So lately I have been checking my stats and I have noticed a big surge of traffic during the ASW convention. Great! One specific stat stuck out to me and it was my about me page. It was a high page visit and low bounce rate. I was interested in this and then I was thinking new readers want to know who the hell you are. I do the same thing. When I go to a new blog via search or referral I tend to want to know who the author and entrepreneur is.
As you can see from these stats there were a lot of visits to my about me page. (snapshot taken between 02/23/08 - 03-01-08)
Just looking at the stats to the left you can see there is a lot of views to the about page of my blog. People are actually reading the content on my about me page. New readers want to know who I am and what I am about.
The unique view also tells me - most of the readers are all new readers, telling me it is new traffic. I am very grateful for this and with these new stats and information I have decided to redo my about me page. Check it out.
This is apparently a good time to talk about why your about page should be informative. I believe Mark from 45n5 has spoken about this. (I can't seem to find his post at this time) But he basically speaks about how your about page is not about you. He is saying if you go to a baseball gear blog, you should not be speaking about yourself but the blog and its benefits.
This differs in my situation since my dot com is Ian Fernando. BUT to a point a user is going to your website or blog to learn about the site and its benefits. What can this blog specifically provide to me that others do not?
The questions bring about - well if I have a MYNAMEIS.com - why can not I speak about myself, the dot com of my name is bought for a reason, bragging rights. Think about this - when you go to an electronic ecommerce store you found via Froogle or any other shopping site, you as a consumer want to know if it is reliable and you turn to the about page. Does it have an address or telephone number? Who can I contact if need be? Why should I purchase an item from this website instead of BestBuy.
You see a reader/consumer wants to know more about the website and not so much about the webmaster behind it. I doubt you would be interested in the web designer of BestBuy.com.
If you do have a MYNAMEIS.com such as I do I would speak about myself and grind it in with something about the blog or website. To make this easier I have created a video "About Me Video." I feel this is the best way to get real personal with my readers and give them an overview of who I am and how I started on the internet.
The video will allow me to act as a gateway to who I am and if they meet me they do not have to be shy around me because they would know how my personality is and how I react to certain situations. Doing an 'about me' video will help balance the website about with what I am about and who I am.
But back to topic...
So what should an about page have and what should it contain?
- What is your website about - especially if it is a website not about you
- MYNAMEIS.com blogs/website should be personal but explain why your website exists and how we can benefit from it.
Remember your about page is most likely the first link click on when users are coming from search engines or referrals. Readers/Consumers want to know who the hell you are. If they do not know what the website is about then there is no reason for a user to stay or even come back. Readers are more willing to give you a second chance if they can find your about page section and it provides real information, keep their attention by giving what they want.
These stats (above) proved to me that most readers want to know what this site is about or who the hell I am. I hope my new about page will clarify what this blog is about and what I am about. What are you about? What is your website about?
More bloggers should be doing more or start to do video, at least some podcasting.
