Successful business owners understand the need to develop trust with consumers. Vast sums are spent each year on marketing and branding to build relationships that result in sales. If site visitors have any reservations, conversion rates will almost certainly be negatively impacted. With the right attention to detail, though, it is fairly easy to develop trust quickly and put visitors at ease. The following elements of a website can be worked on to quickly let a visitor know you are a secure, reliable, and trustworthy business.
Contact Details
Your business details should be easy to find, typically located in the header or footer of the site. Look to include the address, phone number, and email address, maintaining consistency, as Google will use your details across their business listings. You can also improve communication by adding a live chat facility and support desk, but this will vary depending on the type of business you operate. Most visitors won’t contact you directly, but the appearance of these details helps to make visitors feel secure.
Security Seals
There are regular news stories about data breaches and hacking, so people have naturally become more conscious about security. If a visitor is signing up to a service or making a purchase, you can anticipate they will be looking for signs of security. Even if you are not asking for any details, there will be some visitors wanting to know you take security seriously. There are many security seals available, usually described as SSL certificates. Some common examples include Norton, Comodo, GeoTrust, Thawte, and GlobalSign.
Business Seals
A business seal can work alongside a security seal, adding credibility to your enterprise. Just as there are many security concerns online, people are also worried about dealing with disreputable businesses. A recognized business seal can quickly overcome any concerns, letting people carry on browsing your site without objections. TRUSTe, Better Business Bureau, and Google Trusted Stores are among the most prominent organizations providing certification, while various industry review sites can provide embedded user ratings.
Personalize
Many sites, particularly for smaller businesses, can benefit from personalization. Letting people know the names and faces behind the business can increase trust levels and even make consumers more likely to buy from you. A page dedicated to the story of the business, brand values, and team members may seem inconsequential, but a surprising number of visitors will look at these details and be encouraged by them. You could even create a video to give some behind-the-scenes access.
While each of these elements can appear fairly minor, they all combine to put visitors at ease as they browse your site. Most visitors won’t actively be looking for these individual elements, but they have become standard across authority sites. When you don’t include things like business contact and address details, it can make a portion of visitors uneasy enough to abandon thoughts of a purchase. In most cases, ensuring your site is trustworthy is a simple process, so with some minor adjustments you can improve the user experience and possibly see an increase in the overall conversion rate.
