Somehow, many companies I’ve come throughout on-line have one obtrusive downside in widespread: a very weak and unconvincing About Us web page.
This doesn’t make any sense in my thoughts, because the About web page is among the most necessary model property, and in contrast to hyperlink constructing and social media advertising and marketing, it doesn’t require any ongoing effort or funding.
An About web page is commonly a part of a shopping for journey. It can drive folks to your web site and assist persuade them to cope with you. And, in these unsure instances, you should utilize it to assist construct belief in you and your online business.
Creating a strong About web page is a one-time job, however it’ll increase each model loyalty and conversions for a lot of months to come.
Why is your About web page so necessary?
It is commonly an entry web page
Whether you’re a enterprise proprietor or blogger, your About web page tends to rank extremely effectively for brand-driven search queries (people who include your title or your model title). If nothing else, it exhibits up in your sitelinks:
Or your mini-sitelinks:
This means your prospects will usually enter your web site by means of your About web page. Is it making a good first impression to persuade them to browse your web site additional (or have interaction)?
Let’s not neglect that branded queries have excessive intent, as a result of folks typing your model title within the search field already know you or have heard about your merchandise. Failing to meet their wants equals a missed alternative.
It is commonly a conversion set off (and extra)
How usually have you ever checked a enterprise’s About web page earlier than shopping for something from them? I at all times do, particularly if it is a new model I haven’t heard of earlier than.
Or perhaps it’s not even about shopping for.
Anytime somebody approaches me with a quote or an interview request, I at all times test their About web page. I refuse to cope with bloggers who don’t take themselves severely.
Likewise, I usually look to the About web page when attempting to discover a press contact to characteristic a software in my article.
On a private stage, I at all times open an About web page to discover a model’s social media profiles after I need to comply with them.
An absence of a detailed, well-structured About web page usually means leaked conversions in addition to missed backlinks or follows.
It is a vital entity optimization asset
We don’t know precisely how Google decides whether or not a web site could be thought-about a model, however we’ve well-educated theories so we will help Google in making this resolution. The About web page is a excellent entity optimization asset.
First, what we all know: An About web page is talked about in Google’s human score tips as one of many methods to decide the “expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness”, or E-A-T, of any web page.
Human raters don’t have a direct impression on search outcomes, however their assessments are used to educate Google’s algorithm to higher rank pages. So if the About web page comes up of their tips, it’s possible they use it as a rating sign.
Second, Google is utilizing info you select to put in your About web page to put your online business inside their information base, so it’s necessary to embody as a lot element as you may.
With all of this in thoughts, how do you have to put collectively a nice About web page?
1. Start sturdy
This step just isn’t distinctive to this explicit web page, however that doesn’t make it any much less necessary.
Treat your About web page as a enterprise card: People ought to be keen to study extra as quickly as they see it. Your web page ought to be eye-catching and memorable, and seize consideration at first sight with out the necessity to scroll down.
For instance, Cisco begins with a highly effective image and message:
Nextiva begins with their primary tagline:
Slack tells us precisely what they’re doing and sums up its most spectacular stats:
Telling your model’s story is a wonderful means to make your About web page extra memorable and relatable. Terminus does a superb job at beginning their web page with some historical past concerning the firm that leaves you wanting to know extra:
And Zoom begins with a video and a listing of the corporate’s values:
Starting your web page with a fast, attention-grabbing video might be the very best thought as a result of video has been confirmed to persuade guests to linger a little bit longer and begin partaking with the web page.
You can create a brief and professional video inside minutes utilizing web-based video editors like InVideo (in actual fact, InVideo might be essentially the most inexpensive answer I’m conscious of).
To create a video intro utilizing InVideo:
- Pick a template
- Upload your pictures and movies (or use those contained in the platform)
- Edit subtitles to inform your model’s story
- Add music or a voiceover
It’ll take you simply 30 minutes to create a charming video to put in your touchdown web page:
2. Link your model to different entities
With all that Google-fueled nonsense going round about nofollowing exterior hyperlinks, and even linking out typically, entrepreneurs and bloggers have a tendency to neglect about one necessary factor: A hyperlink is the one manner for Google to crawl the net.
More than that, Google wants hyperlinks to:
- Understand how well-cited (and therefore authoritative) any web page is
- Create a map of web sites, entities behind them, and ideas they symbolize
This is the place linking out to different “entities” (e.g. manufacturers, organizations, locations, and so forth.) is so necessary: it helps Google establish your house inside their very own information base.
