If you check into your Google Analytics, chances are that your About page (if you have one) is among the top 5 most visited pages on your website.
Especially, for your first time visitors, it is the most important page. Any new visitor who lands on one of your pages through organic search or any social media channels, it is the About page that they visit next if they like your content.
I have talked about it in the past and I want to talk about it one more time. This time, I want to talk about it in detail because as I was doing analysis of my conversion rate yesterday, I found something very interesting.
Out of all the pages on my website including my homepage, the most converting sign up form on my website is the one which is on my About page. More than 50% of my subscribers in the past year have signed up for my mailing list from my about page.
Why You Should Have A Decent About Page
I know blogs and even business websites that do not even have an About page. I am sure that you have come across such websites as well.
Then, there are those of us who have not updated their About page in ages.
Now, my About page is far from being perfect and I have my own list of improvements to make. I have made some progress and you will see many more improvements in next few weeks.
Consider giving your About page the attention it deserves. Why?
Because your visitors need to know who you are, what you do and, perhaps, how they can benefit from your website. 🙂
Your about page is the most appropriate place for you to connect with your first time visitor. Your about page is the most appropriate place to tell the word about your amazing story. It is where you really get to show your personality, your skills and your value proposition to connect with your reader.
The Elements Of A Powerful About Page On Your Website
Here are 7 important elements you should be considering when creating your About page.
Now, I know that some of these things are still missing from my own About page. But I am working on them and I will make changes as I get a better structure in the coming weeks. Also, some of them do not apply to my blog because it represents me more than a business!
Anyways, here you go!
1. Use Title To Say Something Better, A Little More Meaningful
Traditionally, so many websites (blogs included,) name the title of their About page as ‘About’ or ‘About Me’ or ‘About Us’.
While it is not necessarily a bad thing, it is definitely a poor use of those 70 characters that are considered optimal for a page title. Also, when people come to your about page, they already know why they are there. A page title such as ‘About’ does not add any value.
Instead, if you are a business, you could use that space for a persuasive, value driven headline to connect with your reader right from the get-go. Or, if you’re a blogger, you could say something personal to come across more human and more approachable.
2. Show Yourself Or Your Team – Give It A Human Touch
Whether it is your personal blog or a business, people want to know how you look and/or how your team looks. Putting yourself on your About page and showing off your team, adds that special human touch which does the magic of connecting the reader with you and your business.
A lot of websites don’t do this and they lose out on the opportunity, not knowing why.
When I go to established websites such as MichaelHyatt.com or SocialTriggers.com, I see an excellent example of this aspect. In fact, Michael Hyatt has an impressive video to welcome the reader on his about page.
3. Put Your Value Proposition – Set Expectations
Yes, people visit your About page because they want to know about you. However, they also want to know if they can benefit from your website in any way.
Remember, everybody wants to know, “What’s in it for me?”
Therefore, whatever product, service or value that you offer through your website, talk about it in such a way that the reader cannot miss it. People want to know if you can help them in any way.
4. Add Testimonials, Certifications And Other Resources
When you tell people how you can help them through your products or services, you also want to make sure you add some testimonials, recommendations, and other resources to add credibility to your claim.
If you have some certifications, some awards etc. under your belt, this is the place to display it.
It reassures your reader that you are capable and trustworthy.
5. Tell Your Story – Stories Are Powerful
I learned this from Neil Patel and I know I have mentioned about this in the past. However, you should know that stories are the best way to communicate and connect with your audience.
The reason people sign up to my mailing list more on my About page than any other page on my website is, I share my story (me thinks!)
I did not have a very high conversion rate on this page until I added my life story to this page. It did the trick and I started to see the impact.
Oh yes, some people suggest not to make your stories very long. Although mine is not too long, if you look at Neil’s page, his story, by comparison, is very long. Yet, I loved it and he’s having great success with it. He keeps adding stuff to it. I will let you be the judge and decide how long you want your story to be.
6. Mind The Language – Keep It Interesting
Your about page should not be like a copy of your resume or like an author’s bio in a text book. It should be interesting.
The language you use, the words you choose to describe about your company, about yourself, should be conversational and preferably, in the first person. The more the reader feels that the page is talking to him/her, the better. Connection is the key!
