Pretty much every website will have some kind of “About Us” page. Whatever you prefer to title it, this page is more important than you realize. Unfortunately, a lot of site developers kind of slap the content for this page together because it’s less SEO-oriented in nature (compared to the service and product pages, blog posts, etc. that make up the bulk of the site).
The importance of this kind of page is found in the engagement qualities. It gives a potential customer a chance to learn more about who you are and what you do. If the content on this page is not presented in an engaging way, then you are missing an opportunity. That’s why I have put together this list of helpful tips to make your “About Us” page as effective as possible.
1. Don’t Go Overboard with SEO
It’s true that the “About Us” page is less about SEO and more about engagement. You can inject searchable keywords and you will want to optimize the page for search engines, but it’s rare for a web search to lead to this kind of page. Someone is more likely to click on it once they are already on your site. Therefore, you don’t want to go overboard with the SEO stuff. The content should be written well and it should connect with the readers. It should not feel like it was written by a bot trying to cram in one SEO keyword after another.
2. Tell Your Story
The way I like to approach the “About Us” page is to tell the story of the business. What is the history of the company? Who are the main people behind it? What is your service philosophy? When you can tell a good story, the content will be more engaging and readers will feel like they know what you are all about. That’s a good thing when it comes to building customer interest and loyalty.
3. Introduce Key People
As hinted at in tip #2, you will want to introduce key people involved in the company. This may be the founder(s) or owner(s) of the business. It might be key leaders such as managers and executives. The objective is to show a face behind the vision of the company. This makes it much more relatable than just spewing facts and figures.
4. Avoid Dependence on Bullet Points
One of the worst things you can do on an “About Us” page is to format the whole page with bullet points. It’s okay to have bullet points at the end of the page as a summary or include one section with a few short bullets to help break up long sections of copy. Otherwise, bullet points are much less personal than narrative text, especially when you are aiming to tell a story and engage a reader.
5. Mission Statements Are Overrated
I personally feel that mission statements are way overrated and really make no connection with a potential customer. So many businesses invest a lot of time to come up with the “perfect” mission statement and they all just sound the same. The language is always stilted and sounds like corporate speak. If your mission statement is brief and not so impersonal, then maybe you can work it into the page. Otherwise, it really isn’t going to add much to your site if you ask me.
6. Show Don’t Tell
One of the best pieces of marketing advice I ever got was that good copy should show, not tell. The goal here is to show what your business is all about with engaging content, stories and insightful information that’s written in an interesting way. If you just tell people the facts and figures in a straightforward way, there won’t be a strong connection. Again this goes back to more narrative writing compared to just bullet points.
These are just a few tips that will help you craft a stronger “About Us” page on your website. Whether it’s a multi-billion dollar corporation or a one-person operation, there is a real art to showing potential customers what you and your company are all about.
For help with all your custom web content needs, NextGear Marketing is here to help. Contact us today for more information.
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