When you meet someone, what’s the first thing that you look at?  Unless you have bad manners, or you’re a pervert, or both, you probably look at their face.  Your face is the first thing people see when they meet you, and when it comes to aesthetics, it’s the first thing they judge about your overall appearance.  Ever notice how no one is embarrassed by the  tribal tattoo on their arm, but they’re mortified by the piece of spinach in between their teeth?

Well, the part of your website above the fold is your website’s face.  It’s also the face of your company.  If it looks bad, it leaves a bad impression.  For those of you who need a definition:

Top of the Fold: From newspaper terminology, it’s the part of your website that you see when you come to your homepage without having to scroll down.  Most people judge whether or not to buy a newspaper based on what’s above the fold, and they judge whether or not to buy from your website based on what’s above the fold, too.

Analogy: Putting the best parts of your website below the fold is like submitting a resume to an employer by hiding it at the bottom of a trashcan.  No one wants to scroll through your nonsense to get to the good part.  Don’t make them.

Here’s what I see when I go to a bad small business website:

HUGE BANNER THAT DOESN’T SAY ANYTHING MEANINGFUL

5 STOCK PHOTOS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR PRODUCT

RANDOM BUTTONS THAT PROMOTE PRODUCTS THEY AREN’T TRYING TO SELL

LOTS OF BORING TEXT THAT DOESN’T ADDRESS THE CUSTOMER’S NEEDS IN ANY WAY

Where do I sign up!?

Keep your good material above the fold - no one picks up newspapers because they think the classifieds might be interesting.

Let’s get one thing straight – if your website isn’t a powerful conversion tool, you’re cooked.   You need people to SNAP into your website.  Remember:

1. People are coming to your website for a solution to a problem

2. If they don’t think they’re going to get that solution within seconds, they’re gone.

Don’t save the best for last.  If you want an effective website, you NEED three things above the fold:

1. A call to action. You want people to do something, right?  So tell them what to do and how to do it – it makes for a better user experience for them and better lead conversion for you.

2. A compelling offer. A discount?  A free month of service?  What’s going to make people pull the trigger?  Perhaps some free information?  If it’s “call now!” then you have a bad website – that’s not an offer, it’s an order.

3. A jarring headline. If you’re trying to buy a lawnmower on a website, which of the following headlines is going to get you to stick around?

-”Greenley’s Lawncare has been in business for 30 years.  We do things like so and so because…”

-”If you don’t have a clean-cut lawn, your neighbors think you’re a slob.”

No one cares about you.  No one cares about how good you are at using iStockPhoto.com, either.  Seriously – if I see 50% of another website’s above-the-fold space taken up by some smiling picture of a businessman in a suit, I’m gonna lose it.

If you want to see an example of me practicing what I preach, check out my SAT tutoring website:

www.NewYorksBestSATtutor.com

What do you notice above the fold (aside from my embarrassingly corporate photo)?

1. A call to action – download my guide. This is how I contact all of my clients – they give me their contact info first, and by the time I get in touch, they already know that I’m an expert on the subject and that I know exactly what I’m talking about.

2. Compelling offering – a free book. If you’re a parent looking for help with the SATs, would you give your email away for a free 25-page book on the SAT?  Almost 45% of the people who visit my website do.  By the way – 45% is an INSANE conversion rate.

3. A jarring headline – I let people know just how important the SAT is.  If people don’t take the SAT seriously, they’re sabotaging their chances of getting into a good college.  How effective do you think my site would be if it started with:

“I am a really good tutor!  I went to school here, now I do this, blah blah blah!”

Make sure that the top fold of your homepage is as effective as possible or you will never build a strong online presence.

The top of the fold is your business’ face – get the spinach out of your teeth.