In the publishing community there is this concept called “above the fold.” The concept was developed during the days when newspapers dominated the publishing landscape and being “above the fold” meant that your ad or content appeared above where the newspaper folded in half. When someone purchased a newspaper, your ad and the most important stories of the day appeared in this most coveted area.
With the advent of the Internet, this concept was transported to the new environment. For the Web, “above the fold” meant that the most valuable real estate was “above the scroll.” “Above the scroll” is the area of a website that one can see without having to scroll down for more content.
The industry is at a transition phase with this concept; old-school designers and marketers will probably go to their grave with this concept. Nonetheless, the concept has been dying a slow death since the introduction of the World Wide Web. With the world heading robustly towards a mobile future, the concept’s death has been greatly accelerated.
For advertisers, the primary goal is to be viewed by as many targeted prospects as possible, regardless how we make that happen. Given the many variables that determine exactly where “above the scroll” ends from one computer and/or handheld device to the other, the advent of the Web probably made the concept guesswork at best.
There have been many studies done over the years on this subject, with most of them pointing to the fact that the concept has become more myth than reality. One of the more interesting “above the scroll” studies was done back in 2009 by CX Partners, a London-based, user-centered design agency. Over a 6-year period, the organization watched over 800 user testing sessions; on only 3 occasions did the fold become a barrier for users in getting to the information they were looking for.
The mind of my 19-year-old son Jack at university in Boston has been oriented towards a computer culture starting in grade school. His mind works very differently when compared to my generation's; the concept of the fold would simply not make sense to him. The kid expects to scroll; he does not expect the information he is searching for to be above the scroll at the home page when he gets there. He has a computer-orientated brain; to get his attention the ad needs to be in the area he plays in (games, music download, etc.).
In fact, this study (read it HERE) found that less content above the scroll can actually be used strategically to encourage site exploration if executed properly. Ad placement in this new digital environment should be used “contextually” for maximum results. An excellent example of ads being used contextually would be the ubiquitous Google ads. If one executes a search for eyeglasses, as an example, at the top of your search results and in the right column Google places ads for eyeglasses.
In a general sense, the “above the scroll” concept is a “shotgun” approach to advertising, to a large degree, when compared to the more focused approach of a “contextual” ad placement strategy. The ad has to follow the target audience; if I am marketing technology products and services, I want my ad prominently displayed in the technology section, and so on.
What's your position on the “above the scroll” debate? Join the conversation -- leave a comment below.
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