clicks mean cash. So don’t be surprised if your number 1 ranking on page 1 is at the bottom of the SERP in the not so distant future (hey stranger things have happened).
Overall, there are quite a few ways to make an impact on the search engines. To part I will say something (which you already know) top rankings get you views but content converts.
(image source – RandomDuck)
