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Aussie Bloggers, Aussie Blogs

Entrecard (and other ads) above the fold…

By AndrewBoyd • Feb 2nd, 2008 • Category: Promoting Australian Blogs, Recent posts

Jayne tagged me for the Chain Drop 8 above the fold meme for Entrecarders.

entrecardfullpage.gif

Rules-

  • Create a post on your blog that links back to this post.
  • Tag 8 bloggers not mentioned in this post who display their Entrecard widget above the fold and have great content.
  • Leave a comment on this post and share the link to the post you made.

What is “above the fold”?
Basically, it’s the page content that you see when the site (in this case, blog) first loads. The term comes from the world of newspaper publishing, where the most important stories of the day are placed quite literally above the fold on the first page so that they will be seen by customers at newsagents/paper stands.

This is hard to measure with absolute accuracy because it varies from machine to machine and user to user - I get a bit more “above the fold” than some people with older machines or lower screen resolutions because of the relative newness of my MacBook Pro. If I had vision-related issues I might lower the resolution to increase average font size, and if I had a 24 inch iMac screen I might have the resolution set even higher.

So which blogs did I pick for this meme?
Easy :) Running down the Aussie Bloggers on Entrecard page, and excluding those people already mentioned on Jayne’s post, I found the following members who have their Entrecard widget above the fold:

Please note:

  • that if you are not in this list, it is not a reflection on my opinion of the worth of your blog - many of my daily RSS reads are not in the above list (but some are) - it is just about where you put the Entrecard widget on your blog. Honestly, I love you all and I’m really using this to illustrate a point rather than picking on you :)
  • that there are a few more than 8 blogs listed above - truth be told it was hard to pick the ones that I would leave out, so I included all the ones that fell into the “above the fold” camp.

Why does above the fold matter to Entrecarders (and everyone else)?
There are a couple of reasons why ad placement matters:

  • for a card-dropping system like Entrecard, there are people will generally want to load the page, drop their card, and move on. Right or wrong, these folks just want to complete the card dropping transaction as quickly as possible and then move on to the next blog. There is nothing wrong with this - and the real value of Entrecard is that it caters to these people as well as those who will stop and look around the rest of the blog. Placing the card widget above the fold means that they will be able to complete the card drop and move on without digging around for the widget - and for some of these folks, putting the widget way down the page will just annoy them (and they may stop dropping cards with you as a result).
  • as part of the total advertising makeup of your blog, placement is incredibly important. The easier an ad is to find, the easier it is to click on. Darren Rowse wrote about this in Positioning your Adsense Ads - and whether you like Google or not, they have some useful advice on where you should place your Google ads that applies well to other advertising systems.

I think that it comes down to relative importance in the end - if Entrecard is a good source of traffic for you, or you would like it to be, then you should probably consider placing (or keeping) the widget above the fold.

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AndrewBoyd is a consultant by day and blogger by night. He loves good food, good wine, and discussing faceted classification schemes with friends.
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29 Responses »

  1. Ben Barden (2 comments.) on February 2nd, 2008 at 2:01 pm:

    Thanks for the link, Andrew! :)

  2. AndrewBoyd on February 2nd, 2008 at 2:08 pm:

    Thanks Ben,

    no problem :)

    Cheers, Andrew

  3. Lin (3 comments.) on February 2nd, 2008 at 2:36 pm:

    Oh Boy! Thank you for including lil ol me! :)

    You picked some of the ones I would have picked, so now I’m off to hunting! Actually I’ve now been tagged twice with this, so I have my work cut out for me! :)

  4. AndrewBoyd on February 2nd, 2008 at 2:39 pm:

    Hi Lin,

    my pleasure :)

    I look forward to seeing your take on it - I’ve included every above-the-fold Aussie Blogger that I could find, so I hope that there are some left :)

    Best regards, Andrew

  5. kate (1 comments.) on February 2nd, 2008 at 3:28 pm:

    Oh that is the second great list of bloggers I have made today! Thanks heaps!
    Hmmmm you have made it hard though as most of my fav entrecard bloggers are on your list!

  6. AndrewBoyd on February 2nd, 2008 at 3:42 pm:

    Hi Kate,

    you are most welcome - and if you do decide to participate, it will mean finding new Entrecarders (which is a good thing, because it grows the community) :)

    Best regards, Andrew

  7. Ian (7 comments.) on February 2nd, 2008 at 5:06 pm:

    Yes, Andrew, you picked off a lot of the Aussies who I would have started my list with. Make it hard for others, why don’t you????

  8. AndrewBoyd on February 2nd, 2008 at 5:40 pm:

    Hi Ian,

    I have every faith in you :)

    Just think of all the great blogs that you’ll get to see while you go through this task :)

    Best regards, Andrew

  9. Dale (1 comments.) on February 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 pm:

    Thanks for the link and great read.

