Above the Fold Rankings: Why You Should Care

Editor’s note (updated August 2026): This post was written in June 2020. The core argument - that a position 1 ranking doesn’t guarantee above-the-fold visibility - was true then, and it’s even more true now. I’ve rewritten the measurement section (the tool it originally leaned on no longer exists) and added a section on how Google’s AI Overviews have taken this problem to a new level.

SEOs have always been obsessed about getting the number 1 position on Google for their target keywords.

But now, there is a major barrier on the SERP which can either almost guarantee or diminish your traffic from ranking organically.

That barrier is the SERP fold.

SERP features

With the increasing amount of SERP features that Google are testing and implementing, it makes it very difficult to know what your rankings actually mean.

When taking into consideration screen pixels, some SERP features can drastically reduce your visibility above the fold.

For instance, an organic #1 ranking without any SERP features after it will attract the eyeballs to that top result.

However, when there are advertisements and SERP features before the organic results, the chances of appearing above the fold decrease.

Notice that in this query, the majority of the SERP does not feature organic results.

Only the first two organic results show above the fold.

If you’re ranking #3 for “black ties”, you might think that you’re doing well for ranking a very competitive keyword, but in reality, users will need to scroll down to find your website.

These SERP features don’t only affect desktop queries.

Back in 2019, Mordy tweeted about seeing image collages appearing for mobile queries, and this SERP feature stretches out individual results massively.

We could also see the prominent rise of SERP features such as image thumbnails at the time - and it has only continued since.

These changes make it very important for SEOs to consider how potent their rankings actually are in terms of actually being seen.

Google are also continuously testing new SERP layouts, such as when Brodie [tweeted] back in 2020(https://twitter.com/brodieseo/status/1261248482603528194) about seeing the first results (from both organic and paid) to have larger font sizes.

You might be wondering, “how do I know if my organic rankings are affected?”

How to measure above-the-fold visibility

When I first wrote this, one rank-tracking tool had just introduced a pixel-based “absolute visibility” metric that scored a ranking by what appeared below it on the SERP. That tool has since been absorbed and the metric is gone - but the idea behind it was right, and it has spread. Most serious rank trackers now report the SERP features appearing for each keyword, and several report pixel position or whether a result sits above the fold. The metric names vary; the principle doesn’t.

Why does that matter?

Imagine you have a plain URL that is followed by a video carousel.

From a pixel point of view, you beat the carousel because you’re shown above it.

However, you will most likely lose a lot of clicks in reality, as the carousel is far more appealing.

That’s why “position” on its own is an incomplete metric. The same #1 means something completely different on a clean SERP, on one packed with features, and on one with an AI Overview sitting on top.

Reason being, the most honest measurement is still free: Google Search Console. Compare position and click-through rate by query. A position 1 ranking with a 5% CTR is telling you that something is sitting between you and the user - ads, features, or an AI answer - and that your ranking isn’t translating into being seen.

Then look at the SERP yourself, on a phone, for your most important queries. It takes thirty seconds and it settles most arguments.

The million dollar question is, what can we do about this?

As a London SEO consultant, I think the most important thing is to acknowledge that ranking #1 won’t matter if people don’t scroll down and actually see your website - and to measure visibility rather than position. I’ve since built that idea out into a full framework in my post on SEO metrics and KPIs.

AI Overviews: the fold problem gets worse

When I wrote this post in 2020, the threat to above-the-fold visibility was ads and SERP features like shopping carousels, image packs, and People Also Ask boxes.

Today, there’s a new and more significant barrier: Google’s AI Overviews.

AI Overviews now appear at the very top of the SERP for a large proportion of informational queries - before ads, before featured snippets, and before any organic results. On mobile, a full AI Overview can take up the entire screen before a user even sees an organic listing.

The implication is stark: you can rank in position 1 and appear below the fold because an AI Overview is sitting above you.

What can you do about it?

Aim to be cited in the AI Overview, not just ranked beneath it

The content that gets cited in AI Overviews tends to be specific, authoritative, and directly answers the question. If your content is doing that, you have a chance of appearing inside the overview itself - which delivers visibility even if a user never clicks to your site.

Monitor your AI Overview appearances

Most rank-tracking tools now flag AI Overview appearances alongside traditional positions - use them, but remember they sample the SERP rather than measure it, for the reasons I cover in my SEO metrics post above.

Check your GSC CTR against your rankings

If you’re ranking well but your CTR is dropping, AI Overviews are likely the reason. This tells you which pages are most affected and should be prioritised for AI-optimised content updates.

The above-the-fold problem hasn’t gone away. It’s just evolved. The principle this post introduced - that visibility matters more than position - is now more important than it has ever been.