A/B testing is essential to improve your business conversions, but have you ever considered testing your “about us” page?
Probably not.
According to the Search Engine Journal, your about page is one of the first places people will click when visiting your site, and if you’re not taking the time to optimize it, you’ll be losing incredible potential.
Some experiments have demonstrated that, on average, “about us” page visitors spend 22.5% more money on their purchases.
In today’s post, we’ll show you how to easily optimize your about page to boost your newsletter subscribers, sign-ups, and sales while building a stronger community.
Let’s get rolling:
Table of contents
Popular Misconceptions on “About” Pages
There are a lot of misconceptions about the topic, so it is essential to give you a clear definition of what an about page is and its real purpose.
First, an about page is NOT:
- A 10-paragraph essay about you or your company
- A blog post
- A media kit
- A tool to manipulate your visitors
- A page where people can learn more from you
Contrary to popular belief, the protagonist of your about page shouldn’t be you. Nor your company or products. It’s not about even your team.
It’s about your customers and the benefits they get when interacting with your products.
In other words, your about page should define WHO you are as an organization and HOW your customers will benefit from you.
Here’s where “branding” and “brand storytelling” come in handy (more on that later).
For example, some companies don’t even call it “about page.”
If you look at Neil Patel.com, you won’t find any “about” page on the website, but there is a page called “Consulting.” That page contains all the information about Neil Patel and how he can help you.
Now that you know what an about page is, it’s time to talk about conversions and sales.
How “About Us” Pages Can Help You Increase Your Conversions
There are two main reasons why you should spend enough time optimizing your about page:
# 1: People are more likely to convert after visiting your about page
As I said earlier, your “about” page is one of your audience’s first interactions with your brand. When used wisely, you can leverage an incredible engaging power that ultimately will drive leads and profit to your bottom line.
But don’t just take my word for it.
According to classic studies, a person visiting your about page is five times more likely to convert into a lead or sale than a regular visitor.
# 2: Your about page is probably one of the most popular pages on your site
Believe it or not, that’s true.
Derek Halpern, the founder of Social Triggers (one of the most popular social media and marketing blogs), says his about page is the 5th most visited page on the site.
But Derek is not alone; just check out your Google Analytics account, and you’ll find something similar.
Now:
Do you remember that people who visit your about page are much more likely to convert? Why not take advantage of that and add a call to action on it?
That simple tweak can dramatically increase your newsletter or free trial subscribers.
Brian Dean (founder of Backlinko) experimented a while back. He found that his about page is one of the most popular pages on the site, so he incorporated two sign-up forms.
One in the middle of the page:
And another form at the very bottom:
Want to know the results?
These changes led to 5.81% in conversions.
About pages are powerful tools to convert ice-cold traffic into loyal subscribers. You can strengthen your brand image and communicate value to your audience in a better way.
Elements of a Converting “About” Page
Now that we’ve covered the basics let’s talk about the key elements that make “about pages” more converting.
Even though there is no “secret sauce” to building a converting about page, certain elements can help you make a better one.
Here they are:
# 1: Benefit-driven headline
Like every page on your site, your “about page” needs a headline, but a headline that directly communicates your unique value proposition. For instance, instead of just “About us” or “Meet the team,” you could write a headline that directly communicates specific benefits.
Adding a benefit-driven headline can help you beat the averages and communicate the value they’ll receive to your customers and readers.
# 2: Bullet points
In addition to having a great headline, you can explain to people precisely what you do and how you can help them solve their specific problems.
# 3: Storytelling
Storytelling sells.
Some researchers in Spain found that when you hear a story, your brain activates all the processing parts that would trigger if you were experiencing that story.
Ana Hoffman did an excellent job with storytelling on Trafficgenerationcafe.com. If you take the time to read Ana’s about page, you’ll find the story about how she went from professional modeling to blogging.
That page has racked up 308 comments:
# 4: Visual content
According to Ian Lloyd, director of digital operations at Web Marketing Group, 40% of people will respond better to visual information than plain text. Why? Because images are great storytellers.
You should include visual content like images, pictures, and graphics on your about page.
# 5: Call-to-action
Once people have read your about page, you must tell them what to do next. Whether it’s to start a free trial, read your popular posts, or invite them to subscribe to your newsletter, tell them EXACTLY what to do.
How to A/B Test Your About Page To Maximize Conversions
First of all, what’s A/B testing?
Mark McDonald (Shopify’s writer) says: “It’s a method for measuring two versions of one element so you can determine which one is more successful.”
For example, DMIX increased conversions from 14.5% to 18.6% by adding three words to their call-to-action.
Technically, you can perform a test on every element on your page. If you can change it, you can test it .
However, that’s probably not the best approach.
Instead, you should only test elements that are directly related to conversions.
For instance: call-to-actions, colors, headlines, imagery, and copy.
Before we get deeper into further explanations, I’d like you to learn the two rules for any A/B test you want to perform:
First, you need to know the exact results you’re currently getting. That way, you’ll be able to understand whether the change performed better or not.
And second, you need to start small.
