SEO and the Fold

By Halstatt Pires

Most discussions about seo focus on getting into the top 10 of the rankings for a particular keyword phrase. In truth, the discussion should be about the fold.

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It means the task and art of getting a site ranked highly under appropriate keyword phrases on Google, Yahoo, MSN and smaller search engines. For example, assume you have a site offering cruise ship booking services. With seo, the goal would be to get the site ranked under keyword phrases like “cruise trips”, “cruise bookings”, “cruise packages” and so on. The exact phrases would be determined by your keyword research.

Whatever the subject of your site, the search engine optimization efforts can lead to some dissatisfaction if you don’t understand something. People will slave over their sites or pay someone like myself to do it for them. The seo effort goes on and on for months. One day, your site pops to number 8 on Google for one of your major keyword phrases. Ah, finally! While you are browsing for your new Ferrari, you happen to notice you aren’t seeing massive sales. Furthermore, your traffic is up, but not as much as you had expected. What is the problem? It all has to do with the fold.

The fold is one of those terms that derive from the short attention span of we humans. Simply put, we tend to be lazy. This applies in a particular way when we search for something on the web. Go ahead and open another window next to this article. Now search for something. Now notice that you can only see three to four of the natural rankings returned by the search engine for your search. These rankings are above the fold. Anything you have to scroll down to see is below the fold.

The seo goal of being in the top 10 is somewhat misleading. Yes, a top 10 ranking will result in more traffic to your site. The real goal, however, should be a ranking above the fold. This means you need to be in the top three to four positions. A vast majority of people searching for something on Google, Yahoo and MSN will not scroll down to look at anything below the top three to four listings. If you can get your site listed above the fold, then it is time to start shopping for your Ferrari!

Halstatt Pires is with Marketing Titan - providing internet marketing services.