How To Improve Your Website’s Credibility
The success of your website depends on your
credibility.
What type of
factors influence website credibility? According to BJ Fogg, a researcher
at Stanford’s Persuasive Tech Lab, there are four kinds of credibility.
·
Earned Credibility: Your visitors have had a
positive experience with your website (e.g. helpful information, little-to-no
errors, expert advice, great customer service, etc.) and found your website to
be both credible and valuable.
·
Reputed Credibility: A referral from a third party —
like family, friends, a co-worker, or someone you know — or unbiased reviewers
who have had a positive experience with your website.
·
Presumed Credibility: Familiarity and assumptions —
a brand they’ve heard of is more credible than an unknown (e.g., I saw
your YouTube ads, I read your guest post on Forbes, I listened to your
interview on the Tim Ferriss show, etc.)
·
Surface Credibility: A visitor’s
subjective opinion of your website (e.g., I like the design, this looks
trustworthy, great content, this page is confusing, etc.) is all that matters
when you’re asking them to convert.
The goal with each of these credibility
factors is to stack the deck in your favor.
Building your website’s credibility is a great way to attract more of the
results you want. If you want to attract more visitors, you’ll need to choose
the right credibility tools at the right time.
But which website credibility factors are most important?
Here’s a list of the factors that influence your website’s credibility and how
you can use them.
1. Consistency (Over Time)
As long as you’re consistent, a visitor’s trust in you will grow. By
consistently doing all the things I’ve shared in this article, it creates a
really good reputation with your customers.
2. No Unnecessary Requirements
When you force customers to register before they can post a comment,
initiate a live chat, or purchase your product, it decreases trust.
Asking for your customer’s phone number when you only need their name and email
address increases resistance and decreases trust.
3. Add Helpful FAQs
Customers have questions and objections.
An FAQ is a helpful way to give customers straight answers to some of their
questions.
It’s common for organizations to treat their FAQs as a low-key sales page.
It’s much better to be helpful, upfront, and honest with each and every one of
your customers.
4. Minimize Jargon
If you’re selling to a mainstream audience, jargon isn’t a good idea.
Research shows people are more likely to believe a concrete statement over
an abstract one. Use specialized jargon for specialized audiences.
Sometimes jargon is a helpful way to establish credibility in a niche
community, but it’s still a good idea to only use it sparingly. The more
you use jargon, the more your credibility suffers.
5. An Up-to-Date Blog
Consistently creating content shows visitors your website is active
and maintained. It also conditions them to check back frequently, always
looking for fresh content that can help them.
6. Useful Expertise
Your website visitors are always on the
lookout for expert-level content that solves their problems, moves them closer
to their goals, or simply entertains them. They want expert content that’s
fresh, surprising, and detailed.
7. Minimal Advertising
People hate ads. They don’t like them because
they’re annoying and pushy interruptions and they’re everywhere.
It’s a good idea to minimize the
advertising on your site, so it doesn’t hurt or interrupt your visitor’s
experience.
8. Helpful Customer Service
Great service gives website visitors a
positive experience with your site, improving earned credibility. Friendly,
knowledgeable support reps show website visitors that your company is
experienced and efficient. Consider adding a live chat option to make it
simple for your audience.
9. Cite
Your Sources
Giving sources increases
your trustworthiness. As customers trust you more and more, they’ll
validate your sources less and less, but only if you have a track record of
citing your sources and providing them with the evidence to support any claims
you make.
10.
Customer Testimonials
Social proof in the
form of testimonials gives visitors access to your customer’s mind. These
testimonials show visitors what it’s like to be your customer, how you operate,
and more.
The biggest downside to testimonials is that they’re one-sided, but they’re still a great way to build website credibility.
11. Include Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are similar to
testimonials in the sense that customers can share their feedback. Reviews take
that a step further, allowing customers, companies, and the community to have a
conversation.
Reviews, when they’re positive, can boost credibility
(and sales) dramatically. However, there is some value to negative reviews,
so don’t let one bad review get you down.
12.
Professional Product Reviews
These can come from influencers as large as Consumer
Reports, TechCrunch, and BuzzFeed. They can also come from up-and-coming
bloggers, individual reviewers with a YouTube channel, and your customers
themselves.
Professional reviews are often seen as more credible due to the reputation and
influence of the reviewer itself. A glowing review from a powerful
influencer can lead to a large increase in sales.
13. Trust Seals
Logos or seals
from independent and trustworthy authorities enable you to borrow their
credibility as your own. Use trust seals like Web of Trust, GoDaddy Site Seal, Norton Secured, PayPal Verified, BBB Accredited Business, and HTTPS.
14.
Reviews From Influencers and Notable Customers
Big-name reviews carry a lot of power, prestige, and
reach. A testimonial from a powerful influencer can boost your trust and
credibility. I used this exact strategy on Quicksprout to boost my credibility
dramatically.
Reviews from these influencers are easier to get when your other credibility
factors are straightened out.
15. Case Studies
These are typically created in collaboration between the business and the
customer. Customers share their problems and expectations going into the
relationship, then their experience and the results that followed.
Case studies, like testimonials, tend to be one-sided. However, they boost
credibility because customers are willing to share their stories.
16. Connections to Influencers
This could be as complex as a large professional
network and connections to large organizations, or as simple as associating
with other well-known local or minor influencers.
17. Customer Validation
Displaying
your client lists, the number of clients you have, or the industries your
clients are in. When customers see their competitors or other brands they trust
use you, they are more likely to trust your brand.
18.
Third-Party Validation
As featured in, as seen on, used by these clients — this
kind of validation borrows trust from bigger, more influential sites to build
trust and credibility.
19.
