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Are you capturing as many leads to your site as you possibly can? If you aren’t driving traffic to your lesser visited pages then the answer is no. These pages are important for the flow and success of your site. They are simple interactions that visitors have with your site that can either make or break a relationship. To create loyal readers or customers, you must solidify this digital bond. A positive experience will most likely convert the user into a customer which is what we are ultimately aiming for.
By optimizing your secondary pages you ensure that traffic is coming to your site from all angles. Refining pages like your How-it-works page, About page, FAQ page and more can really assist in this end goal. Because these pages aren’t visited as frequently they are often go unnoticed, but it is still important to fine tune them.
The following will cover the importance of these pages and best practices to keep in mind when creating them.
/how-it-works/ Page
Let’s begin with your How-it-works page. This page explains how to perform essential tasks using your product. This page can help to decrease calls to customer support and increase your customers’ satisfaction with your products.
The How-it-works page should be easy to navigate to. Customers have landed here because they want to know how your product or service works. It should be simple, visual and straight to the point. If there is more information that needs to be displayed, consider breaking the sections of information into different pages. This way the page isn’t cluttered.
RapidRex wastes no time with their how-it-works information by placing it directly on the homepage and is easily digested and displays all of the pertinent need-to-knows of the product:
(Image source: RapidRex)
/faq/ Page
The frequently asked questions (FAQ) page lists commonly asked questions and answers about your products and services, how to troubleshoot common issues, and information on updates or current issues. This is usually part of or effortlessly reachable from the Help section of your website. The FAQ page can be a tricky one to optimize. It’s usually a wordy page that can become quite cluttered.
The focus needs to be on making sure that this page is organized and the information is easily obtainable for the reader. Customers are looking for quick and complete answers to their questions and are easily deterred if their questions are not answered in a timely manner. This page needs to be complete with relative questions that could be asked by real people about your product, service or website.
A good example of a visually stimulating and informative FAQ page is TransUnion’s ShareAble for Hires’ “Help” page:
(Image source: ShareAble for Hires)
First of all, as you can see from the above screenshot, the “Help” button is placed on the header bar and easily located. The most commonly asked questions are at the forefront here followed by categories for answers for employers and applicants. Aside from that, this page is very visually pleasing in that they have made the answers to some questions into how-to videos. These videos range from how a screening process works to step by step guides on how to use their service.
Keep in mind that making your content visual will keep your audience engaged.
/about-us/ Page
The About us page is an opportunity to acquaint your site with your visitors. This page should hold all the information about your company and product while keeping your audience in mind. It should be complete with images and be aesthetically pleasing in a way that sets the tone and mood of your company. Tell your company story and how you came to be. Explain the moment when you came up with the solution to your problem that eventually turned into your service or product.
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Appeal to ethos when creating this page. The more emotionally invested someone is in a service or product, the higher the possibility you have of a converting them into a loyal customer. Present how you can benefit to your visitors. People love reading about how a business can positively benefit them. While on the topic of building trust, add in some customer testimonials and positive reviews as proof of your great service.
Think about including your staff and their information on this page. In addition, don’t forget to give the visitor a chance to let you know who they are by adding your contact information or a contact form. You need to make sure people can easily get in contact with you if they have questions, want to advertise or just have the urge to say hi.
A great example of an About page is the one over at Blog Tyrant. This page gets personal with an “About You” section that solidifies the bond between user and website. Along with that, the page is able to capture email addresses by offering a very useful guide:
(Image source: Blog Tyrant)
/error/ Page
Ah, the infamous 404 page. While this page has the highest rate of determent when happened upon by a reader or potential customer, it is still imperative to optimize this page. A website’s 404 page is a great opportunity for establishing your site’s voice. This page should be engaging, simple and visual.
The goal here is to construct a way for the user to continue on your site. This can be done many ways by adding calls-to-action (CTAs), such as a button that brings them back to the homepage or a list of suggested, relevant content that will be of use to the customer.
Another way to keep the readers or potential customers engaged when they reach an error page is to add a search bar onto this page so they can locate the information or product they’re looking for. You can also place an email capture on the 404 page as a way to help keep users engaged. You can then use the email capture to either address the issue or have the visitor sign up for a newsletter.
Repair Pal’s 404 page is a great example of an error page that leverages CTAs and a search bar:
(Image source: Repair Pal)
Don’t forget about SEO
When curating the more content-rich pages, there are a few technical aspects to keep in mind. It’s important to remember Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices. These pages not only need to be well constructed but also, they must be discoverable.
One way to make that happen is by leveraging long-tailed keywords within these pages that link to other helpful and relevant pages. Long-tailed keywords make it possible for customers to reach your pages without using your brand in their search. A great example of a company successfully driving potential customers to their site using long-tailed keywords on their pages is FACT Goods. One of their signature products are cancer awareness hats. For example, on this page, instead of using the short tail keyword “cancer awareness hats”, they internally link to this page by using the long tail keyword “inspirational breast cancer awareness hat”. Since the keyword is so specific, it narrows down the users landing to people who are actually looking to purchase one of the hats.
Furthermore, keep these pages up to date. As the company grows values, departments and employees will vary. Let your audience know. Besides that, add in social sharing. If you have a greatly constructed About us page, make sure that it’s shareable – show people who you are.
For more on on-page SEO, check out this article on Backlinko.
To wrap it all up…
It’s true, these pages aren’t being visited as often as your primary pages. However, this doesn’t mean that they should be forgotten or left unattended. By optimizing these pages, you will increase leads by an astonishing amount. In addition to that, you’ll build trust between you and your potential customers which will eventually turn into conversions. Go back, take a look at your lesser visited pages and ask yourself if they deserve a little boost.
