Build an About Page Readers Can Verify

A useful About page states facts a reader can check: the business’s name and who is responsible for it, what it does and for whom, where it operates, what supports its claims of expertise, and how to contact it. Collect those facts and their proof first, then write the page around them, and leave out anything you cannot back up. A mission statement can stay, but it should not be the only thing on the page.

Google’s helpful content guidance names the About page directly. One of its expertise questions asks whether content is presented in a way that makes you want to trust it, including “background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site’s About page.” Google’s guidance on creating helpful content, checked September 27, 2026. That is a reason to make the page accurate and specific. It is not a promise that any search engine or assistant will cite it, and no documented format guarantees it.

Collect facts the business can publish

Start with a fact sheet, not a draft. For each item, record the fact, where it can be verified, and who approved publishing it.

Two rules keep the sheet honest. Every person named must agree to be named and approve the wording. And every qualification must be current and checkable at the issuing body, ideally with a link to its directory listing.

Organize identity, evidence, and contact details

Put the information in the order a cautious reader needs it. This is an illustrative structure, not a required template:

1. Opening statement. One or two sentences: who you are, what you do, for whom, and where. A reader who stops here should still know whether they are in the right place.
2. Who runs the business. The responsible people or roles and what each is accountable for. This does not need a life story. Relevant experience is enough, stated as facts.
3. What you do and do not do. The scope of the service, with links to the pages that explain each part in detail.
4. Evidence. Qualifications with links to the issuing body, memberships, and examples of work you have permission to show. Explain what each example shows.
5. History, if it helps. The founding year and any change a customer should know about, such as a name change or a merger.
6. Contact. How to reach you, what each channel is for, and when you respond, stated only as far as you can commit.

An illustrative opening for the fictional garden.example studio:

Garden Example designs planting plans for small urban yards in Portland, Oregon. The studio is run by its owner, a garden designer, and works with homeowners and small property managers. We do not install hardscaping; we refer that work to local contractors.

Every fact in that paragraph would need to be true and approved for a real business. Note that it states a limit as well as a service, which saves both sides time.

Remove unsupported credentials and claims

Draft About pages often collect unverified claims. Review the page with this fact-check template:

ABOUT PAGE FACT CHECK

Claim:
Type: identity / qualification / history / scope / result
Proof (link or record):
Approved by:
Decision: keep / reword / remove

Common items that fail and should be reworded or removed:

• “Award-winning” or “industry-leading” with no named award or measure. Name the award and link its announcement, or remove the phrase.
• Certifications that have lapsed or cannot be found in the issuing body’s directory.
• Client counts, years of experience, or satisfaction figures that no record supports.
• Team members who have left, or stock photos presented as staff.
• Logos of clients or partners without permission.
• Testimonials that cannot be traced to a real, consenting customer.

Replacing praise with a checkable fact usually improves the page. “Members of the regional garden designers’ association since 2019, listing linked” tells a reader more than “trusted experts.”

Check consistency across the site and your profiles

The About page should agree with everything else you publish. Compare the name, address, service area, founding year, and contact details against the homepage, contact page, footer, policy pages, and business profiles and directory listings you control. Decide which version is correct and fix the others at their source.

Structured data should match too. Google says Organization structured data can help it understand an organization’s administrative details and disambiguate it in search results, and that there are no required properties. Google’s Organization structured data documentation, checked September 27, 2026. In WP Visibility, the Schema section of the settings sets whether the site represents an organization or a person, the organization’s name and logo (for a person, the WordPress user whose name and avatar are used), and the official profile links published as sameAs. The plugin publishes the profile links you enter without verifying them, so add only accounts you control. The procedure is in Set your site identity to an organization or a person.

Structured data describes facts; it does not substitute for them. If the markup names a business the visible page barely mentions, fix the page first.

Before you publish

• Every fact on the page appears on the fact sheet with proof and an approver.
• Every named person has approved their mention.
• Qualifications link to the issuing body where one exists.
• The opening statement says what you do, for whom, and where.
• Name, address, and contact details match the rest of the site and your profiles.
• The page links to the service pages that explain each offer.

For making the rest of your business description equally clear, see make your business description clear enough to check. If an assistant already describes the business incorrectly, the tracing process is in how to correct a wrong AI description of your business.