How do you convert a site visitor into a loyal customer? You gain their trust.
Potential customers will end up on your website all the time, without any idea of your business’ credibility. They take a few seconds to look at your homepage and make a snap decision about whether or not they trust you as a legitimate source of information or product.
It’s challenging to get people to trust your website, especially when hungry competitors are waiting to pounce on your visitors the minute they leave your website. And without the element of trust, the visitors will leave your website, no matter how great it looks and reads.
So what actually makes a really good website stand out as a trustworthy one? Let’s find out!
How to Build Trust Among the Website Visitors
You may think that great website design, appealing content, and quick loading pages are essential to a website. All true. But there is one more thing that completes this circle — the element of trust.
Let’s get one thing clear: trust looks different for different people.
At YellowFin Digital, we understand the nuances of the customer-business relationship and create relatable and authentic websites that visitors can connect to. We are a digital marketing agency in Houston working with SMBs and startups. Our digital marketing company in Houston has been helping businesses to establish that vital, ground-level trust that keeps building over the years. Here’s how you can do it, too.
Imagine Yourself as a Visitor
Forget for a moment that you’re a business owner. Put yourself in the shoes of a visitor who has landed on your website for the very first time. Put aside your personal feelings and opinion and see it with fresh eyes.
What can you see? How do you feel?
As much as we like to deny it, first impressions really do matter. So, think about what a visitor would feel when they land on your website.
Understand the skeptic feeling of a visitor. Imagine the doubtfulness creeping in their mind. Think about how wary they feel and anticipate their emotions.
This is the most critical initial step needed to take a reality check and understand how your website makes the visitors feel. Now think about what you can add to your website. Here are five ways to help you start.
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1. Have a Cohesive Website Design
We have seen many websites make the mistake of creating website design elements that look great individually but don’t go well together.
The website’s color symmetry, the website elements, shapes, and call-to-actions should all work well as a comprehensive design. It should be easy to read, easy to navigate, and pleasing to the eye.
Look at how PayPal’s homepage looks color-coordinated and cohesive.
You can notice light colors as the background, the similarly shaped and designed images, and the simple accompanying content. Simple can be good. Simple can be effective.
Such a website design creates a good feeling psychologically and can help to form a good impression. If you are looking for a Houston digital marketing agency to optimize your website, connect with one of our experts now.
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2. Be Direct and Real
Don’t make promises like ‘increase your sales from zero to 500x in one month’.
Because the visitors will see right through it!
Nowadays, most visitors are informed and clear about what they want. This also means that they know what’s practical and what’s a pure exaggeration or even lies. Making such promises on your website is bad business ethics and will only make them trust you even less.
The best policy is honesty. Talk about what you offer honesty. Don’t just speak about the end product. Talk about the process. Take the visitor on a journey of what they can expect. Be real and don’t make any promises you can’t keep.
Visitors have come to appreciate and trust the websites that speak openly and honestly instead of those talking about the end results without answering the question ‘how’.
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3. Show Testimonials of Your Customers
The graphic above shows a direct correlation between trust and positive reviews. In fact, 72% of people say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more, it’s a sure sign that reviews should have a permanent place on your website.
You can add the written testimonials from Google and other third-party websites to your own, or you can do one better and get video testimonials from a few customers and proudly add them to your website.
If you are a B2B company, then you can add video testimonials and include the logos of clients you’ve worked with. You can also write case studies with proof of the results you have delivered to your customers.
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4. Present Your Team and Social Proof
Previously, customers used to visit shops and talk to people face-to-face before making a purchase. In this digital age, face-to-face reassurance is harder to foster.
But we can still make it happen, and it makes a big impact!
Of course, you can’t visit with every person, but adding pictures of your team to your site offers a personal touch. Some websites even add some personal quirks or hobbies that help visitors to connect with the team.
While you’re at it, you can measure the success of your social media campaign from time to time. Show visitors your high follower count on social media platforms as a way to show that other customers trust you. Trust encourages trust.
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5. Be Open About Your Privacy Policy
With user privacy becoming one of the common concerns for many, be clear about your privacy policy and how you collect and use the data. Instead of going into technical details, keep it simple and straightforward.
Let your visitors know about your data policy the minute they land on the website. Use clean pop-ups and simple language that users don’t have to spend a lot of time reading.
Being upfront is the best way to build trust among visitors.
Wrapping Up
Visitor trust is everything when it comes to conversions. If you want someone to trust you enough to buy from you and offer their banking details, you need to put in equivalent effort too. Follow these simple tips to optimize your website or connect with our digital marketing agency in Houston for assistance.
