Commune Media | Measurably Effective Digital Marketing™

Write “about us” content that works

Posted on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 at 4:01 PM by Simon Smith  |  Comments (0)

Ever click an “About Us” link and find marketing jargon that leaves you more confused about the company than before?

If you’re like most web readers, you’re probably nodding in painful recollection.

In fact, a recent study by Jakob Nielsen and crew found that overall satisfaction with “About Us” content has declined in the past five years.

More users can now achieve goals like finding out who runs an organization (79% compared to 70%). And even more can find contact information (91% compared to 62%). But people’s expectations have also increased. So satisfaction with “About Us” content has actually decreased from 5.2 to 4.6 on seven-point scale.

Worse yet, in Nielsen’s latest study, fewer users (81% compared to 90%) could determine from “About Us” content what a company actually does.

“In place of a frank summary of the business,” Nielsen writes, “marketese and blah-blah text ruled the day on many sites.”

Optimize your “about us” content

So let’s talk about content optimization for this essential element of your website.

Based on Nielsen’s recommendations and our own experience, here’s how you can write better “About Us” web pages:

1. Have a clear link to your “About Us” section. It should read “About Us” or “About <Company>,” for example. Avoid cryptic names like “Info Center.”
2. Include a tagline that meaningfully describes your organization. The key is to answer important questions like what your company does. We also consider it important to clearly explain your company’s benefits.
3. Provide a longer summary of your organization at the top of your “About Us” page. This should flow logically from your tagline content. 
4. Elaborate on key points and essential facts after your summary content. 
5. Move supporting information to separate pages. For example, create a page specifically for investor-related questions, as this is a subset of content for a very specific group of website visitors.
6. Consider using short videos to support your primary content, such as to showcase the personality of your CEO.

Follow general content optimization guidelines

As for general content optimization tips, be sure to follow the inverted pyramid hierarchy of information, flowing from a tagline, to a summary, to details, to supporting information for specific user groups.

Also, be sure to keep your content scannable, personable and objective. Readers will likely skim your “About Us” information, so consider putting much of it in scannable bullets. Also, speak directly to readers, be friendly, and avoid any hyperbole (“best,” “greatest” and so forth) that might undermine your credibility.

No matter the size of your company, these rules apply.

As Nielsen notes, even if your company’s world famous, not everyone knows who you are and what you do.

And some of those people just might want to work for you, invest in you or buy from you.

Tags: about us, copywriting, usability