    Dale
    http://dzrbenson.com/blog/

  10. Pages tagged "blogging" on February 3rd, 2008 at 5:52 am:

    […] bookmarks tagged blogging Entrecard (and other ads) above the fold… saved by 3 others     karlosisinsane bookmarked on 02/02/08 | […]

  11. AndrewBoyd on February 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 am:

    Hi Dale,

    no problem, thanks for being part of the Entrecard experiment and the forums :)

    Cheers, Andrew

  12. Lin (3 comments.) on February 4th, 2008 at 2:06 am:

    Hiya Andrew,

    My meme is up and running, so I’m stopping by to let you know with the link to the post. Rather than putting it here in your comment box, I simply am linking to it with my name. Thanks again!

  13. AndrewBoyd on February 4th, 2008 at 6:30 am:

    Hi Lin,

    thanks for participating and thanks for letting me know :)

    Best regards, Andrew

  14. Entrecard | Dipping into the Blogpond on February 9th, 2008 at 10:50 pm:

    […] about where to place the widget too. Obviously the optimal spot to get most exposure is “above the fold“, but I guess this positioning is hard to give up for many folks who are monetising their […]

  15. hambo12 (1 comments.) on February 13th, 2008 at 4:54 am:

    Hi Andrew,

    Thanks for adding me to this list. I think it makes a world of difference where your entrecard is displayed. I myself dont advertise on any blog that doesnt display their entrecard above the fold…

  16. AndrewBoyd on February 13th, 2008 at 6:04 am:

    Hi Hambo,

    you’re welcome :)

    I find myself doing the same thing - looking for the best value for my ECs :)

    Best regards, Andrew

  17. Entrecard Above the Fold Meme | Blogging Sueblimely on February 22nd, 2008 at 7:25 am:

    […] Andrew Boyd and Guera have tagged me for an Entrecard meme - "Chain Drop 8 above the fold". Andrew explains what "above the fold" means and why it matters- Entrecard (and other ads) above the fold… […]

  18. Elizabeth (1 comments.) on February 27th, 2008 at 10:52 pm:

    I’ve caved to peer pressure and moved my entrecard widget to the top of my blog as well. It’s amazing how much this simple change has affected the value of my ads, in only two days!

    I might be a little more picky with the ad designs that I approve now, but otherwise I’m happy with the change. It’s been nice to see the new visitors translating into comments and emails too - it’s a cool little community.

    Just wanted to come out as an “above the fold” convert!

  19. AndrewBoyd on February 28th, 2008 at 6:23 am:

    Hi Elizabeth,

    thank you for your comment, and for joining the “above the fold” community :)

    I am glad it is working for you - I’ve seen Entrecard translate into a lot of new readers and I am very happy to be part of it.

    Best regards, Andrew

  20. Ian (7 comments.) on March 3rd, 2008 at 4:55 pm:

    Andrew - the list you’ve got on your Entrecarders page is very useful. A way I’ve found to drop a card on all my fellow Australians is to use the Firefox extension “Permatabs” …. this enables me to set the list page as a permanent tab and then every link I click opens in a new tab.

  21. AndrewBoyd on March 3rd, 2008 at 6:56 pm:

    Hi Ian,

    thank you for your comment and for your suggestion - Permatabs looks to be the shizzle - I am going to download and install it the second I’ve finished responding to your comment :)

    Thank you also for considering my page worthy of a permatab - this is humbling.

    I’ve been a bit slack with my card dropping the last week or two - Permatabs will encourage me to keep at it.

    Best regards, Andrew

  22. Mother’s Got A Dot Com » Blog Archive » Entrecard Above The Fold Meme on March 3rd, 2008 at 9:10 pm:

    […] Andrew Boyd explains what “above the fold” means and why it matters in this post Entrecard (and other ads) above the fold… […]

  23. Ian (7 comments.) on March 3rd, 2008 at 9:53 pm:

    Permatab’s not all that permanent …. only lasts until I switch it off after each dropping session.

    I’ve been dropping cards furiously for the last couple of weeks …trying to see how high in the listings I could get. Well, mission accomplished today - I’m on the Most Popular page.

  24. Stine (1 comments.) on March 3rd, 2008 at 10:09 pm:

    You’re more than welcome, and thanks for visiting. Thanks for pointing out the name thing as well - I seem to have forgotten to post that…

  25. AndrewBoyd on March 4th, 2008 at 5:59 am:

    Hi Ian,

    well done on making the Most Popular page :)

    Best regards, Andrew

  26. AndrewBoyd on March 4th, 2008 at 6:09 am:

    Hi Stine,

    you are most welcome in return.

    Best regards, Andrew

  27. sameer (1 comments.) on March 28th, 2008 at 1:24 pm:

    Hi to all, greetings for Nepal !

    Wow, great idea, Aussie are starts to rock on Entrecard. best off luck and happy blogging

  28. James Mandy (1 comments.) on April 15th, 2008 at 3:58 pm:

    thanks for the link :)

  29. Robin Sampson (1 comments.) on May 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 pm:

    I’m now above the fold and U Drop I follow. Lots of traffic come visit.

    Thanks,
    Robin

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