Building trust online revolves around understanding and anticipating your visitor’s needs and questions. A web site which is taking orders for products needs to clearly state what it’s return policy is, what shipping costs are involved in an order, whether or not shipping insurance is included in the price or available, what privacy policies are in place, what security policies are in place. All of these things can go a long way in instilling that sense of assurance that we spoke of earlier. It’s amazing to see how many commercial web sites are lacking these ingredients. Following are a few basic areas to consider when attempting to increase the level of trust that potential customers feel towards your web site:

Testimonials

Using testimonials is an obvious method of lowering some of the reluctance which many online shoppers feel when making a purchase from a new or untried web site. Include testimonial information directly in your sales copy or product description if possible.

Guarantees

Can you guarantee that a product will be delivered or that a service will be fulfilled? A properly written guarantee offers an online buyer some recourse should a problem in fulfillment arise. Just make sure that you are able to back up any promises that you make.

Professional Web Design

A poorly designed or amateur web site does not instill the sense of assurance and security that you want your customers to feel when viewing your web site. Spend the time and relatively small amount of money required to make sure that your web site has not only a professional design but that it functions flawlessly, is viewable by many types of browsers and computer configurations.

Policies

Have policies in place which address issues of online security, privacy and refunds. Clearly state what your policies and terms are and make sure that this information is easy for a potential customer to find.

Search Engine Rankings

Most people feel that the web sites which appear in the first page of search engine results are the top players in a particular field. As we spoke about earlier, search is the first step in the online buying process. The majority of your online sales will originate as a result of online searches. This fact should not be overlooked when planning your online sales strategy. Make every attempt to ensure that your web site ranks well for searched related to your product or service.

Depending on the nature of your product or service you might also consider having pages with technical support information or a page or frequently asked questions (FAQ’s). Information offered on your web site which predicts and answers questions and addresses common needs or concerns help to build trust. It shows your web site user you that you have taken the time and effort to think about them, that you have done everything possible to make the web site experience positive and worthwhile. By addressing the issues noted in this segment of the guide, you have also taken steps to mirror the offline buying experience, which ultimately leads to higher levels of customer trust and can translate directly to an increase in your online sales.