Useful Article on Building Trust on the About Us Page

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by Paul Boisvert

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Thursday, November 8th, 2007

I recently came across a helpful article on Search Engine Guide about ways to improve your About Us page. I had blogged about building trust and showing personality to increase conversions last July after reading a case study on MarketingSherpa, but the article from Stoney deGeyter is a great example.

In the article Stoney shows five elements you may wish to have on your About Us page:

• Company information such as founders and date formed. You can include links to your major product categories in the content or even to your top-sellers, but realize that the point here is to build trust and perhaps provide that last bit of persuasion that turns them from a shopper into a buyer, so don’t go overboard with the links.
• Team biographies: If you have a dedicated staff, you may wish to reinforce your unique selling proposition with these. Here is an example:

  Jimmy—owner. I started this company to provide the best selection of quality widgets found anywhere. We have grown tremendously over the past 5 years and are the #1 seller of specialized widgets. We owe our success to always providing the best selection and quality at a competitive price which has earned us a loyal group of customers. [insert link to your customer testimonials here]

  Favorite product: Super Wonder Wigdet. “I love the flexibility of this widget. It may cost a bit more but it really does the job of three other widgets.”

  Jenn—product buyer: My job is to hunt out the best widgets available so we can offer them to our loyal customers. We buy our widgets in bulk so we can afford to sell them at prices our competitors cannot match.

  Favorite product: Amazing Mini Widget. “I can’t believe how small this widget is. I can take it anywhere with me.”

  Jack—shipping manager: I manage the warehouse and shipping facilities. My job is to ensure we have the latest and most popular widgets in stock, most ready to ship within one business day. I ensure that we carefully inspect each widget before we ship it, and we take great care to pack your order safely but also quickly so you get your orders as soon as possible.

  Favorite product: “I like ‘em all. Don’t make me decide on just one.”

  Laurie—customer care: I manage our team of call center representatives. We are here between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. PST to answer questions. Our checkout is secure and your privacy is guaranteed, but we can also gladly take phone orders at 1 888 555-1212. I also ensure your satisfaction is guaranteed if you have any issues about your order or our return policy.

  Favorite product: Gourmet Widget “I’ll buy almost anything to help in the kitchen but if I could only have one tool to cook with, it would be the Gourmet Widget. No cook should be without one.”

  Now of course if you do not have a large staff for your business as you are just getting started, you can either play to that as a strength (We are not a big company so you will get more personal attention and we can ship your orders quicker) or you can not include specifics about company size and just speak in general terms about your policies, service, and mission.

• Mission statement: This one should be obvious. Sum up your reason for being in business. This is the place to set yourself apart from competitors by emphasizing what you do differently—what your unique advantages are, be it price, selection, speed of shipping, safe shopping, return policy.
• Content: Keep it current. Update your biographies as the team grows if needed. Show a picture of your latest warehouse or package wrapping station—if not a sheet of plywood between two saw horses.
• Related links: This should already be available, likely in your header or footer links, but you may wish to call these out specifically if you have pages or sections on pages with anchor links that address specific concerns shoppers may have, such as contacting you for ordering help, your return policy, your security/privacy information, or general questions.

So get cranking on those changes. With the holiday season already gearing up for merchants, you don’t want almost buyers to bail on your checkout if they are not sure what type of company to which they are getting ready to hand over personal and financial information.

Paul Boisvert
Yahoo! Small Business

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