Why Your Website Looks Like Nobody Works There

So I'm on this website the other day, trying to figure out who actually runs the place, and there's nothing. No names. No faces. Just a logo and some vague statement about how they help leading organizations achieve their goals.

What does that even mean? Who writes this stuff?

You know what I think when I see that? I think nobody works there. The whole operation is automated. Some robot is answering the phone, writing the blog posts, probably even cashing the checks.

And here's the thing that really gets me: when I can't find a real person on a website, I leave. I go somewhere else. Because if you can't tell me who you are, why would I trust you with my money or my business or my time?

WHERE DID ALL THE PEOPLE GO?

I'm scrolling through these company websites, and they all look the same. Stock photos of people having meetings. Smiling at laptops. Who smiles at a laptop? What's on that screen that's so amusing?

There's usually an About page, but it's just more corporate language about their mission and vision and values. Then there's a Team page with headshots and job titles. Vice President of Strategy. Director of Innovation. Chief Growth Officer.

Okay, but what does the Vice President of Strategy actually do? What strategies have they developed? Did any of them work? Can I see proof?

No. Because apparently that's too much to ask.

What I want to know is: has this person ever accomplished anything? Have they spoken at conferences? Written articles? Led projects that didn't completely fall apart? Basic information here. We're not talking about their life story.

And you know what's funny? Google's looking for the same thing. Their E-E-A-T guidelines specifically evaluate content based on who created it and whether they have demonstrable experience and expertise. When websites don't show this, Google's algorithms notice. People notice. Everybody notices.

THE BIO THAT SAYS NOTHING

Let me tell you what drives me crazy. These one-line bios that tell you absolutely nothing.

"John Doe, VP of Marketing."

Great. Fantastic. John Doe is VP of Marketing. You know what that tells me? That John Doe has a job. That's it. For all I know, he started yesterday. Maybe he's terrible at marketing. Maybe he's never run a successful campaign in his life.

Where's the proof? Where's the evidence that this person knows what they're talking about?

You want to know what a real bio looks like? Here's what it should say: "John Doe is VP of Marketing at Acme Corp, where he's led campaigns that generated $50 million in new business. He specializes in B2B content strategy and demand generation, and he's been quoted in Marketing Week about the future of digital advertising. His team won three industry awards last year."

See the difference? Now I know John Doe has actually done something. I can verify it. I can look him up. I can trust that he's not just some guy with a fancy title who spends all day in meetings.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

So why should you care if your website looks like a ghost town? Two reasons.

First, people. Real human beings who might want to do business with you. When they can't find anyone to connect with on your site, they get nervous. They start wondering if you're legitimate. They go looking for companies where they can see who they're dealing with.

I'll tell you what happens in my head when I see a faceless website: I think it's a scam. Or I think they're hiding something. Why else would you be so secretive about who works there?

Second, search engines. Google's entire quality rating system is built around identifying content from real experts with real credentials. They call it Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. When your website doesn't show any of that, you get buried in search results behind companies that do.

And honestly, how hard is this? You already have people working for you. Just put their names on things. Add some details about what they've accomplished. Show that they exist in the real world outside your office.

THE ONE-HOUR SOLUTION

You know what the ridiculous part is? You can fix this entire problem in an hour.

Pick two people in your company who actually know what they're talking about. The person sales calls when they need an expert opinion. The person who shows up at industry events and doesn't embarrass everyone. Those two people.

Now write a real bio for each of them. Not a job title. A bio. Who are they? What do they know? What have they done that proves they know it? Where can someone verify this information?

Take 25 minutes and get it done. Use this structure if you want: who they are and what they do, what specific topics they know about, where they've demonstrated this knowledge with actual proof points, and how someone can learn more.

Then take another 20 minutes and come up with article ideas for each person. Things they could write about or speak about that would be genuinely useful. Topics that relate to what your company does and what your customers need to know.

Finally, spend five minutes putting these bios somewhere visible. Your website's About page. The end of blog posts. Your main topic pages. Anywhere someone might land when they're trying to figure out if you're legitimate.

That's it. One hour and you've turned your website from faceless corporation to actual company with real people who have real expertise.

WHERE PEOPLE SHOULD SEE YOUR EXPERTS

Once you've created these bios, you need to use them everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

On your website, put them on your main topic pages so people can see who owns each subject area. Put them at the end of articles. Put them on your About page and your Contact page. Make it impossible to miss.

In your content, add expert bios to whitepapers and webinars and podcasts. Put them in email campaigns. Include them in slide decks and proposals. Stop making people guess who created what.

In your sales process, use these bios when you introduce team members. Drop them into email templates. Add them to proposals and presentations. Make it easy for prospects to understand who they'll be working with and why those people are qualified.

And put them in your internal systems too. Your wiki. Your knowledge base. Your CRM. So when anyone on your team needs to introduce an expert, they have the information right there. No more making things up on the spot.

HOW YOU KNOW THIS ACTUALLY WORKS

You want to know if this is working? Here's what you look for.

Internally, your sales team stops asking you for expert information because they can just grab it from the website. Your colleagues stop rewriting bios every time they need one. People actually use what you created instead of inventing new descriptions.

Externally, you pitch those article ideas to industry publications and they say yes because you're offering a credentialed expert, not just a random person from your company. Event organizers respond faster when you submit speaker proposals. Prospects ask for meetings with specific people by name because they saw an article or webinar.

These are small signals, but they add up. They mean your experts are becoming real people in the minds of your audience instead of corporate abstractions.

STOP BEING A GHOST

Look, this isn't complicated. You have people working for you. They know things. They've accomplished things. Just tell people about it.

Stop hiding behind vague corporate language and logos and stock photos. Put names on your content. Show credentials. Provide proof. Make it easy for people to trust that you know what you're talking about.

Because right now? Your website looks like nobody works there. And that's a problem. For you, for your search rankings, for your credibility, for everything.

Take an hour. Pick two experts. Write real bios with actual proof points. Put them where people can see them. Create article ideas and use them.

That's the entire thing.

And honestly, if you can't spare an hour to show that real people work at your company, maybe that's the real problem.

Need help making your experts more visible and your content more credible? Winsome Marketing specializes in strategic PR and content that actually works. We can help you build authority, improve your search rankings, and make your company look like real humans run it. Contact us to discuss how we can help.