Proof of life below the fold

Raise your hand if you've ever had the above-the-fold conversation. You know the one I'm talking about. The one where the marketer insists on getting the juiciest real estate at the top of the website. No one scrolls down, the argument says. They won't see my webinar ad or the CTA. Did you raise your hand? If not, than I'm pretty sure you're a liar (No offense).

I'm certainly guilty of it. So when I was sent this graphic, courtesy of Chartbeat, I've got to admit that I did a bit of a happy dance.

No more above-the-fold arguments! Why? Because statistics...That's why! Chartbeat analyzed one million visitors on 10 publishers over a period of 24 hours. What did they find? 65.7% of engagement happens below the fold. That's right...BELOW! The heat map says it all.

What can we take away from this? For starters, you've probably been putting emphasis on the wrong part of the page. Have you ever paid for ads? The real estate at the top is usually the most costly, but may not be the most effective.

While I'm not familiar with Chartbeat (though I give them props for this awesome graphic), I have used a similar heat map solution, Crazy Egg. Heat maps are an easy way to see where people are spending their time, and where they're clicking.

So while you put all that time in creating your awesome content, make sure you're placing it in the most actionable areas of your website. Not sure where that is? Do the research to make an informed decision.

Returning to my original question - is there life below the fold? There most certainly is. I've been seeing this more and more with one or two page websites that are banking on you scrolling down. Let's face it. These websites wouldn't be so popular if you weren't scrolling down. So let's make some noise - Below the fold!