Nobody wants to read a boring piece of text.
If you understand that, you will treat your about page as your chance to sell yourself to the reader. You will give your about page content the best shot!
7. Show Some Personality
If you are a blogger and you share your story, it is easy for the reader to understand your personality. That is why stories are so powerful.
However, if you are a business than you might wonder what personality a business can show, right?
Well, the best example is MailChimp’s About page. They have done an incredible job of not only telling their story, but also about their culture and the causes they care about.
MailChimp is a company but their About page is packed with pictures of their team members, customers, testimonials, their vision, mission, company culture and charity. By the time you are done reading their About page, you start to admire them a little. Isn’t that the goal of an About page?
Resources – Examples Of Great About Pages
As an example, I came across this article posted on Search Engine Journal which has picked up some of the most powerful About pages from the internet. I think you will love to see some of them and draw some ideas for yourself. Check this out:
Want To Share Something? Use The Comment Section Below
What do you think of the seven elements of creating a powerful About page? Would you like to add something to this list? Did this information add value to you?
Please share your thoughts in your comments below. I love to know what my readers think. Thank you kindly!
Hi Kumar,
You have created a very resourceful post, and one that informs me I have some work to do on my About page.
I will be glad to share this, a s I know how helpful it is going to be. I have looked at your About page, and it is far better than the previous version. I really enjoyed reading and discovering your family in the post.
Kind Regards,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Thank you for your kind appreciation and I am glad that you thought this is going to be helpful to many other people.
I also have to make some more improvement on my own page as there is always something to add/modify. But, I am happy to know that people can relate better and connect with me better as they get to know my story and my journey so far. That’s the goal of the ‘About’ page 🙂
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
You are absolutely right – the About Page needs to be done up very well indeed 🙂
Just like you mentioned, it’s the most visited page, especially when you don’t have a new post up or even otherwise I think because people tend to visit your posts and eventually want to know more about you, so they do head to the about me page.
Like you, I need to work on mine as well and add a few things that I’ve also been gathering around, just need that quiet and peaceful time to sit and get started with it. But I know this is important. Nevertheless, I’ve added a lot of links to my interviews, guest posts, and a few places where mentions are made too, a way to link back to people who linked to me too – a way of giving back, and yes, the little awards one gets. Besides, I’ve also talked a little of myself and added my social profile links, one cannot miss out on those, isn’t it? But still need to work on it, and your points are perfect for that, so bookmarking it for the time I sit to get started with it.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena,
Thank you for confirming from your end as well that the About page is one of the most visited page for you as well.
I guess that the About page becomes more important for organic traffic. People who come through search engines or even social media channels come to our websites because of the content. However, they want to know about us once they have gone through the content. It’s just a natural flow of order.
I have seen your about page and I think you have done a great job of explaining what Aha-Now is about and also about your self with your headshot.
Yes, there is always scope for improvement and I’m sure that you have planned it. I am glad that my post added value perhaps to your overall planning for updates 🙂
Have a wonderful and successful new week!
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
[I’ll try not to make this comment too long – maybe sometime I’ll write an article on this topic.]
While I have a different opinion – you’ll say that it’s not very unexpected LOL – I’m not gonna say that your approach is the wrong one. It’s not about being right or wrong. I think that everyone should use a model that matches their goals, their personality, their target audience, etc.
Side-note: I’ve just checked Seth Godin’s blog. Maybe I was in a hurry, I don’t know, but I didn’t notice any type of “About” page. If I’m wrong, don’t worry, I can find another famous blog without an About page LOL
For some of my blogs I don’t even use such a page. For my latest blog, I use that “not so good” About Me style. And I’m not going to change it. Here’s why…
1) The most not serious reason is that I don’t have 70 chars or so available. A longer title would mess my theme unless I remove pages really important to me or I change the theme 😉
2) I’m not interested in visitors “working with me” or something. I’m too busy.
3) Unlike your blog and other blogs, my About Me page is far from being one of the most visited pages. And I do NOT plan to make it one of the most visited pages. That blog isn’t about me and the story of my life. It’s about my ideas and my tips. They can be found by reading my blog posts, not the About page.
