Every website should have and nurture three vital pages. These include the home page, contact page, and “About Us” page.
The “About Us” page is believed to be the most visited page on a website and can have a big impact on your brand and conversion rates.
So, how do you come up with an “About Us” page that not only boosts your website’s SEO but also aligns with the E.A.T. algorithm? Read on to find out.
Why is the “About Us” Page Crucial for SEO?
One of the worst decisions you can make for your company is not to have a dedicated “About Us” page. Here are some of the reasons why the “About Us” page is important for SEO:
The “About Us” page increases trust, authority, credibility, and branding
According to a study carried out by KoMarketing in 2015, 52 percent of those visiting your website want to see an About page.
Another report by Episerver also revealed that 92 percent of first-time visitors to a website do not plan to make a purchase.
When users visit your website, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Most customers will not buy your products unless they believe your website is trustworthy.
It increases conversion
What is one clear advantage of improved trust, credibility, and branding?
More prospects are willing to purchase your goods and services. i.e., turning an inquisitive passerby into a paying customer.
There have been several case studies and examples that show how a strong “About Us” page can boost conversion rates.
It helps your site to be favored by search engines
Did you know that search engines like Google favor “trustworthy” sites over less “trustworthy” sites in their rankings? When Google gives its human quality raters a set of standards, they take reputation into account.
According to Google quality evaluator rules, the degree of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E.A.T) is particularly significant for all other pages that have a helpful function.
Human raters are instructed to determine who is in charge of the website and who authored the information on the page. This appears to be Google’s attempt to solve the riddle of whether or not your website can be trusted.
The data and feedback acquired by the human raters contribute to algorithm adjustments, allowing Google’s AI to improve its ability to recognize “trustworthiness,” “credibility,” and “authority.”
When search engines think your website is reliable and trustworthy, your organic search results tend to get better.
About Us page helps journalists and public relations professionals find your profile, thereby boosting your backlinks
If you want journalists to write about you and link to you in their content, make sure they have access to all of your pertinent information.
Journalists and public relations professionals are taught to look for a “Press” or “Media” page. A dedicated “Press” page is not found on every website. A suitable alternative is an “About Us” page.
When journalists, public relations professionals, and SEOs from other companies find it easy to discover more about you, they will talk about you and link to you. The more high-quality backlinks connected to your website, the more SEO benefits your website will enjoy.
It boosts credibility when undertaking outbound PR and manual outreach
An “About Us” page is extremely useful when you are doing outreach. Manual outreach to other websites and journalists is sometimes required in SEO and PR to gain their attention. You want them to talk about your business and possibly link back to you.
The majority of these journalists and webmasters want to be sure they’re speaking with a trustworthy source. They might try to acquire some background information about your organization or brand if they do their homework. When people take a look around your site, a well-written “About Us” page will help them build trust.
They will be more ready to link back to you once you have established trust and reliability.
It helps you build connections through a unique story or brand history
Some websites may choose to link to your “About Us” page if you or your business has anything unique to offer, as it gives them something fascinating to write about.
You never know when another website or journalist will want to write an article about fascinating businesses or founders, and they will pick you because of your “About” page. When other websites (especially authorities in your niche) mention your site, you can be assured that it helps with SEO.
What Information Should an About Us Page Contain?
The following factors should be considered when you want to write an excellent “About Us” page:
- Keywords
- Content
- NAP details
- Title tag
- Meta description
- Call-to-action
- Internal links
- Schema
The “About Us” section of a website is frequently overlooked. The reason for this is that website owners are unsure about what to put there. If you set up these parts right, your visitors (and search engines) should be able to understand what your business is all about.
Now that we have established why you need an “About Us” page and how it helps boost SEO, let’s consider how you can craft an SEO-friendly About page that aligns with the E.A.T. algorithm.
What is the Purpose of E.A.T?
Google modified its quality ranking rules in 2018 to place a greater emphasis on the usefulness of web content. The argument behind Google’s decision was simple: marketers had been developing content with Google in mind, not the end-user. Instead of providing information that would be valuable to the reader, they were attempting to “trick” Google’s ranking algorithm. E.A.T. was created as a strategy to refocus attention on the end customer.
Also, Google employs E.A.T as one of the key elements in determining the quality of its results. Many changes to Google’s algorithm ranking in recent years have been made to address page quality, which could be related to higher or lower E.A.T. Due to a drop in your ranks, you will lose both traffic and a significant amount of cash if you do not keep up with the latest trends.
Google examines your brand, website, and content to see if a real person can trust the information you provide.
So, how does this affect the content of your “About Us” page? If you don’t pay attention to E.A.T, you won’t be able to develop an effective content strategy.
The question becomes, what can be done to leverage E.A.T. and improve your “About Us” page content? We will address this in the next section.
Steps for Crafting an SEO-Optimized “About Us” Page That Aligns With the E.A.T. Algorithm
Expertise
Showcase your expertise in the content
Those who are most knowledgeable about your content and niche should be developing or reviewing it. They should be cited as a source at the very least. According to Google’s search quality guidelines, there are two sorts of knowledge:
Formal knowledge
A qualified professional is the most dependable source of knowledge, especially in the medical, financial, and legal fields. If inaccurate information is disseminated in these industries, users are more likely to be put in danger.
Everyday expertise
This refers to the knowledge shared by ordinary individuals. The knowledge is usually daily experiences that are shared on personal blogs, reviews, forums, conversations, and other forms of social media. This level of knowledge is good for topics like humor, cooking, and taking care of the house, amongst others.
