I see a lot of small business owners neglecting their About page, which is too bad because a well-written About page can be instrumental to both driving traffic to your website and converting leads who find your website into customers.
I think a lot of people struggle with this because it’s hard for most of us to write about ourselves, especially in a business setting. We think we should keep the content on our website strictly professional and leave it at that, but that way of thinking ignores the KLT factor.
The KLT factor is the idea that people only want to work with those they Know, Like, and Trust (KLT), and your About page can play a critical role in both demonstrating your likability and gaining the trust of your website visitors (and Google). So let’s take a look at some of the things you should include on your About page help you boost traffic and increase your KLT factor so you can turn more of that website traffic into sales.
Table of Contents
- Show Yourself
- First or Third Person
- Include Your Credentials
- Get Personal … But Not Too Personal
- Tell Your Story
- Keep It Short and Sweet
- Have a Call to Action
- Politics
- Conclusion
1) Show Yourself
Like I said, people go to your About page to find out more about you as a person, and that includes your photo. They want to be able to put a face to the name, so show off that beautiful face. Don’t use a stock image or some cartoon drawing that’s supposed to represent you: a photo that shows what you really look like (you can play around with lighting, makeup, and PhotoShop as much as you want, but it has to be a photo).
This is not to say you can’t use any cartoons or other drawings on your About page – you absolutely can if it makes sense to do so and it will help convey your personality to the reader, but such drawings should be in addition to a photo of yourself, not the only image on the page.
Even better than a picture is a video in which you introduce yourself. Not only are people more likely to watch the video than read your content, but seeing a real, live human being talking and moving goes much further to build credibility and gain your audience’s trust, so take advantage of the opportunity to introduce yourself in much the same way you would introduce yourself at a networking event … just use a camera.
2) First or Third Person
If you write most of the content on your website in third person, it might make sense to write your About page in third person to maintain that consistency. On the other hand, your About page is your chance to introduce yourself to your audience, in which case it might make more sense to use first person, especially if you’re a solopreneur.
However, if you have a team of people you want to feature on your About page, it might make more sense to use the third person.
Whichever you choose doesn’t matter as much as making sure you make your decision before you start writing any content for your About page so you can be sure to keep the narration consistent.
3) Include Your Credentials
If you have any kind of credentials related to the work you do, your About page is the chance to brag about it. Not only will that convince your website visitors you really know what you’re doing, it can also help convince Google you’re credible. That’s necessary to showing up in relevant searches because Google needs to believe in you before it will direct traffic to your website, so consider Google’s EAT standards and the role your About page plays convincing Google you check all those boxes.
Your credentials are especially important if you work in an industry that could fit into the YMYL (Your Money Your Life) category, i.e. finances and healthcare/fitness and nutrition. Google is understandably wary of directing its users to content that could potentially have a negative impact on the health or finances of those users. Those two things are just too important to mess with, which makes it particularly difficult for those in any of the YMYL industries to show up in searches. One of the key ways to convince Google you’re credible and that it should rank your website in relevant searches is to brag about your credentials on your About page.
Providing links to your credentials is helpful, especially when it comes to boosting your SEO, but not necessary. Remember that Google crawls all your content, so even if you just mention the university/organization from which you gained your credentials, Google will know and that will factor into your search rankings.
4) Get Personal … But Not Too Personal
A lot of people have a hard time with the idea of talking about their hobbies or their pets on a website that’s supposed to promote their business, but that’s what people love, and believe it or not, it can have a significant impact in convincing them to work with you.
Another way to think about it is your unique selling proposition (USP). Chances are pretty good that you’re not the only one selling the kinds of products/services you’re selling, so why should someone choose to buy from you over one of your competitors? The answer is your USP, and while most people think of their USP as the quality of their product/service or their commitment to customer service (and those are both great answers that should absolutely be featured in your marketing materials), I think a lot of people forget about their most powerful and irreplaceable USP: themselves. There’s no one quite like you, which means there’s no one who can do what you do quite like you.
While talking up your credentials can certainly help you earn Google’s trust (and the trust of your readers), it’s not going to help your website visitors get to know who you are as a person, and if they don’t know you, they’re not going to get a chance to like you, and if they don’t know or like you, they’re missing a key motivation to buy from you.
