By Bob Speyer – Web Success Team

I believe one of the most important pages on a website is the About Us page. It is often misunderstood and at best undervalued. Going against the grain, I propose this page is more about the reader and less about the company or person.

Here’s my reasoning: Marketers have long agreed that people both read and react (positively and negatively) to the proposition “What’s in it for me!” In real estate it’s location, location, location. In online marketing it’s benefits. People want to know the advantages of a product or service before making a decision. In their quest to find reasons to buy or learn more, website viewers will go to the About Us page to gain a better insight on who is selling to them or, more to the point, whom they are buying from.

This is key, because viewers do not just want a resume of location, employees, company history, and growth patterns. What they really want is to find out the personality of the company, what makes them tick and if they are sincere and credible. It’s their first impression of you, how you want to be portrayed and if your values match up.

A Culture of Caring About Your Customers

From the corporate side, Starbucks is a great example of an effective About Us page. It is not too wordy or detailed as in how may locations they have. Rather it is about the customer and their experience. They humanize their page stressing each customer is as important as the next one. It’s about making a connection; serving the community and conducting business responsibly. They have other links to other social media outlets on the page if you want to go deeper into their mission statement, their history and their company workings. But the message is clear.

They are about people and making their lives a little bit better each day. In reading their Facebook page or Twitter, you are instantly engaged, thinking, “I can relate to that!”

For small companies or entrepreneurs, your online brand should be personalized. Using an inviting picture of smiling head shots or an engaging video of a talking head will connect with your viewer. The content should be informative and portray you or your company as well rounded and committed to giving back to your customers and your community. Sprinkling in some personal glimpses of your life or interesting anecdotes will help make you the reader feel they know you or get to know you. Putting yourself out there is never risky, it is what makes us human and real to others.

It’s About Us — Your Viewer and You

In conclusion, if you can get a reader to make that positive connection with your organization, they will be more receptive to processing your information and ultimately interacting or contacting you. You will achieve more web success if you can follow these simple guidelines.

The Web Success Team specializes in developing and marketing direct response websites that take full advantage of the latest developments on the Internet. The Team has an arsenal of effective web strategies, online marketing tools and proven customized social media techniques to promote your products and services. And we’ll show you ways to increase the amount of qualified traffic to your site.

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