The About page on most websites is not the most interesting page on the site. It’s usually a professional or business history spiced with a sprinkle of drab. That’s too bad because your About page is most likely one of the most visited on your site. And, with a little help, it could be one of the most powerful. Powerful not only in regard to SEO, but powerful in making a positive impression.
How can you turn your About page into a powerhouse? Try these 5 tips.
Tip #1. Important Stuff First
If you look at a great About page, such as this “About” page in PR specialist Rosemary Plorin’s website, you first see a headline that leaves no questions as to what Plorin does. The point? It’s unlikely that visitors will read an entire page of text. They will read headlines and, if they’re interest is piqued, they’ll read the text underneath. Create a well-worded headline of the most important service you offer and write text that supports your headline. Avoid buzzwords. Stick to the facts. Place the most important information, what you do for the customer, at the top of the page, above the fold.
Tip #2: Less About Yourself, More About the Customer
Yes, it is called the About page. And, yes, you need to explain who you are and why you’re an expert. But everything you write about yourself should be geared toward fulfilling a customer need. In fact, one of the best ways to start your About page is to acknowledge the customer problem your services or products solve. Doing so makes the reader want to know exactly how you are going to help them overcome their challenges.
Tip #3: Customers Say Such Nice Things
A lot of websites have a customer testimonial page, but why relegate testimonials to a page that few people are likely to read? If you incorporate customer testimonials throughout your site, people are more likely to see them. Incorporating a few on your About page is important. Why? People read your About page to find out how you can help them. If they read the testimonials of customers you’ve served, they feel better about purchasing from you. The best testimonials are real, of course, current, have the customer’s first name and last initial and a picture. All of this is posted with the customer’s permission, of course. A testimonial or two on your About page builds confidence.
Tip #4. Are There People in There?
Now that you have the important stuff at the top, it’s time to add photos and bios of yourself and the rest of the team. Bios should be concise, personal and, if it fits your business, can be humorous to show off the human side of the company.
Tip #5: Break It Up
One of the human personality casualties of being constantly online is the attention span. Attention spans in humans are notoriously short these days. Goldfish, in fact, have longer attention spans. People simply will not take the time to read large chunks of text. You have to keep that fact in mind when you create your About page. You have to find ways to break the information up and highlight the most important points. How? Here are a few techniques that break text and information up and grab the reader’s attention:
- Subheads: Subheads are short descriptions of what follows in text form. People’s eyes skim subheads and read the text if they are interested. If not, they move on to the next subhead.
- Short paragraphs: Short, descriptive paragraphs are most favorable. Again, no one reads huge sections of text.
- Add media: Video, graphics and infographics can make your point with no supporting text whatsoever. You do need text for SEO purposes, but online visitors love videos. They love graphics. Infographics are not only fun to look at, but provide a wealth of information about your company in a quick and easy-to-read format.
One more tip – keep your About page updated. Once you have an interested public, you want them to come back for more.
