More than 50 percent of people will head straight to your About page when they visit your website for the first time. In fact, this page is one of the most visited pages on business sites.

If you don’t have an About Me/Us page yet, writing one should be your next priority. But it takes a bit more effort than just writing a short paragraph about what your company does.

Do You Really Need an About Page?

In short, yes.

An About page gives your customers a place to learn more about you and the services/products you provide. It also gives you a way to establish yourself as an authority in your field.

If you don’t have an About page, your customers might be left with unanswered questions. They may even feel like they can’t trust you and take their business somewhere else.

Because of this, an About page is one of the most important parts of your website.

Don’t Make It Boring

You only have a few seconds to catch a reader’s attention. If they aren’t interested in what you’re saying in about 7-10 seconds, they’re going to leave.

So, anything you write on your About page has to be interesting.

Start with a good hook. This will catch people’s attention and make them want to keep reading.   Then focus on telling your story. Talk about how you got started and how your business has grown to where it is now. Facts are good but don’t rely on them. People will be much more interested in and moved by a good story than statistics.

Add A Few Testimonials

Adding positive testimonials is like bragging, right?  Wrong.

Testimonials establish you as an expert and build trust with other customers. If the reader sees other people have had a good experience with you in the past, they’ll be more likely to purchase a product or service. (I prefer to have testimonials on different pages throughout the site instead of just one page.)

Share Your Passions

Your customers don’t just care about what you do… they want to know WHY you’re doing it.

Open up about your passions. Explain the mission behind your business. This will help people get more invested in your company and WANT to do business with you.

And be genuine. People can tell if you don’t really believe what you say. And that can hurt you rather than help you.

Add a Picture of Yourself

You want to connect with your customers on a personal level. Adding a photo of yourself will let them see the person behind the business, which can make them feel a more personal connection to your company.

A picture also helps customers build trust.  When they see your picture, they know you are a person just like them – or a family - not just another big corporation. This will show them you care about them for more than just the dollar sign they add to your bottom line.

Keep It Short

Don’t make the mistake of adding too much information on your About page. If it’s too long, your customers will lose interest.

While there are a lot of things you should include on this page, keep it simple. If you want to go more in-depth about your mission or your story, consider expanding on the information in your About page in a full-length blog or hidden page prefaced with a “Read More.”

Include A Call to Action

It’s not enough to tell your customers who you are. You need to give them a way to take action.

Make sure there is a button or link they can click that’ll take them to your services or products page. This will show them what to do next and help guide them through the process.

Your About page should also have a way to contact you. This allows customers to reach out with any questions or comments. If you have a separate contact page, make sure you link to it in your about page.

It’s Not Really “About You”

This might sound opposite to what we’ve been saying, but your About page isn’t really about you.

The main goal of your About page is to build empathy with customers. The people who read your About page want to see themselves in your business services/products.

So, make sure you take the time to understand who you’re writing for. You might need to start by creating a buyer persona for your business.   Once you know who you’re talking to, you can use your story and mission statement to help them feel a certain way. This will then encourage them to purchase your products or services.

The content on this page might be short, but it’s one of the most important pages on your website.

Your About page does more than tell people who you are. It tells them what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how it will impact their lives.