Below the fold was a common term in the newspaper world as the most important news was put at the top of the page or above the fold. This is why newspapers developed the “continued” portion of many articles so they could “tease” a number of lead stories up front. Getting people to read beyond the fold meant giving them a reason to continue. The same is true of websites as you need to get people to scroll all the way through the page. Many people try to get past this by just putting tons of options up top, but you can effectively get people to look at a whole page if you are smart about it.
Let Them Know
Tell the users why they need to scroll to the bottom of the page. Put offers and buttons at the bottom that are useful to your clientele but don’t expect them to find these on their own. Announce what they will find at the bottom of the page above the fold so they are more likely to continue down to see what is below. On the way you can fill the page with useful, important information because you have a captive audience.
Photos
Images are a great way to get people to scroll downwards. Make sure the top of the image is visible above the fold and people will not be able to resist scrolling down to see the rest of the image. If you then fill the images down the page so that each teases into the next section like a path to the bottom of the page, you will find more people going all the way down and fully understanding your website.
Give People Short Cuts
Your page does not always have to link to another page. Often if you have extensive information “below the fold” it is because you are trying to keep the costs down of running multiple pages. Because of this, it might behoove you to put links to other portions of the page. This means teasing the information at the top of the page and giving people a button that will then instantly take them to the headline they are interested in. While it only takes them down the same page, it gives you the opportunity to tease other information and gets them below the fold.
Keep a Blog
Run your website with new information such as “tips” or a blog that warrants users coming back daily. For this reason, they are likely to continue to scroll down in case they have missed anything you have posted. By keeping your website evolving with new articles you are not only increasing traffic but also increasing the amount of time each of these people spends on your page which ultimately translates into more customers or subscribers. Getting people to see your site as a destination adds value to your site as well as your company.
Those are 4 of the most effective tips for getting users to scroll below the fold on your page. It is not always easy to get this done, but with useful information and the tips mentioned above, it will be very possible. Users will always show interest in any page when they discover that the entire website has always given them good information on the things they want to know.
This is a guest post by Sam Mauzy. Sam is an Internet marketer and enjoys blogging about industry related subjects. When not working for an seo company, he can be found learning and reading about conversion rates optimization.