Minor tweaks can make huge improvements. In addition, if you start making small changes, tracking results will be much easier and more accurate.
With that in mind, it’s time to show you exactly which areas you need to focus on to maximize your conversions:
# 1: Colors
Several studies have demonstrated that colors affect conversions. However, it depends on your niche and country.
For example, a red call-to-action might perform very well in some niches and drop conversions in others. Testing is the best way to figure it out, but you can start by following some of the best practices.
Your about page defines your company as a whole. You must choose colors that communicate your core message and evoke the right emotions.
# 2: CTA
If visitors don’t click, they don’t convert.
Period.
That’s why you need to spend time testing your CTAs.
For example, CareLogger increased the conversion rate by 34% by changing the color of its call-to-action (from green to red).
And DMIX increased its conversion rate after adding “It’s free!” to their CTA.
In other words, minor tweaks can lead to incredible growth (especially on call-to-actions).
# 3: Headlines
No matter how good your copy, imagery, and even call-to-actions, if nobody sees them, you’re screwed. According to Copyblogger, 8 out of 10 people will read your headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.
Can you see the importance of optimizing your headlines?
For example, LKR Social Media increased its conversions by 24.31% after converting a headline into a testimonial.
You can only achieve that kind of result with A/B testing.
# 4: Imagery
Conversions can go through the roof when your images communicate the right message. If you don’t believe it, take a look at the following case study:
When High Rise replaced its white background with a picture of one of its customers, its conversions increased by 102.5%.
Remember, although you can test anything on your page, we highly recommend starting with the elements I mentioned above.
Why? Because those elements directly influence user behavior and buying decisions.
How To Run a Test: Best Practices
At this point, you’ve learned the perfect structure of a high-converting about page and the elements that are worth testing. Now the million-dollar question is:
How the heck can I implement tests on my about page?
Don’t worry; it’s simpler than you think.
Here’s how:
1. Develop a hypothesis
You should look for friction points causing people to leave your website without completing your goal, and then develop a hypothesis.
To do that, you need to answer three simple questions:
- What’s my goal?
- What’s the problem?
- How can I solve it?
The better your data, the better your results!
Here are three high-level techniques that will help you develop a successful hypothesis:
Technique # 1: Heat map testing
Heat maps work incredibly well to learn how visitors behave and interact with your website.
For example, some heat mapping software allows you to see which elements people click more, how visitors scroll down, and even the sources they came from.
That’s very useful to find friction points and develop a well-thought hypothesis. For instance, you might find that visitors tend to spend more time on your left-hand sidebar, but your sign-up form is on the right side.
That information can lead you to a hypothesis:
“If I move my sign-up form to the left side of the page, I might improve the number of people who subscribe to my newsletter.”
It’s very straightforward. You must sign up for your favorite heat mapping software, install the tracking code and start analyzing.
Technique 2: In-site search
If you have a custom search bar on your website, you can find helpful words and insights that ultimately can bring a successful hypothesis.
To find those insights, you need to follow these steps:
Step 1: Go to your Google Analytics account
Step 2: Click on behavior
Step 3: Click on “Site Search”
Step 4: Click on “Search terms”
You’ll now see the exact words your visitors use to find things on your website. Your conversions can improve by incorporating those words into your copy, headlines, and call-to-actions.
Also, if you notice that people are searching for a particular product that you don’t have, you can include it or add a similar product. That way, you won’t be losing sales.
Technique 3: Surveys
What’s the best way to develop a solid hypothesis?
Asking your customers!
This technique might be the most time-consuming (and even expensive, sometimes), but it’s also the most effective. Talking to real prospects and customers will provide you with valuable insights to improve your conversions.
2. Start testing
Once you’ve developed your hypothesis, it’s time to start testing.
Here’s how:
Step 1: Use the right tool
Years ago, marketers had to replace variables to implement a/b testing manually, and measuring results was very hard. Nowadays, it’s much more straightforward. Many tools can help you automate all the processes.
You only need to create the variation of the element you want to test and install the conversion code. Then, the tool will automatically replace the variables (randomly) before the page loads.
Here are some of the best a/b testing tools:
3. Run your test for enough time
If you want accurate results, you must wait until a good number of visitors test your variation.
For example, instead of making your conclusions with 1000 visitors, you should wait until you’ve 10,000. That way, you’ll get better data.
In the words of Cameron Chapman: “Giving a test insufficient time can mean skewed results, as you don’t get a large enough group of visitors to be statistically accurate.”
Your business can dramatically improve when you implement a/b testing the right way. That’s why we recommend you run your tests for a few weeks (depending on your traffic).
4. Measure performance
Once your test is finished, you only need to analyze the results and see whether your hypothesis performed better than your original variable or not.
Conclusion
Remember, there is no “perfect” way to do anything. You can always learn better ways to test and improve your about page.
However, all the techniques you learned today are good enough to start and see results.
Also, if your hypothesis is unsuccessful, don’t get discouraged. You can learn a lot from losing test results.
Ultimately, it’s about small wins that collectively help you achieve your goals.