What your website’s “About” page should say if you want Google to trust your business

What should an "About" page say if you want Google to trust your business?

An effective "About" page should show that your business is real, accountable and qualified to do the work it offers. Google Search looks for clear trust signals, including who runs the business, where it operates, what experience it has and whether those claims are backed by evidence. A vague brand story is rarely enough on its own.

Someone meeting your business for the first time would usually want the basics before anything else. They would want to know who you are, what you do, where you are based and why they should believe you can deliver. Search engines assess many of the same signals.

That matters more now because business credibility online is no longer judged only by a human visitor scanning a page. AI-driven discovery and search features also interpret website content, which means that thin or generic "About" copy can weaken trust in ways that are easy to miss.

Google does not need a dramatic company story. It needs substance. The Search Quality Rater Guidelines and the broader idea of E-E-A-T point in the same direction: real expertise, real experience and real accountability count for more than polished slogans.

A weak "About" page often includes:

• broad claims with no proof
• no named people, address or business details
• vague wording that could belong to almost any company

By contrast, a stronger page gives Google trust signals it can connect to business legitimacy, content evaluation and local relevance.

Important elements Google expects to see

Every credible business should treat its "About" page as a transparency page, not a branding exercise. If important details are missing, the gap can make the whole site feel less reliable.

At a minimum, an "About" page should include:

• the full business name used publicly and legally where relevant
• a clear description of what the business actually does
• a registered office or trading address, if appropriate for the business model
• contact details that match the rest of the website
• business registration details where applicable, including Companies House information for limited companies
• names of directors, founders or responsible leadership figures
• the areas, sectors or client types served
• references to any regulatory obligations or industry regulators if the business works in a regulated field
• links or references to privacy information where GDPR compliance is relevant

Generic statements can do more harm than good. Phrases such as "we are passionate about excellence" add very little if they sit where practical company details should be.

Registered businesses in the UK have straightforward ways to present legitimacy. A limited company can state its registered name and company number. A regulated firm can identify its governing body. A local service provider can explain whether customers visit its premises or whether work is carried out on site at the customer's property.

Small details matter here. If your footer, contact page and "About" page all show slightly different business names, phone numbers or addresses, Google gets mixed signals. Readers do too.

Demonstrating expertise and authority

A business that says it is experienced has made a claim. A business that shows how that experience was gained gives visitors something they can trust.

Professional credentials work best when they are specific. A team bio that names qualifications, certifications, years in the sector and relevant specialisms carries far more weight than a line saying someone is an expert. The same applies to trade memberships, professional bodies and sector awards. If they are real and current, they belong on the page.

Leadership profiles can also reinforce authority. A director with a visible background in the field gives context to the business itself. In some sectors, that may mean chartered status, licensing or formal accreditation. In others, it may mean a concise record of practical work and a clear explanation of who leads delivery.

Evidence beats adjectives every time. Instead of writing that your team is highly skilled, show:

• named qualifications or certifications
• memberships of relevant professional bodies
• specific areas of experience
• recognised awards or external recognition, if current and relevant

That approach reads better to people and creates stronger authority signals for search systems assessing About page credibility.

Addressing location and service area transparently

Location is a trust issue as much as a visibility issue. If Google cannot tell where your business is based or which areas it genuinely serves, local relevance becomes harder to establish.

A local SEO About page should state the business location plainly. For a company with premises, that may be a full address. For a mobile or remote service, it may be a headquarters location plus a clear explanation of the service area. Ambiguity often creates doubt, especially when a site claims to cover half the country without showing how.

Service areas should be described in ordinary language. Listing towns, cities, counties or postcode sectors can help if those areas are real and actively served. A plumbing business based in Leeds, for example, might state that it works across Leeds, Wakefield and nearby postcodes. A consultancy working nationwide might explain that it is based in Manchester but serves clients across the UK remotely.

