The About Page
Session 8.2 · ~5 min read
Your about page is not a marketing page. It is not the place for your brand story told in flowery language. It is not a mission statement, a manifesto, or an elevator pitch. It is an identity document. When Google crawls your about page, it should be able to extract, without inference, the fundamental facts about your entity: who you are, when you were established, where you operate, what you do, and how you connect to other known entities.
Think of your about page as a Wikipedia article for your entity. Wikipedia articles are not promotional. They are factual, sourced, and structured. Your about page should follow the same discipline. If you cannot cite a fact, reconsider including it. If a statement sounds like marketing copy, rewrite it as a factual claim.
Anatomy of an Entity-First About Page
The structure of an effective about page follows a predictable pattern. This is intentional. Predictable structure helps both humans and machines extract information quickly. Creativity belongs in your offerings. Your identity document should be clear, scannable, and comprehensive.
(name, type, tagline)"] A --> C["Entity History
(founding, milestones)"] A --> D["Entity People
(founders, leadership)"] A --> E["Entity Credentials
(awards, certifications)"] A --> F["Entity Connections
(sameAs, affiliations)"] A --> G["Entity Description
(what the entity does)"] A --> H["Structured Data
(Organization/Person schema)"] B --> I["Knowledge Graph"] C --> I D --> I E --> I F --> I G --> I H --> I style A fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style B fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style C fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style D fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style E fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style F fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style G fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style H fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style I fill:#222221,stroke:#c47a5a,color:#ede9e3
Each section of the about page feeds specific entity attributes into Google's understanding. The more sections you include, the more complete the entity representation becomes. Missing sections create gaps that Google must fill through inference, which, as we covered in Module 2, is probabilistic and unreliable.
Required Elements
Not every about page needs every possible element. But there is a baseline. The table below lists elements by priority. Critical elements should exist on every about page. Recommended elements strengthen the entity representation. Optional elements add depth for established entities.
| Element | Priority | What It Provides | Schema Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity name | Critical | Disambiguation, identity anchor | name, legalName |
| Entity type statement | Critical | Classification (company, person, nonprofit) | @type |
| Founding date | Critical | Temporal anchor, establishes longevity | foundingDate |
| Founder(s) | Critical | Person-organization relationship | founder |
| Headquarters location | Critical | Geographic anchor | address, areaServed |
| Description (2-3 sentences) | Critical | Entity summary for KG description field | description |
| Official website URL | Critical | Canonical web presence | url |
| Social profiles | Recommended | Cross-platform entity linking | sameAs |
| Industry/sector | Recommended | Topical classification | industry, knowsAbout |
| Key milestones | Recommended | Entity timeline, event associations | (prose, not schema) |
| Awards and certifications | Recommended | Credibility signals | award, hasCredential |
| Notable clients or partners | Optional | Entity-to-entity relationships | (prose, mentions) |
| Number of employees | Optional | Entity scale indicator | numberOfEmployees |
| Registration numbers | Optional | Legal verification | taxID, duns |
Writing Style for Entity Clarity
The first paragraph of your about page is the most important paragraph on your entire website. Google frequently pulls this paragraph for Knowledge Panel descriptions. Write it as though you are writing the opening line of a Wikipedia article.
Compare these two openings:
Weak: "At Acme Corp, we believe in the power of innovation to transform industries. Our passionate team works tirelessly to deliver cutting-edge solutions that drive results."
Strong: "Acme Corp is a B2B software company headquartered in Austin, Texas, founded in 2003 by Jane Smith. The company develops supply chain management tools for mid-market manufacturers."
The weak version contains zero extractable entity facts. The strong version contains six: entity name, entity type (software company), location, founding date, founder name, and primary offering. Google can use every one of those facts without inference.
Key concept: Write your about page's first paragraph as if it were the opening of a Wikipedia article. It should contain the entity name, type, location, founding date, and primary activity in factual, encyclopedic language. This paragraph is the most likely candidate for Knowledge Panel description text.
Structured Data on the About Page
Your about page should carry the most comprehensive Organization (or Person) schema on your entire site. While your homepage might carry a summary schema, the about page is where you include the full declaration: every property, every sameAs link, every sub-entity relationship.
At minimum, the about page schema should include: @type, name, legalName, url, logo, description, foundingDate, founder (nested Person), address (nested PostalAddress), sameAs (array of all verified profile URLs), and contactPoint. If you covered these properties in Module 2, you already know the syntax. The about page is where that schema lives in its fullest form.
Common Mistakes
The most common mistake is treating the about page as a brand storytelling exercise. Stories are fine, but they must be built on a foundation of facts. Start with the facts. Add narrative around them if you want. But never sacrifice factual density for narrative flow.
The second most common mistake is hiding the about page. If it is only accessible via a footer link, Google assigns it low crawl priority, and users rarely find it. Your about page should be in your primary navigation. It is not a secondary page. It is your entity identity document.
The third mistake is having an about page that is mostly images. Founder photos and office shots are nice. But Google extracts entity facts from text, not images. If your about page is 80% images and 20% text, it is 80% invisible to entity extraction.
Further Reading
- Nielsen Norman Group: About Us Information on Websites
- Google: Organization Structured Data
- Schema.org: Organization Type
- Search Engine Journal: About Page SEO
Assignment
Rewrite your about page (or draft one from scratch) following the entity-first approach.
- Write the opening paragraph in encyclopedic style. It must contain: entity name, entity type, location, founding date, and primary activity.
- Check your about page against the required elements table. Mark each element as present, missing, or incomplete.
- Ensure your about page carries a full Organization (or Person) schema with at least 10 properties populated.
- Verify the about page is linked from your primary navigation, not just the footer.