Recruit journalists or writers
Professional journalists are taught how to locate and interview sources, as well as to conduct extensive fact-checking. Some journalists may already be familiar with writing for your field. Look for them in relevant trade journals.
You can develop an internal team, recruit freelancers, or collaborate with an agency to discover authors. The best option is determined by the goals and resources of your firm.
Hire an editor
Even the most dependable writers make mistakes, such as using incorrect statistics or citing the wrong source. You’ll have a better chance of releasing the most accurate content if you have a professional editor on hand (or at least someone to examine it).
Train your content crew
Your content creators (including new hires and freelancers) will gain confidence and learn about:
- Developing brand personalities
- Writing in the tone of your brand
- Using your brand’s style guide
- How your creation process and workflow work
- Best practices for SEO and writing
Authority
Show your qualifications
Make it crystal clear to your readers who you are. This could be accomplished by:
- Including your professional title in the byline
- Including a brief bio at the start or end of the piece
When it comes to sharing “everyday expertise,” credentials are irrelevant. People should instead have relevant experience. However, doctors or other health professionals should provide specific medical facts and guidance (rather than descriptions of personal experience).
Also, showing your photo on your “About Us” page humanizes your company and makes your website more open to your readers.
Conduct research and cite it
Even if the people who write your About page content aren’t experts, research and the right attribution prove that they want to provide accurate information.
The necessary anchor text should also be linked to the sources. This is a clear indication to Google that you’re citing sources. Remember that Google prefers high-quality backlinks, so pick your sources wisely.
Linking to your research makes it simple for users to access the source. Your readers will gain more trust as a result of your transparency.
Maintain your brand image
Your prospects are likely to read reviews about your firm before making a decision. These reviews can influence a buyer’s decision, but they can also affect your Google quality ranking.
According to Google’s search quality criteria, popularity, user engagement, and user reviews are considered proof of reputation. All channels where customers can provide feedback or write reviews should be monitored.
Hence, while writing your “About Us” page content, you should also pay attention to what people are saying about your brand. This will ensure you don’t violate the requirements of the E.A.T. algorithm.
Trust
Help your website users
As tempting as it is to write an About page just for the sake of being found in search, you must put your users first. A widespread assumption is that Google favors websites with a lot of keywords. However, this is known as “keyword stuffing,” and it degrades the user experience.
Avoid keyword stuffing by carefully adding your keywords. The best way to do this is to use the keyword in the first paragraph and then only use it naturally after that.
According to the Google Webmaster Guidelines, you should ask yourself, “Is this helpful to my users?” Would I do this if there were no search engines?”
The goal of content marketing is to develop content that your target audience desires. Google’s algorithms have been updated and tweaked to display the most relevant and accurate content in search results. Because of this, they have also asked real people to help them judge the quality of websites and pages.
Make it easy for users to contact you
Contact information on your About page website may seem obvious, but it develops trust by allowing users to contact a real person or learn who is responsible for the website.
Your company’s “About Us” page is also a wonderful place to tell your readers who you are, and you might want to include a photo of some of your employees. This humanizes your brand, allowing customers to recognize and trust you.
FAQs
What is the ideal length for this page?
A good length for an “About Us” page is 300 to 500 words. You may wonder how we arrived at this figure. Any information that is less than 200 words is deemed thin. Most blog posts these days are 500-600 words, while those with at least 2000 words are considered cornerstone content (About pages don’t fit into these). You should be alright as long as you keep above the thin content mark and aim for 500 words.
However, most website owners struggle to achieve 200 words, which is why we’re here to assist you to fill out your “About Us” page with SEO-friendly content that will help your ideal clients find your website.
What keywords should be used on your About page?
The “About Us” page is usually not intended to serve as a landing page. You wouldn’t use precise keywords to rank for the same reason. Brand names, products, and services should all have landing pages to help them rank.
This does not, however, imply that you should abandon keywords entirely. The “About Us” page serves as a supporting page for the rest of your site, which means you should employ your core keywords from other landing pages in a long tail form to optimize your local SEO.
Is it necessary for me to provide contact information on my About page?
Since you already have a contact page on your website, why should you provide your contact information in the “About Us” section?
One reason is that it improves your local SEO, and the other is that it just provides a better user experience. Because the user wants to learn more about your firm, giving the name, address, and phone number is only natural.
Now, how you go about doing that is a different story.
Of course, you can provide the information in the same manner as on your contact page. However, you could simply put the information in the company description, build CTAs (“Call us” or “Contact us”), or include it in the footer.
Which schema is best for my “About page”?
Schema is a type of microdata that makes data interpretation easier for search engines.
Most firms will include local schema on their front and service pages. Other types are used as extras to give more information about your products, show review ratings, or give SERPS results with more information.
The organization schema, on the other hand, is the only form of schema that suits the “About Us” page.
This schema should only be used once. It’s up to you whether you put it on your contact or “About Us” pages.
Wrapping Up
Your “About Us” page can influence whether or not someone chooses to work with you. Therefore, ensure that your page is engaging and optimized for search and conversions. You’ll rapidly get more desirable outcomes from your About us page if you prioritize your users, hire specialists, assist them, and provide a safe and pleasant experience on your website.
Google’s recent revisions to its quality rating rules show that knowledge, authority, and trustworthiness are now significantly more important in the results than they were previously. E.A.T is meant to make sure that websites stay focused on giving accurate information and stop unrelated content from ranking near the top, which would hurt the user experience. The greatest way to attract the kind of traffic you want is to have a higher E.A.T, which will only happen if you provide content that delights your clients.
Need help with SEO? Talk to Us, Let’s help you drive highly targeted organic traffic to your website and increase your revenue.