Content placement

[Dirty]

Does content placement on a page have any effect, bring up top as opposed to bottom as opposed to embedded within?

On my product detail page it comes up last after image, social section and add to cart

[SimonCullum]

Hi there,

The nearer to the beginning of a page that content appears, the more prominence and perceived importance it has.

It's always a fine balancing act between User Experience, Core Messaging and SEO.  If in doubt, do what's best for the user experience (pretty images often don't have the desired result) then cater for Search afterwards.

You may find a blog post here on SEOmoz from yesterday a worthwhile read, it's very long but worth the time.  It's entitled "Just How Smart Are Search Robots?" and highlights towards the end just how important User Experience is and the content that appears above the fold.

So yes, it is believed that content placement does matter, both for user experience and for search.  I'd suggest ensuring that your core messaging and most important content for each page is above the fold, whilst also ensuring that the user experience is a pleasant and easy one.

Hope that helps,

Regards

Simon