What is Above the fold?
The term "Above the fold" refers to the content above the fold on a website/page.
"The fold" is a term for the visible content on a given page before you have scrolled down. This will naturally vary from screen to screen depending on screen resolution and device. On desktop, a screen height of 1080 pixels is often used as the baseline, which in browsers corresponds to a pixel height of around 937 pixels.
Below you can see an example of above the fold on our homepage:
Everything below this requires scrolling to see — that is: Below the fold.
Why does it matter?
The "Above the fold" concept is important for several reasons within online marketing disciplines such as SEO and UX/CRO.
SEO
In terms of SEO, above the fold content is important because search engines have traditionally assigned greater value to content above the fold. However, Google has stated that this is no longer as important or relevant, as the search giant increasingly moves towards mobile-first indexing, where there is naturally far less vertical space to work with.
Despite this, it is probably not entirely wrong to assume that the higher up content is positioned on a given page, the more value search engines assign to it. In addition, there is of course also the entire CRO/UX aspect, which you can read more about below.
CRO/UX
In terms of CRO/UX, the Above the fold concept is arguably even more important than within SEO. The reason for this lies in how quickly visitors form a first impression of a website/page. It is therefore critically important to be able to capture their interest above the fold.
This includes elements such as informing visitors about what they can expect to find on the website/page, and having engaging elements that spark their interest and encourage them to explore further around the site.
On, for example, category pages on e-commerce sites, we have had very good results ensuring that products are displayed as high up on the page as possible, since products are exactly what visitors expect to find on category pages. This leads to a lower bounce rate and ultimately a better user experience (UX), which will also benefit SEO and all other marketing efforts.
Do you need help optimising your website so that important content is always displayed "above the fold"?
We have many years of experience improving both SEO and CRO to deliver results. Fill in the form below or call us on 30 12 42 72 and we will get in touch for a no-obligation chat!