Multi-location businesses need extra care. Each location should be genuine, staffed or operational in a real sense, and presented consistently across the site and on Google Maps where relevant. Placeholder pages for places with no real presence can weaken trust instead of improving it.

NAP consistency also plays a part here. Your name, address and phone number should match across the website, directory listings and map profiles. Once that basic consistency is in place, local signals become much easier for Google to interpret.

Showing real people behind the business

An anonymous company page rarely builds much confidence. Visitors want some sense of who is actually responsible for the work, and Google can also read those human signals as signs of authenticity.

Named founders, directors and team members make a business feel real. Short bios, recent photographs and concise background details can all help. The aim is not to turn the page into a staff directory. The aim is to remove the sense that the business is faceless or generic.

Real images usually do more good than polished stock photos. A straightforward headshot of the owner or a small team photo outside your premises says more about authenticity than a glossy image library ever could. If profile pictures are used, they should reflect current staff and match public professional profiles where those exist.

Good team presentation usually includes:

• real names and roles
• brief, factual bios
• current photographs with consent
• links to professional profiles where appropriate

Privacy still matters. Some businesses will have sensible reasons for limiting what appears publicly, particularly in small family firms or home-based operations. Even then, a page can identify the owner or leadership team clearly without oversharing personal information.

Explaining your business model and values

Google trust signals are stronger when a business explains how it works in plain terms. That includes what it sells, who it serves and how it delivers its service.

A useful values section is usually short. It does not need grand language. It needs specifics. If your company offers fixed-price work, explain that. If you work only with commercial clients, say so. If your service is led by senior specialists instead of passed to junior staff, that belongs here because it tells readers something concrete about the business model.

Values also carry more weight when they show up in practice. "Honesty" is vague on its own. "We provide written scopes before work starts and explain what is not included" is much clearer. "Quality" is generic. "All installations are signed off by a qualified supervisor" says something useful.

A page like this can also help search systems interpret the purpose of the company. Businesses with a clear mission statement, a defined service model and visible customer focus tend to read as more coherent entities online. First Place SEO often points businesses in this direction because machine-readable trust starts with human-readable clarity.

Supporting trust with third-party validation

Independent proof can strengthen an "About" page in a way self-description cannot. If someone else has verified your business, trained your team or reviewed your work, that adds context.

Useful forms of third-party validation include:

• accreditations from recognised bodies
• memberships of trade associations
• review platform ratings, if they are genuine and current
• relevant partnerships or approved supplier status
• media mentions from credible publications
• externally issued awards that still reflect your present business

Relevance matters more than volume. A handful of strong, verifiable references is better than a crowded page full of logos that mean little to your audience. Dates matter too. An expired accreditation or an award from many years ago can make a page feel neglected.

Testimonials can support trust, but they should not dominate the page. They work best alongside formal signals such as memberships, qualifications or external reviews, which means that credibility is supported from more than one angle.

Common pitfalls and forward-looking considerations

Many "About" pages fail because they are written as if nobody will read them closely. Google, visitors and AI systems all do exactly that.

Common mistakes include:

• using vague claims with no evidence
• hiding or omitting business identity details
• listing service areas that are too broad to be believable
• relying on stock images and anonymous team descriptions
• publishing the page once and never updating it
• ignoring structured information that supports machine interpretation

Freshness matters here in a practical sense. If the page still names old staff, shows an old address or describes services you no longer offer, trust can erode quietly over time. An annual review is sensible for most businesses, and more frequent updates may be needed after changes in leadership, location or regulation.

Search is also shifting. AI Overviews and generative search tools draw on clear, consistent business information, so a well-written "About" page now does more than support standard rankings. It can shape how your business is summarised, cited and understood by systems that scan before a person clicks. That is one reason firms such as First Place SEO treat the page as a living business asset instead of a forgotten piece of brochure copy.

A strong "About" page does not need to sound impressive. It needs to sound true, specific and current. If it does that well, trust has a much firmer place to start.