How to write an about us section
The ‘about us’ page has got to be one of the most misunderstood and underestimated elements of a business website. Most businesses have one, but few understand the importance of the page or how to get the most out of it.
Check out your about us page on Analytics and you are likely to find that it’s one of the most popular pages on your website, so neglect its contents at your own peril!
If you think about it, it makes sense really.
Why would people buy into your business or part with their money online when they know nothing about your business?
Think carefully about what your website visitors are hoping to get when they visit your about us page.
At this point they may be feeling a little apprehensive about buying from a business they’ve never heard of before. They want to get to know your business, get excited about your brand, buy into your vision and have any anxieties quelled before they consider using your service or buying your products.
Your about us page is your opportunity to sell your business and win your website visitors over!
So, what information should you include?
Crafting the perfect content for your about us page means getting all the key points about your business into a couple of interesting and succinct paragraphs.
Here are a few points to think about when writing your content:
- What problem does your business solve?
- What do you do (in a nutshell)?
- Do you have a (interesting) business story?
- What makes you different?
- What location do you work in?
- Trust factors (how many years’ experience? Any excellence awards or testimonials etc to show off?)
- SEO keywords
Giving it some razzmatazz
Let’s not beat around the bush here, a lot of about us pages look less than inviting to read or are just plain boring.
No one wants to read realms of text detailing your business’ progress year by year. Your visitors want to easily find the information they’re looking for without trawling through boring detail.
In fact, if there’s too much text they probably won’t even bother.
Make it easy to read
If you want your about us page to get read you need to break up the text on your page using snappy sentences, sub-headings, short paragraphs and bullet points.
Show your business’ human side
Your about us page can have a slightly different tone to the rest of your website, as long as it still reflects your business’ company culture and branding.
You want your about us page to be compelling and friendly, so don’t be afraid to be conversational and show your business’ human side.
Remember, this isn’t the place to use all your impressive technical jargon either, keep things simple.
Make it eye-catching
Don’t neglect your about us page’s design, a page with a central block of text and nothing else is suicide. Make the design interesting to look at and people will want to read on.
Include photos and videos
Don’t just tell people about your business, show them.
A picture can speak a thousand words and a video is even better! Including media on your about us page is a great way of helping your customers get to know you better and gives your business a more human and relatable side.
Reaping the rewards
Your about us page is where you introduce your business to people who find you online, so making an effort to get this page right will help you to make a great first impression!
By improving the performance of your about us page you could see exit rates on your Analytics decreasing and the number of conversions gained through your website increasing, meaning your about us page could have a positive effect on your business’ bottom line.
As well as helping you to win more business, a snazzy about us page could help to build your brand and reputation online and bump your page up Google’s rankings too.
Put a little time and thought into it your about us page and you could find it becomes your website’s secret weapon when it comes to improving conversion rates.
