Don't Dismiss Your About Page as a Vauable Marketing Tool

In the beginning of the WWW, a site's homepage was considered the most valuable real estate of your website and some still think it is. Even some web designers and developers will still spend most of their time on the design of the home page with this in mind. I know I've been thinking that way as I design my virtual services website, but now realize that about the only visitors who will ever see my homepage are those who I give the link to, say, via my business card.

Why? Well, as the WWW has grown exponentially over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to find what you're looking for in general terms. So users have significantly changed their browsing behavior to adapt. They now search with more specific terms when they're trying to find what they're looking for in the hopes of weeding out the unwanted stuff.

They also find more of what they're interested in via social media where direct links are provided to specific pages of a site. So, despite what some might think to the contrary, social media is still a valuable marketing tool. You just have to know (or learn) how to better use it since simply posting a bunch of links to products may not be the way to go.

A leaked 2014 New York Times report stated:

• "The value of the homepage is decreasing. Only a third of our readers ever visit it. And those who do visit are spending less time: page views and minutes spent per reader dropped by double-digit percentages last year."

If you look at your site's statistics, you will most likely notice that it's not your homepage that's getting the lion's share of the views. The views will be spread out among the pages that visitors are specifically looking for. In the case of an online shop, that would be your product pages. In the case of my virtual services site, it would be the various informational articles that get most of the views.

For those that would like more information on the subject, I've included some article links below that provide statistics and other information that will help you better understand how users get to your site. For online shops, it just goes to show that your most valuable real estate is your product pages -- meaning that you must write better titles and descriptions in order to be found.

In subsequent posts, I will be including some articles I found on how to write a better About page. In the case of online shops, it's the only page you have to let your shop's visitors get to know you and your business so they feel more comfortable doing business with you. While a customer might find your shop via a product page, the About page is linked to for those smart shoppers who WANT to know more before clicking to buy. So, it's a chance for you to convince customers to do just that.

• The Decline of the Homepage -- Gerry McGovern, New Thinking, April 18, 2010
• The Continued Decline of the Homepage -- Gerry McGovern, New Thinking, November 30, 2014 (MUST READ)
  
• 3 Takeaways from the ‘Death of the Homepage’ and The New York Times Innovation Report -- Sam Kirkland, Poynter, May 19, 2014
• Are People Skipping Your Homepage? Study Says Traffic is Down 17% on Law Firm Homepages -- Julia McCoy, Social Media Today, May 5, 2014
• Is Home Page Design Relevant Anymore? -- Jared Spool, User Interface Engineering, September 29, 2005
• The 8 Types of Navigation Pages -- Jared Spool, User Interface Engineering, November 28, 2005
  

So, who reads an About page, anyway? Well, there are basically three user groups that can be easily identified. No matter which group a reader falls under, they all have one thing in common...they're evaluating the site via your About page to see if it will serve their purpose.

As any journalist will tell you, you should always answer the following questions for your audience: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. However, for the purpose of an About page, it really depends on your target market and what information you should include to appeal to that audience.

• Who are you?
• What do you do?
• When did you start doing what you're doing?
• Where are you?
• Why are you doing what you're doing?
• How are you accomplishing what you claim to do?
  

Of course, this information should be relayed in the first one or two paragraphs because at least Groups 1 and 3 will want to know this right off the bat without having to dig through the rest of the text. This summary should give visitors enough information to decide if they're in the right place and encourage them to read more.

So, it's best to provide the most important information first before getting into the more specific details, which we'll discussed in the last article of the series, What Should I Say on My About Page? For now, we're discussing what is of interest to the three user groups, which are:

Group 1: First Time Visitors

This group is probably the most difficult to keep on your site because they know nothing about your site and what you have to offer. So, if you don't catch their attention from the get-go, then they're most likely to click out pretty quick -- thereby increasing your bounce rate in Google Analytics.

That said, your About page is an opportunity to convert a visitor to a user. Visitors in this group include those who have been referred to your site by a friend, associate, or acquaintance. Then there are those who just happened to stumble upon your link via a search on your or someone else's site, including social media sites. If you're lucky, maybe someone blogged positive things about your site and directed their readers to check it out.

This particular group will be trying to decide if they should stay on your site and keep coming back for more. Some additional questions they might be asking include:

• How often do you update your website?
• How can I subscribe to your site's content?
• How do I register an account on your web app?
• How can I contact you if I need more information?
• Are there other places you can be found on the Web, such as social media sites?
  

Group 2: Regular Users

Group 2 consists of your consistent readers or registered web app users who want to know more about the site that they often use. So, for this group, the About page is a means to give them reasons to keep coming back and a way for them to develop a greater appreciation of your site. Questions they might be asking include:

• How can I engage with your site even more?
• Is there more that I can do that may benefit me, like subscribing to a mailing list or other RSS feeds?
• Are there other places on the Web where I can support and follow you, such as social media sites?
• Is it okay to contact you and, if so, how do you prefer I contact you?
  

Group 3: People Who Want to Work With You

Of course, it goes without saying that this group includes potential clients or customers. However, there are a number of others you need to consider as part of this group, too, particularly if you're in the business of providing information. Such visitors include advertisers, content contributors, site owners in your niche, job seekers, and researchers who wish to feature you in a blog post, interview, etc.

This group is mainly interested in two things: facts and your history. Do you offer what they need? Is your site the right fit for an advertiser's target market? Does what a writer have to contribute fit in with what your site publishes? So, for this group, at least some of the following questions should be answered on your About page:

• What are some of the ways that I can work with you?
• What can I expect in return by working with you?
• What's your website traffic like?
• Do you publish advertisement, accept articles for publication, or have a public API to use for my web app?
  

Some sites that have a lot of information to include will break up their About page into sections or provide links to other pages on their site that will answer some of the more detailed questions. For example, they'll have a separate section or page for those who wish to advertise on or contribute to your site. Another example would be if they have a few or more members on the team who have bios long enough to warrant separating them from the About page.

As mentioned above, what you include on your About page depends on your target audience and how much information you have to provide for that audience. If you're offering products or services, your potential clients or customers will need to take precedence over all others. If you're a blogger providing others a means for advertising, you'll want to give special attention to advertisers and content contributors in addition to your regular users.

So, it's important to know who your audience is when deciding on the approach you wish take. Your approach involves all of the above as well as the tone of your About page, which we're about to discuss in the next article of the series...


References: sixrevisions.com/content-strategy/about-page-guidelines

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Please bear with me while I work to get this thread together. I'm doing a bit of research and compiling some key information in a series of articles authored by yours truly. This is the type of thing I will be doing for my virtual services business, so not only will these be shared with that site's visitors, but it's a good warming up practice for me.

I am one of those who regularly read shop profiles and about pages. I am always disappointed when I find nothing, or a default statement. I am always surprised by how many sellers ignore completing them. It always makes me wonder just how important providing info for their visitors is to these shop owners. To me it can indicate a certain lack of consideration and attentiveness, and can also appear as sloppiness, and inexperience at best.