Above the Fold
The part of a web page visible without scrolling. Important for engagement signals - if your key content is buried below the fold, users bounce before they see it.
Why It Matters
Google pays attention to what users do when they land on your page. If your most important content - your value proposition, your CTA, your answer to the query - sits below the fold, most people never see it. They leave. That sends a clear signal to Google: this page didn't satisfy the searcher.
Above-the-fold content sets the tone for the entire page visit. It determines whether someone scrolls or bounces. For landing pages, homepages, and money pages, what appears in that first viewport is make-or-break.
In Practice
Audit your top landing pages on both desktop and mobile. Is your H1 visible immediately? Is there a clear indication of what the page is about? If the first thing a visitor sees is a giant stock photo and a vague tagline, you're wasting prime real estate.
On mobile - which is most of your traffic - above the fold is tiny. Prioritise ruthlessly. The page title, a one-line value prop, and a clear next step. Everything else can live below.
Watch out for interstitials, cookie banners, and chat widgets that cover your above-the-fold content. They actively harm engagement.
Common Mistakes
Filling the fold with a hero image slider that says nothing. Auto-playing videos that slow the page down. Cramming everything above the fold in a panic and creating a cluttered mess. The goal isn't to stuff content up top - it's to make the first viewport compelling enough that people want to scroll.
Related Terms
Glossary
Bounce Rate
Percentage of visitors who leave after viewing just one page on your site.
Glossary
Core Web Vitals
Google's page experience metrics - loading speed, visual stability, and interactivity.
Glossary
Landing Page
The page a user arrives on from search - where intent matching either works or fails.
Glossary
Page Speed
How fast your pages load - a confirmed ranking factor that affects conversions too.
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