1 Comment Written by Robert on August 13, 2008 – 3:12 pm

Create an About us page

Regardless of the type of Web site you have, creating a privacy policy page adds credibility and authority to your Web site in the eyes of both search engines and users. Like a company information page, search engines now try to detect the presence a privacy policy.

A basic privacy policy details all your company’s marketing information practices and polices. It shows users how seriously you take their personal and private consumer information and that you are committed to protecting it. A privacy policy page informs your Web site visitors that you will not, under any conditions, sell any personal information, including credit card and contact information, to other companies.

Trust and credibility are becoming increasingly major issues for Internet users. You can create a company information page to help strengthen your reputation in the eyes of both your audience and the search engines. A company information page helps build trust with your viewers by providing company biographies, history, and even photos to explain who you are and where you come from. Creating a company information page like the about us page is good practice in general, but for search-engine optimization purposes, it is important for Google to see this page during its indexing process.

There are a lot of less reputable Web sites that do not contain any type of company information section. Spammers, who generate mass numbers of Web sites automatically, do not usually include this specific company information. Therefore, many in the search-engine optimization community theorize that having a company information page may help improve your appearance of legitimacy and trustworthiness in the search-engine ranking algorithms.

Place a link for your company information section on the home page of your Web site. Label the link as About Us, Company Information, or something similar so that users can easily find it. This link needs to be clearly visible and prominent on your home page.

There is no reason to hide this link on the bottom of your home page or bury it in a navigational menu. If you are selling a product, your consumers want to know who you are, where you come from, and why they should trust your business. Even if you are not selling a product, having a company or personal information page can help build your reputation as an expert in your particular niche.

Statistics show that your Web site’s company information or About Us page is likely to be one of the most clicked pages of your entire site by new visitors. Because this is the case, you should spend ample time creating a compelling and complete profile of both you and your business.

Some extra information to include on this page would be a mission statement or a biography of your management team. Additional information can include the history behind your business, what sets you apart from your competitors, and contact information. Including an actual address and a phone number can help to provide a sense of confidence in your visitors, which is especially important if you run an e-commerce Web site.

When visitors do make purchases, they want reassurance that your company can offer some level of customer service if something breaks or otherwise goes wrong. You can address issues like this on your Company Information or About Us page and instill a sense of trust in your visitors.

You should also create a privacy policy page

You should create a privacy policy to ensure your users are aware of your information collecting policies. Similar to your company information page, a privacy policy page is regarded as good practice in general, as well as for search-engine optimization purposes.

You want to have open communication with your audience and let them know what is being done with any information collected during their time visiting your Web site. Many in the SEO community theorize that having a privacy policy page can help to show the search-engine algorithms that you are in fact a legitimate business. Organizations such as the Direct Marketing Association at www.the-dma.org have tools to assist in creating privacy policies.

The purpose of having a privacy policy is to prove to your visitors that you are committed to protecting the privacy of their personal information. Privacy policies are particularly important if you collect e-mail addresses or any other type of demographic information about your visitors. Do not just copy a privacy policy from another Web site solely for the purpose of having a policy. Besides being unethical, different Web sites often have different policies in place.

You are better off seeking professional guidance to ensure that appropriate policies are included. Try to keep your privacy policy simple and make it easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to find on your Web site. Place the policy link next to your company information page link. Be sure to stay current with any changes in your business and the business environment.

Update your privacy policy as much as needed to comply with any implemented changes, and always alert your customers when a change takes place. Remember, a wellwritten privacy policy puts consumers in charge of their personal information.

Many consumer group Web sites offer great advice in putting a privacy policy together. Although not intended to replace professional guidance, the Direct Marketing Association offers a tool for creating privacy policies that is freely available to all Web site owners.

The Direct Marketing Association’s Web site can be found at www.the-dma.org, and the association’s privacy policy creation tool can be found at www.the-dma.org/ privacy/creating.shtml. The Direct Marketing Association tool allows you to choose what type of information you want stated in your privacy policy.

One such example is the notification to users that you collect user-specific information on what pages they visit, how long you retain it, and for what purpose you collect it (internal review, for example). It also includes an area for users to opt in or out of any type of e-mail campaigns your Web site may be participating in.

You can also specify whether or not your Web site places cookies and what information the cookies have been set to collect. The privacy policy can be generated in either plain text or as an HTML file. Make sure you customize the privacy policy to fit in with your Web site’s design and goals.