Adrian
P.S. Did you know that I never read the About pages? And I don’t plan to do it. That’s a wasted time. By reading the actual blog posts I find out all I need to know about you 😉
P.P.S. “Well, this article looks good, but I’m quite stupid and I cannot make an assessment myself. Let’s read the bio in order to see whether this guy is a guru or not”
The PS and the PPS show 2 models of thinking. There are way more than two models. If you want to target everyone, you won’t target anyone. That’s why I suggested earlier that bloggers should use an About page that matches their goals, target audience, etc, not Kumar’s goals or my goals 🙂
Hi Adrian,
The contrarian view is what makes your comments valuable and at the same time challenging (in a good way). So, you contesting some of the ideas I shared was expected 🙂
So, thank you for your contrarian view and now here my thoughts.
Yes, everyone should write (or not write) their about page based on their model, their goals and their style.
However, Seth Godin is not a good example to illustrate the point because neither you nor I, are him. You need to be an ostrich with your head 6 feet underground not to know him. The man doesn’t need an introduction. But you and I do!
Seth Godin also doesn’t write 300 or more words in his posts. But, what happens to your blog is you start to publish 3 lines of text as a blog post and you post once a week?
Now, you not feeding about pages and not wanting your visitors to connect with you personally, is your personal choice and it is in line with your situation that you are very busy.
Neil Patel and Michael Hyatt are also relatively busy. But, they pay a little more attention to personal branding and relationship building on their websites through their websites. Most people relate to people like these and most of us want to be like them.
As you know, to me, I am the reason for the content I produce. I am the reason why my business makes money. I am the reason why my company exists. To me, everything that exists because of me, exists I created it. And I want my visitors to know the man behind all of it. Personal branding is all about that and you know I am big on personal branding 🙂
Well, So is Seth Godin. But the problem is, he doesn’t need an about page because he has books and media telling the whole world about him. Once I get the fame he has, probably, I will delete my about page too 🙂
But I agree. About page, its existence and style on your website depends on how you think and plan your visitor interaction.
Just my thoughts. I know you might still disagree with me on a few things. But, that is what makes conversation with you so interesting.
Regards,
Kumar
Kumar, I think that you didn’t fully get my point…
Actually Seth Godin is a good example to illustrate my point. Think twice 😉 My point was, “I think that everyone should use a model that matches their goals, their personality, their target audience, etc”
You’re saying, “you should have a decent About page” – that’s your sub-headline. Letting aside the fact that we have different perspectives on what a decent About page is, what I wanted to show you is that some people don’t have a (decent) About page and there’s nothing wrong in not having it. It depends on who you are, it also depends on what type of audience you have and it finally depends on your niche. The things aren’t black or white.
Depending on various circumstances, sometimes there’s nothing wrong in not having an About page, or having an “About Me” page. However, if the circumstances are different, not having an About page or having an “About Me” page may be wrong or at least not the best choice.
We are different, we have different goals, some of us target a different type of audience, etc. If there are so many things different, how can you think that what is good to you it’s good to me and it’s also good to John Doe? No such thing. I repeat it for the third and last time…
Everyone should use a model that matches their goals, their personality, their target audience, etc.
Finally, we don’t disagree too much. I don’t think that you’re wrong. I just think that your point – which by the way is very popular, so it doesn’t need my approval anyway LOL – is not the whole puzzle. It’s just one part of the actual puzzle. The biggest part, OK, but not the whole puzzle 😉
My comments tried to fill in the missing parts of the puzzle. If I succeeded or not, I don’t know. It’s not me the one who has to say it.
Yes sir! You did succeed. I think I agree with you too. It all should be driven by individual goals 🙂 And that’s your point too!
Cheers!
Kumar
Well to be honest I didn’t cared “about page” and seems like your listed some bunch of tips to be followed while creating an amazing about page.
Will will these tips for sure.
Thanks
Hi Satyakam,
I am glad you found it useful. I look forward to find out what happens after you put a decent about page with these techniques. Let me know how it goes.
Thanks,
Kumar
Hello Gauraw, thanks for submitting this detailed review about the about us page because after reading this information I also came to know that my site’s about us page needs some editing and adding resourceful information to help the readers who want to know about us.