So don’t be afraid to get a little vulnerable and let your personality shine on your About page. You can be all business on your blog and your sales pages, but your About page is your one chance to let people see who you are as a person, so take advantage of that opportunity. Talk about your hobbies and interests outside of work. Do you volunteer? Do you have pets? What kind? How long have you had them? What are their names and personality types?
While it is OK (and even recommended) to get a little personal, there is such a thing as getting too personal. For example, if you’re single, your website is not the place to talk about the kind of romantic partner you’re seeking. And while personal stories that are funny and a little self-deprecating can be great, avoid any stories involving your bowel movements, or anything else that might gross people out.
Also keep in mind that anything you publish on your website becomes public information for the world to see, and that can always be used against you. For this reason, it’s best not to publish your home address, and if you have kids, you might want to talk about the fact that you have kids and maybe some of the funny things they’ve said and done, but refrain from mentioning their names (or even their genders) or showing pictures of them.
Dates are also a good thing to avoid mentioning. You can talk about your age if that’s something you feel comfortable doing, but if you do that, don’t mention your birthday because then someone could figure out your birthdate and use that information to steal your identity. If you want to celebrate your birthday with your online audience, then I suggest being a little cagey about your age.
5) Tell Your Story
All good content needs a storytelling element to grab and hold the reader’s attention and your About page is no different. On the contrary, I would argue the story element is more important than ever on your About page because people want to know what your story is. How did you come to own your own business? What got you into this industry? Think of yourself as a superhero and your About page as your origin story.
6) Keep It Short and Sweet
While there’s definitely data in favor of longer blog posts, the content on your landing pages (including your About page) should remain from 400-600 words – enough to make Google happy but not enough to bore your reader. People will read thousands of words about a particular solution to a problem they’re having, but they’re much less likely to spend as much time reading about you. Yes, they want to know about you, but that doesn’t mean they want to know your whole life story, so decide what you’re comfortable sharing with the online world and make sure you come up with a way to share it in 400-600 words.
Along those same lines is the idea that you only have about 8 seconds to grab your reader’s attention before they get bored and click away, so make sure the most interesting part of your origin story is featured at the very beginning of your About page to reduce the chances of losing readers. I understand it can be difficult to identify the aspect of your own story that other people find most interesting, so this is where it can make sense to have someone else at least look over the content of your About page for you, if not hire a professional to write your About page for you.
7) Have a Call to Action
I don’t want you to think this means you should be selling your products/services on your About page because you absolutely should not be doing that. If people want to know more about your products/services, they’ll go to your sales pages. They come to your About page to learn more about you, which makes it a great opportunity to start to build a relationship with them. If they like what they see on your About page, they’ll be more inclined to follow you on social media or sign up for your newsletter, and that gives you an opportunity to put more content in front of them that positions you as the expert in your industry. That way, when they are ready to buy, you’ll be top of mind.
8) Politics
A lot of people will tell you to avoid politics and religion on your website, but I’ve seen instances where it has worked out for certain companies. For example, if you’re an attorney, it’s probably hard to avoid discussing the current administration and the effects their legal decisions will have on your clients. If it makes you feel more comfortable, you can talk about the implications of various legal decisions without taking a side, but I’ve also seen it work out for companies that do take a hard stance on politics. It all boils down to knowing your target audience and whether they share your political views. If you find the majority tend to hold opposing views, you might be better off avoiding the subject altogether, especially if your industry has nothing to do with politics or the law.
Conclusion
While there are certain elements that can make your About page more successful when properly implemented, never forget that the ultimate goal of your About page is to communicate your personality to your target audience. Yes, you should get comfortable in front of the camera (remember that you are your own worst critic and no one is thinking any of the awful things about you that you think they’re thinking), but if you’re an artist who feels more comfortable drawing a self-portrait than taking a selfie, then drawing that cartoon of yourself might make more sense than putting up a photo if it’s in line with your brand. As long as your About page has that KLT factor, nothing else really matters.
If you can’t bear the thought of writing about yourself and publishing it for the world to see, it might be time to consider hiring a professional to write your website content for you.
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