Press Mentions
Media exposure is a
powerful credibility booster. The
more prestigious the news organization, the greater the increase in credibility.
20.
Awards
These can raise your company’s profile and
give you a nice prestige boost. The more impressive the award, the bigger the
boost.
However, there’s a downside to using
awards. The less credible the award, the more likely customers are to question
your business, products, or services.
21. Influencer Feedback
Being visible on an influencer’s site — whether that’s in
the form of a testimonial, interview, guest post, or review — introduces website
visitors to you, improving your credibility before they arrive on your
site.
22.
Guest Posts
Writing for other well-known
publications means you’re familiar. Visitors have heard of your site before
hitting your landing page.
23.
Advertising
When it’s used well, advertising (via platforms like
Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or YouTube Ads) creates presumed credibility in the
form of branding and familiarity. If visitors have heard of you before, you’re
more credible.
24. Branding
A solid brand gives you a
specific place in a customer’s mind via psychological anchoring, which
establishes credibility. Branding is what lasts in the long run.
25.Professional Design
Customers form a
first impression of your website in 50 milliseconds. There’s no thinking with
this first impression. It’s visual, focused on aesthetics, and almost entirely
emotional.
Stanford’s Persuasion
Technology Lab found that almost half (46 percent) of people say a
website’s design is the number one criteria for determining website credibility.
How does this happen?
Leading companies in every industry train customers, showing them what to expect. Customers take those lessons to other sites,
using these leaders as a measuring stick.
26.
Typography
Research shows larger
fonts improve reading speeds. Website visitors comprehend more when typography
is legible and clear. This seems like a no-brainer, but it can be easy to
forget.
Remember, clarity
trumps persuasion.
According to Flint McGlaughlin, your website visitors
land on your site with a few questions:
·
Where am I?
·
What can I do here?
·
Why should I do it?
The easier it is for website visitors to
understand what you’re saying to them, the easier it is to persuade
them to do what you want. Which one is easier to understand?
27.
Simple Content
Smart marketers work
to improve cognitive fluency. That’s the feeling of ease a visitor has
when your content and visuals are easy to read.
The easier your content is to understand, the more
familiar it feels, thus the easier it is for visitors to decide to buy.
28. Use
Good Grammar
Yep, spelling and grammar
matters because it’s part of the first impression customers form about your
brand. A typo here or there won’t ruin your credibility, but a consistent
pattern of bad grammar hurts your credibility. Sites like Grammarly can help
keep your grammar in check.
29. Good
On-Site Search
Most e-commerce visitors
start the buyer’s journey in the search box. In fact, a visitor that uses site
search is 1.8X more likely to convert.
Website visitors often
have a hard time with search. The keywords they use don’t always lead them to
what they’re looking for. So, it’s often a good idea to redirect searches
to navigation whenever possible.
30.
Website Navigation
Your website
navigation communicates trustworthiness to visitors. They expect your
navigation to be organized and to use appropriate imagery and colors.
The easier it is for customers to find what they’re
looking for, to solve their problems, the more trustworthy your
website/business appears to be.
31. Ease
of Use
Usability experts
trust PURE Scores to rate website ease-of-use, focusing specifically on
tasks.
·
Can website tasks be accomplished easily?
·
Do website tasks require a large degree of cognitive load
or physical effort?
·
Are website tasks difficult for target visitors?
Website visitors are drawn
to websites that are attractive and easy to use. Ease of use can also impact
Google ranking.
32. No technical problems
Broken links, missing
pages, slow web pages, development bugs — these technical glitches
decrease visitor confidence in your business and their willingness to convert.
33.
Contact Information
Posting your phone number, address, email, live chat
links, social media profiles, and hours of operation show you’re a real
business and not a fly-by-night operator. Visitors feel confident knowing they
can contact you whenever they run into trouble.
More importantly, your visitors know how to contact you.
34. Staff Photos and Bios
Customers want to see real people run your business. They want to hear your
story, verify your background, and see who they’re giving their money to.
Sharing staff photos increase conversions. Hiding staff photos sends the
message that you’re untrustworthy or hiding
something.
35.
High-Quality Images and Visuals
Website visitors expect
your images and visuals to add context and meaning. Most websites use images
(e.g., stock photos) as decoration, which according to Jakob Nielsen, are
completely ignored.
Poor quality images will actually hurt your credibility
and conversion rate.
Whenever possible, use real people in your photos, photos that display product
details, and give visitors large, hi-res photos when they ask for it.
36.
Clear Policies
Website visitors want to know what happens to their
information. What’s your return, warranty, and privacy policy? Will you share
their data with 3rd parties?
Customers look for this info when they’re close to conversion.
37.
Clear Link Text
The anchor text in
your links should describe the destination or outcome. It’s always a good idea
to tell your visitors where you’re taking them.
38.
Order/Product Information
How long will it take for customers to
receive their order? How much does shipping cost? What comes with their order?
Is the warranty included? How long does it last?
Website visitors want to see order, product, and fulfillment information
upfront.
39. Convenience
The more convenient and
compelling it is for your website visitors to buy, the more likely they are to
spend. Look for ways to reduce user friction.
40. Displaying Prices
As far as a credibility
factor goes, this one is tricky. If you’re selling to enterprise customers and
you display your prices, it could be a turn-off. B2C and B2B (small to
medium) businesses want to see the price.
As a general rule, people want to know how much your
product or service costs.
For most customers, the value of what they’re getting and their perception of
your price is just as, if not more, important than the price itself.
41.
Share Guarantees and Warranties
These create clear standards you’ll have to follow.
Customers get peace of mind knowing you’re willing to stand behind your
products and services.
You get more business
because customers feel more confident about doing business with you.
Credit Neil Patel
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