To provide you with some concepts, be sure to hyperlink to:
- Your firm’s skilled awards
- Your featured mentions
- Conferences you had been/are talking at
For private blogs, be happy to embody references to your training, previous corporations you labored for, and so forth.
To provide you with a fast instance of how helpful this will likely end up to be, right here’s my very own Google Knowledge Graph:
How did I get it?
To begin, “Shorty Awards” is Google’s acknowledged entity. When I used to be nominated, I linked to that announcement from my weblog, so Google related me to the entity and generated a branded Knowledge Graph.
This nomination is hardly my solely — and even most notable — accomplishment, however that’s all Google wanted to put me on the map.
Google could know you exist, however with out making a connection to a recognized entity, you may’t turn out to be one your self. So begin by making these associations utilizing your About web page.
To assist Google much more, use semantic evaluation to create copy containing associated ideas and entities:
- Register at Text Optimizer and kind in your core key phrase (one thing that describes your online business mannequin/area of interest in the very best manner)
- Choose Google after which “New Text”
Text Optimizer will run your question in Google, seize search snippets, and apply semantic evaluation to generate the listing of associated ideas and entities it is best to attempt to embody in your content material. This will make it simpler for Google to perceive what your online business is about and what sorts of associations it ought to be constructing:
Using some structured markup can also be a good thought to assist Google join all of the dots. You can level Google to your group’s particulars (date it was based, founder’s title, kind of firm, and so forth.) in addition to some extra particulars together with official social media channels, awards, related books, and extra.
Here are a few helpful Schema mills to create your code:
For WordPress customers, listed below are a few plugins to assist with Schema integration.
three. Include your CTA
Most About pages I’ve had to cope with to date have one difficulty in widespread: It’s unclear what customers are supposed to do as soon as they land there.
Given the web page position within the shopping for journey (prospects could also be coming into your web site by means of it or utilizing it as a ultimate analysis touchpoint), it is vitally necessary to assist them proceed down your conversion channel.
Depending on the character of your online business, embody a CTA to:
- Request a private demo
- Contact you
- Check out your catalogue
- Talk to your chatbot
- Opt-in to obtain your downloadable brochure or e-newsletter
Apart out of your CTAs, there are useful methods to make your About web page simpler to navigate from. These embody:
Whatever you do, begin treating your About web page as a business touchdown web page, not simply a useful resource for details about your online business. Turn it into a conversion funnel, and this contains monitoring that funnel.
On WordPress, you may arrange every hyperlink or button in your About web page as an occasion to monitor utilizing Finteza’s plugin. This manner, you’ll find a way to inform which of these CTAs carry in additional prospects and that are leaking conversions.
Finteza permits you to maintain a shut eye in your conversion funnel and analyze its efficiency primarily based on site visitors supply, person location, and extra.
For instance, right here’s us monitoring all types of “Free Download” buttons. It’s apparent that the house web page has many extra entries, however the About web page appears to do a higher job at getting its guests to convert:
[I’m utilizing arrows to present “leaked” clicks. The dwelling web page us clearly shedding extra clicks than the “About” web page]
You can completely use Google Analytics to analyze your conversion funnel and person journeys as soon as they land in your About web page, however it’ll require some setup. For assist, examine Google Analytics Attribution and Google Analytics Custom Dimensions — each sources are useful in uncovering extra insights with Google Analytics, past what you’ll usually monitor.
Like some other top- and middle-of-the-funnel pages, you’re welcome to reinforce your CTA through the use of social proof (latest critiques, testimonials, featured case research, and so forth.). Here are a few concepts for putting testimonials.
Takeaways
Creating and optimizing your About web page is a pretty low-effort initiative, particularly when you examine it with different advertising and marketing duties. Yet it could possibly result in a number of optimistic adjustments, like extra belief in your model and higher conversion charges.
You ought to deal with this web page as a enterprise card: It wants to create a superb impression straight away. Put one thing attention-grabbing and interesting within the above-the-fold space — for instance, a fast video intro, a tagline, or a photograph.
Consider utilizing hyperlinks, semantic evaluation, and structured markups to assist Google affiliate your model with different area of interest entities, and put it into its information base.
Add CTAs (and experiment with completely different sorts of CTAs) to immediate your web page guests to comply with your conversion funnel. An About web page is commonly an underestimated, but a crucial a part of your prospects’ shopping for journeys, so be sure it’s clear the place you need them to proceed.
Thanks for studying, hope it was useful, let me know your ideas/questions within the feedback. Let’s talk about!
