How to make your expertise easy to understand online
State who you help, what you do, and the proof a reader can inspect.
On this page
A prospective client should be able to tell who you help, what work you do, and why they should believe the description. They should not have to reconstruct your offer from a job title, a list of interests, and an old conference biography.
Start with accuracy. A clearer public description can help a reader decide whether to contact you. It does not guarantee a search ranking, citation, or recommendation in an AI answer.
Begin with the question a reader is trying to answer
Most people arrive with a practical question: can this person help with my situation? Your first public paragraph should answer it in ordinary language.
Write down four facts before you draft:
- The people or organisations you serve
- The work you actually provide
- The problem, decision, or project that work addresses
- The evidence a reader can inspect
Avoid starting with broad labels such as consultant, strategist, specialist, or thought leader. A label can be true and still leave a reader unsure what to ask for. A useful description gives the work a shape.
Here is an illustrative example:
| Weak description | Clearer description |
|---|---|
| “I am a growth strategist.” | “I help B2B software teams review why paid-search leads do not become qualified opportunities.” |
| “I work with ambitious leaders.” | “I run planning sessions for nonprofit leadership teams preparing a service change.” |
| “I am an experienced advisor.” | “I advise independent retailers on choosing and documenting a stock-replenishment process.” |
The clearer versions do not add credentials or promise results. They identify a buyer, a piece of work, and a situation. Use only facts you can stand behind.
Write one positioning statement
Use this sentence as a working draft:
I help [specific people] with [specific work] when they need to [make a decision, solve a problem, or complete a project].
Then test every part. “Specific people” might be finance leaders at subscription businesses, museum teams planning an accessible exhibition, or founders preparing a customer-research project. It should not name an audience you only hope to serve.
“Specific work” should be something a client can recognise and discuss. “Improve performance” is a desired outcome. An audit, workshop, research project, training session, design review, or fractional role describes work. If your service includes several steps, name the one that makes the first conversation possible.
The final clause adds useful context. It is not a place for an inflated promise. “When they need to choose a pricing approach” is clearer than “when they want transformational growth.”
Read the sentence aloud. If it sounds like a category label from a slide deck, replace the abstract word with the work you would describe in a client call.
Add proof that matches the claim
A statement is more credible when a reader can follow it to relevant public material. Proof does not have to be a case study with numbers. It can be an article with a byline, a public talk, a permitted project description, an employer page, a professional association profile, or a clear explanation of your process.
Match the evidence to the claim. A past role can support a claim about past experience. It does not automatically show that you offer the same service today. An article can show that you have explained a topic. It does not prove every result a reader might associate with that topic.
Use a short check before linking to anything:
| Claim on the page | Useful evidence | Do not infer |
|---|---|---|
| “Former product lead at a marketplace company” | A dated employer or team biography that names the role | A current employment relationship |
| “I run accessibility reviews” | A service page describing the review or a permitted public example | Results that the source does not state |
| “I write about service design” | A byline on a relevant article | That every article was commissioned by a client |
If the relevant proof is confidential, say less. Do not use a private project as a vague source of authority. A plain description of the work you can disclose is better than an impressive-sounding claim a reader cannot check.
Put the same facts in the places readers use
Your website does not need to repeat one sentence everywhere. It does need to avoid conflicts. A personal home page, About page, author biography, speaker page, and professional profile can use different lengths and tones while agreeing on your name, current role, service, and contact route.
Put the full positioning statement where a new reader is likely to start. Use a shorter, factual version in an author bio. Link both to a page you control when that is appropriate. Review older biographies after a role change, a move, or a new service.
Keep a small record of the pages you reviewed. The source consistency checklist provides a simple inventory and review triggers. If an AI answer cites one of your pages, audit the cited source before treating it as support for a broader claim.
Make authorship and page purpose clear
Google’s people-first guidance asks whether authorship is clear, bylines lead to author background, and content is accurate. It warns against content created mainly to manipulate rankings. Make the page useful to a person and state who is responsible. Google’s people-first content guidance
If you use structured data, treat it as a description of visible content. Google documents ProfilePage markup for pages focused on one affiliated person or organisation, including author, About, and employee pages. Correct markup does not guarantee a search feature. Google’s ProfilePage documentation Google’s structured data guidelines
Start with the page a human will read. Use your real name where appropriate, describe current work plainly, and link to material that supports what you say. Then review it whenever the underlying facts change.