Everyone seems so concerned about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but very few appear to be thinking, “What do we do with these people once we get them to our site?”
Let’s say that you actually do attract someone new. Someone who has never heard of you or your business. They find you or your business on the great and powerful Google (never mind the man behind the curtain) and it appears that you offer just the product or solution that they happen to need. Glorious. But they’ve never heard of you before. So when they come to your site, they look a bit at your products and think, “Hmm, looks pretty good. But who are these people?” The very next thing that they will do is start looking for your story. They’ll look first at your “About” page.
What will they find there? Is it an afterthought? Is it just a bit of cursory information that someone copied from an old brochure or report? Does it really tell them about who you are and what you do today? I’m betting that what you have there is incomplete and unsatisfying. It probably doesn’t relay the same information that you would if you met this same person at an event and they asked you “What do you do?” You’d probably be able to tell them, with pride, about what you personally do, or about your company, what it does and what it’s accomplished. Your About page is your big chance. Too many people and businesses blow it.
I’ve built web sites for over fifteen years and for all of the hours spent poring over the logs and seeing what people look at, the About page is almost always at the top of the list. But far too many business managers don’t understand the significance of that fact. They instead concentrate their efforts on product pages or other shiny bits of their sites. But by doing that they’re missing out on the big opportunity.
When a visitor clicks on your About page link, they’re asking you to tell them a story. They’re opening themselves up. They’re interested. They want to know what you do and how you do it, and hopefully, a bit of credible evidence, perhaps a customer or two verifying that you can actually do what you claim to. If they’ve made it far enough into your site to read your About page, they’re willing to take a few minutes and learn about you. This is one of your best opportunities to convince and sell.
I recommend the following:
- Go and read your About page.
- Throw it away and write a new one. Or get some help. Make sure that it tells your story in a way that conveys who you are and what you do.
- Every month review it and update it.
Here’s my About page. And since it’s so important, I also have a second one that’s about my business: Who Writes For You? Since I largely work behind the scenes for my clients, I don’t list them on these pages, but if you’d like to contact me I can talk to you about the work I’ve done for them and how I help them tell stories. Stories that convince and sell.
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