About Page Mistakes that are Hurting Your Business

July 2018 • By Sori Apfelbaum • Marketing Web Design

According to popular statistics (that everyone likes to throw around and no one really knows the source of) the about page is the second most visited page on a website after the home page.

So even if we aren’t ready to trust this statistic completely, it still highlights an important point that about pages are a pretty big component on your website.

Do you have an about page on your website?

No? Take out your calendar right now and pencil in a time to write one. Yes, if you have web traffic, it’s that important.

Yes? Two points for you! Now let’s keep on going to make sure that you aren’t letting your readers (hint - potential customers) down.

Does your about page sound like this?

[company name] is an [adjective] company that [high-level description of what you do] by [important sounding words].

We strive for excellence, deliver perfection and [positive adjective] customer experiences.

We know the struggles our customers face and we are very qualified to provide solutions to these [negative adjective] challenges.

We are located in [uptown/downtown/heart of] [location].

Please be in touch with any questions. We look forward to working with you.

To sum it up - blah, boring, impersonal.

But doesn’t it give a professional overview of the company? Isn’t that what the about page is for?

Short answer - nope, try again.

So, what is the about page supposed to do?

Long answer - I like to think of the about page as a coffee break chat. It’s like a one sided conversation that you have with a new friend about what you do, how you got to doing it and why it excites you.

The viewer didn’t go to your about page to read a boring, no-personality, adjectives-that-sound-like-they-came-from-a-thesaurus, paragraph. They went there to get to know your company on a more personal level. They want to find out about you, not read about a dull, bland professional summary. They are curious to connect with the person behind the brand. When you just have professional fluff, you’re letting them down.

People are noisy. They want to know things about you. They want to hear your struggles and your successes. They want to know how you got into your business and why you’re qualified to do the work you do. They want to know your story.

The about page is where you can befriend them and capture their interest so that they want to buy from you or work with you.

They are reaching out to you and saying, “hey, your homepage looked interesting, can you tell me something that would convince me to buy from you? Do you have a story that I can relate to? A dream that I want to contribute to? Or even a personal story that I can feel good about supporting?

It’s all in the personal elements and details. They are reaching out and you have to make sure that you give them something to hook onto. They’re coming and asking you to tell them more. Don’t lose this opportunity by giving them a bland paragraph that leaves them empty handed. They’ll leave and go to the next site where someone else is willing to connect with them.

You want them to tell their friends, “I just found this great product online, the company was started by a chef that…” Or, “I finally found a perfect company to use for… They only use recycled packaging because…

So, what are they looking for on the about page?

They are looking for your story’s details that relate to your business. So don’t go off on a tangent and tell us how you like to bake - unless of course, you opened a food businesses or it directly leads to where you are today. If you are a smaller company, write the story of how you opened and grew your business. Give us a behind the scenes look at your journey. Be real and don’t be scared to be vulnerable and share the scary bits too.

Tell us:

• how you got into the industry - was it intentional or by mistake?
• your struggles and breakthroughs that got you here
• why you love what you do
• how you help people and make a difference in your clients lives - use words that your clients would use, not the proper industry terms
• finish off by explaining where you are today and the types of clients you work with
• lastly, tell us where to go next and include the link so you don’t leave us hanging

If you are a larger company, try using the outline for the smaller companies. Even if you write less about your founder and more about the types of clients you work with and services you provide, it’s still really good to include a detailed backstory. If that doesn’t work, give us a peek into a day of the employee they’re most likely to interact with and how they make the world a better place. Give your reader something personal, interesting or different to grab on to.

If you are looking for inspiration - go check out my about page.

So, now that you understand that your readers go to your about page to connect with you - go check if your about page measures up. If it sounds like a super professional and boring summary, you should rewrite it. Don’t overthink it. If you have time right now, just sit down and write. If not, schedule a 2 hour block on your calendar for you to sit down and write a better about page. Anything that you put up that is real, personable and related to your business is 100 times better than thesaurus wordiness.