Displaying Your Textual Articles 'Above The Fold'

Google's latest algorithm change, (code-named Panda) continues to create opportunities and threats for Webmasters. Panda first emerged in 2010 as a means of identifying shallow content that had been duplicated or plagiarised. It's primary aim is to neutralise the impact of spammy websites with shallow content. Many of these websites aimed to rely on AdSense revenues from annoying ads at the top of the page (above the fold). These sites provide little value to web users who cannot get to the content easily and quickly.

The latest incremental algorithm update, involves scoring a webpage based on the amount of available workspace or pixels above the fold, dedicated to 3rd party advertisements. Above the fold is a term used to describe the area of the screen users do not have to scroll down in their browser to view. In other words, the less quality content that is displayed above the fold the greater the likelihood of some type of penalty.

Although the change will only affect a small % of offending sites, many webmasters are naturally concerned their website is going to get caught up in purge. So, if your website relies on affiliate based third party advertising, you may need to look closely at your website design template to ensure you are providing value and unique content. Think carefully about what your users expect to see on each landing page. This may vary wildly, depending upon the type of website design template you are using, screen resolution setting, as well as the different sizes on monitors and tablets in use.

I recently went through a major overhaul off my content management system, to ensure the percentage of available space above the fold was not taken up with large images, or any advertising that could not fall foul of the latest panda update. You should at least be concerned if you are using integrated flash introductions or moving gifs that take up a large proportion of the top of the page. If you do not want to compromise on your graphic design, why not see if you can bring upwards textual body into your surrounding borders.

Check the latest user statistics on browsers and monitor screen sizes. You may find that you're able to increase the fixed width of your design to incorporate an increased amount of textual content. For example, the vast majority of users now use screen monitors that render 1900 pixels in width (much larger than a few years ago). You also may need to rethink your website page layout in terms of its navigational layout prominence.

For affiliate based websites, there is obvious contradiction. The highest paying AdSense adverts are ones placed on top ranking web pages. So why not use AdSense a bit more sparingly in the future, and just target the high search volume phrases/pages. The simplest solution is to not obsess about AdSense revenue. Instead, focus on creating content people actually want to read!

It seems to me the click through ratio and bounce rate are becoming increasingly important factors when measuring engagement of users site wide. So focus on enticing users through your site, by using related articles or inline links.