Hi Robinsh,
I am glad to know you found this resourceful. I think for most of us, it is really very important to let our readers know who we are, what we do and how they can benefit from our product/services. In many cases, we are unable to capitalize on the opportunity because a prospects do not find our value proposition through out About pages.
Wish you all the best and thank you for dropping by!
-Kumar
Hi Kumar, You really inspired me with this article! When I first started The Wonder of Tech, I was very confused whether the About page was supposed to be about me or my blog. I read so many conflicting views on this but your explanation makes a lot of sense, make it a combination of both! Tell a story about yourself and explain what your site is about. You’re right, readers want to know about you and what’s in it for them.
I updated my About page after I read this and included a subscription field so people can find it more easily.
Excellent article, Kumar!
PS Phew! I almost lost my comment! When I tried to leave it I received an error code that I used too many words in my name. I use all three of my names, but I guess that’s not allowed here? When I clicked on the link to go back, my comment wasn’t there. Luckily, I was able to use my computer’s back button and get back to my comment!
Hi Carolyn,
First of all sorry about the trouble with your name. I was getting way more spam with people commenting on the name of companies, services and all kinds of things. Sick and tired of spammers, I reduced the number of words allowed to two. Since then, number of spam comments definitely reduced.
However, this is the first time somebody genuinely had trouble because of longer name. And I am going to change that to allow three words in the name field. That way you will not have problem next time.
I am so glad to know that you are able to enhance your about page and you were able to also put the subscription box there to collect some subscribers. That is awesome!
Thank you for dropping by and sharing that you took some action right away after reading my post. I am glad that it was helpful to you and that I was able to clarify a couple of things for you to this post.
Have a great rest of the week!
Regards,
Kumar
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing. Yes, an about me page is important as we tend to associate with people we know and trust. I am def going to add some personal pictures and more …but not too much… details to my about me page.
Okay Troy!
I look forward to your about page. I would love to see some pictures along with your story (may be) on your about page. And I know for sure that I know more about you, your style and your personality through your page.
Please keep me posted as you publish the final version.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
It’s amazing how many people visit the “About Me” page. I changed mine a few months ago, but there has been so much growth since then. It’s time to update mine once again.
A little story telling is great, and yes, Neil Patel can certainly tell a story! Story telling makes it interesting to people and we need to share some personal information about ourselves.
You have given me lots to think about here. Now that our product base is growing, it is time for a change.
Also, thanks so much for the links you have shared. Very helpful information!
-Donna
Absolutely Donna. I think it is important for us to keep in mind that things happen in our lives, new growth, new business, new product and what not. So, we should also make it a point to keep an updated About Page.
I updated mine recently and I am still planning to make a few more adjustments.
I am glad to know you found this valuable information.
Have a great rest of the week.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar
I do think our about page is important and mine is long overdue for a rewrite. I have tweaked it a couple of times since i first wrote it 4 years ago but not for a long time.
Thanks for the reminder.
I do read about pages when people have them but there are many people who do not. I actually get annoyed on blogs where there is nothing to indicate anything about the writer.
Thanks for the recommendations on what the about page should include Kumar.
Hope your week started well.
Sue
That’s good to know Sue. You are one of those people who want to know about the owner/author when they visit a blog. I am also like that.
However, there are people who don’t want and don’t care. They have different business goals and approach about their online presence.
They may be right from their perspective. But, most of us vale relationships and an About Us page goes a long way in helping us achieve that.
Thank you for dropping by and I am glad that you found this helpful.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
Glad to be back here after my break. 😀
You know, some time ago I update my about page, and after reading this article, it looks like I have to update it again, that’s interesting 🙂
All the points you pointed out here is very good. Indeed, we have to look at from the perspective of visitors if you want to create an interesting page.
Thanks for sharing this, Kumar.
Hoping you have a nice week ahead. 🙂
Nanda
Hi Nanda,
Good to have you back 🙂 Welcome!
About Page is one of the rare pages on our websites which needs regular updating 🙂
That’s the nature of the beast and that’s also the beauty.
