Why Your Local Business Website Needs an "About Us" Page

As a local business, you face a unique set of challenges that other companies do not. For one thing, well, you’re local. You have one or maybe a few locations in a specific geographic area. In other words, you’re not a national chain nor are you an online-only business. You don’t have the inherent clout a nationwide business has, and you can’t count on the characteristic anonymity of an online shop. Instead, your customers are looking for reassurance and a more intimate connection when they do business with you. That connection begins with your website.

Before we get started, let’s acknowledge there are several aspects of a local business website that are key to its success. Homepage, content, layout, the list goes on. But let’s focus on a web page that many business owners overlook – and one of the most frequently visited pages by customers.

Studies have shown the About Us page of a business website is the third most visited site by customers. Other studies suggest customers who visit your About Us page are five times more likely to do business with you. Those are some serious numbers and a compelling reason to have an exceptional About Us page on your business’s website.

Most people don’t want to read a detailed essay on the origin and history of your company. But they do want to know a little about you. Mention your company's designations or awards you've received, but don’t use this entire section for your accolades.

For a local business, it's important to talk about your connections with the community. Has your company always been local? Do you have a deep history in the area? When your customers realize you’re connected to the community they live in, a sense of trust begins to form.

As a local business, you cannot skip over this portion of your About Us page. This is where real people – your customers, meet other real people – your team members. This section gives a feeling of reliability and increases the trust you’ve been building elsewhere on the page.

Include photos of your team. Not just a company photo, but actual photos of your team members. These should be images your customers can relate to. Include a little bio information and have fun with it, when appropriate. Include non-business-related info about your team members such as hobbies, favorite sports teams, or interesting anecdotes . These sorts of details make the people in the photos – your team members – become people your customers could actually know or be friends with. This fortifies the relationship you’ve been building with your customer.