You are very welcome and I am happy to know that it was helpful.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar Gauraw,
Thanx for sharing a information.. i think this is very useful artical for all bloggers..
Kumar- What a great post. I updated the about us on our blog site but I haven’t updated the about us on my main website in about 15 years so it is really outdated and doesn’t hit on the points that you have made. I plan to use your points in the update. I just forgot about the about us page. You better believe I am going to highlight the points you made here. Thank you.
Hi Arleen,
I am so glad to know you found it helpful. I know how easy it is to forget out About Page amid all that content marketing and social media buzz. It got my attention when I looked at my subscriber stats and I was amazed to see that people actually like to subscribe for my mails after they get to know me and the better connection they feel, the more subscribers I get.
That’s it. So, I decided to share this with you. Thank you for dropping by and sharing your thoughts.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
I’ve written a post about the “about page” a while back, and made my own more interesting. I added two interviews of mine there, on my writing blog, one is a video interview and the other is a radio interview.
Of course a picture is very important. I never understand when I see about pages that don’t even have the picture of the owner. We all like to have visuals, and we need to know what that person looks like, it’s like introducing yourself, you’ve got to show your face.
Stories work very well too. I have a couple of paragraphs that tells my story too on my about pages.
Thank you for your great insight.
Hi Sylviane,
I did not notice that post from you. Now that you have mentioned, I will make a point to find it and see if I can pick up a couple of things. Thank you for the reminder.
Yes, having a picture in the about page add a lot of value. If there is a video available, it can add some additional value as well.
Thank you very much for dropping by and adding value.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar, I like reading the about pages of a blog if I’ve been there a few times – I want to know more about the person behind the blog. I like the creative ones and need to work on mine more too. I’ve had people contact me via that page over the years too. I don’t know what else to name the page though, interesting thought. I do update mine every few months and add more testimonials as I get them. Great topic Kumar. Hope your week is going well.
Hi Lisa,
My week has been very good so far. Thank you very much for asking!
Wow! I’m glad to know that you are one of those people who keep a tab on what goes on about page. Usually, about page is the one which gets ignored very often and with the glitter of new posts, comments, SCO and many other things.
To me, whenever I visit the website for the first time and I like the content or totally get disgusted, in both cases, I go to the about page to find out who the person is 🙂
That makes about page so much important for branding and credibility.
Thank you for dropping by and I hope you have had a wonderful week so far as well.
Regards,
Kumar
Hey Kumar,
I think in the beginning of my breaking out journey blogging I got quite a number of visitors to my about page. Not so much anymore and that’s probably because they’re too busy reading my posts. I hope so at least but I’m glad that page converts best for you. Mine has a poor conversion rate but that’s okay because my opt-in header gets them before they have a chance to visit any other page on my blog. 😉
Now I use to have mine laid out similar to what you’re saying here. I changed it just this past April after going through B-School with Marie Forleo and hearing what she and Derek Halpern had to say about it. As they stated and we all know to be true, people don’t care about you but only how you can help them. Maybe it’s because they are really big known bloggers and business owners that people feel this way about them. I’ve always really appreciated the personal touch myself and I still share a little of that on that particular page.
It’s actually kind of funny that I got a comment not long ago from someone new to my blog that had not heard my story of how I started and wanted to know where he could read about it. Luckily for me I’ve been interviewed numerous times so that story is pretty much everywhere now but I use to have it on that page.
I think it’s important though and the elements you mentioned here are important as well. I guess I would just say it depends on what you’re trying to accomplish with it but after mine being somewhat the same for about five years I finally changed it. Is it for the best? I guess time will tell.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
I do not visit your about page either, anymore. But, that because I already have visited in the beginning and I don’t need to go there again. Therefore, when you say that it is not among the top visited pages, in what context if you look?
The idea behind this page is to tell your first time visitors about your self, your story (brief of course!) and your products and services. Such visitors usually come from search engines. When you look at your Google analytics, pay attention to your organic traffic, new visitors and then see where does your about page stand. I am sure that new visitors still want to know about you before they buy into your content.
Speaking of B-school, although I’m not sure what they taught in the course. But, I will go by what Marie Forleo does, not what she says. If you look at the about page, she has got a lot of things, the personal touch along with your story. What about page is very long and very well done.
I am glad that you are doing trial and error with your about page. This is what makes Internet such an interesting place. You can play with new strategies, new ideas, test different things and then decide what works best for you.
Thank you for stopping by and I’m glad to have you shared some thoughts here.
Regards,
Kumar
Hello Kumar,
I am new to your blog, but this was a perfect post to come in on. I have always been mystified by the “about me page”. I never knew what I should add, what I should delete, or how to make it more engaging.
I definitely got quite a bit of value from this and will be going back to my own “about” page and taking your suggestions to give my page a little more spice so that it is not just a boring page.
I am pretty new to blogging and still finding my stride… Do you have any suggestions for someone like me who has a personal story, but when it comes to online business, my story is still being developed?
Thank you again Kumar! Looking forward to the next one
All the best,
Jeff Sollee
Hi Jeff,
Welcome to my blog. I am so happy to know that you picked up a few things from this post. I did check your about page and I am sure that you can make it way better by implementing some of the strategies I shared.
Speaking of you being new, there are plenty of new bloggers recommendations by some of the top bloggers online and I am sure you would have gone through many already.
However, if I can suggest one thing, make sure that your visitors clearly know what to benefit you offer to them. Your visitors should know what products or services do you offer and probably, you should have a page dedicated to describe that aspect of your online presence.
As long as you have that defined, remaining things become easy and it will be easy for you to get targeted traffic, loyal readers, like-minded people.
Regards,
Kumar
Hey Kumar,
It’s about that time for me to do a make over of my home page. The last time I did my About Me page was over a year ago.
I had gotten a couple suggestions on how to do it and to be honest with you I was confused about which way to go. The only thing I did was the point you made in number 3. I wrote what they will expect out of the blog.
I remember reading that if you talk about yourself in your about me page then it wouldn’t be beneficial. Now I see being more human, talking about my story and making my About Me page more conversation isn’t all that bad. If 50% of all of your subscribers signed up through your About Me page, then I will definitely have to adjust!
Thanks for sharing! Have a great weekend!
Hi Kumar,
I think this is an awesome article. Not once every have I had someone talk about what makes a great About page. I’m going to work on changing mine this week. You gave some great advice and some examples of great About pages and great reasons to take a better look at our own and change if necessary. I think your 7 elements are great. Thanks for providing some awesome content and something of great value that we can implement almost immediately.
I’ll let you know when I re-do my About page and I’d like to get your opinion.
Thanks so much. Great job.
Barbara
Hello Mr. Kumar
Such a timely post.
Since I am still learning, I have worked on my “about page”. But I have changed it twice already and after this article, I think I still need to change it some more. I do not call it an about page, but I use “Welcome to Coaching To Succeed”
I don’t know if anyone is checking my page out, but I think that if I am looking for more traffic, then I better work on it.
I love all the elements, but especially number two… Give it a human touch. Many people can relate since we are all humans. LOL
Thank you once again for helping this community of bloggers.
Oh I do need to change a lot of my website….
Hi Kumar; I want to thank you for this post on creating a better about me page. I haven’t done this for my new blog yet, but it may be a good thing because I got to read this beforehand. I also need to install analytics even though it doesn’t play nice with my screen reader. I will start working on an about me section right away. thanks again and take care, Max
You are right Kumar. I am passionate about writing and started my blog. I added content but still not created about page. Going to create next first thing.
Thanks for this post.
HI Kumar ,
This is first time I am visiting your website and feels glad to be here but unfortunately I am not able to see latest post.
But I am reading your previous post , and I am enjoying it very much .
Your posts are very informative and this helping me to increase my knowledge about blogs, blogging, online marketing.
This topic is very important one as good website / blog point of view as a developer and blogger I support your thoughts.
I don’t understand why many people don’t give any importance to About Us and Contact Us pages .
Those are equally important. I have seen some sites doesn’t have about page at all. Which made readers to think that the website is spam.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful tips for About Us page.
Yes about us page is important page of the website it actually describe what the website is all about. The user are able to understand in a better way if your about us page have enough information that describes your website.