Does your website say trust me?

You work hard to get traffic to your website. You pay for advertising. You optimise for the search engines. You work it on social media.

And it pays off! Traffic comes. People arrive. They look at what you have to offer. And — they hesitate.

It takes just a moment’s hesitation to create doubt. In that moment, you can lose a customer. They find you — but do they trust you?

I’ve walked out of stores that felt too pushy. Your website visitors can walk out, too.  Does your website say “Trust me!” so that a customer never doubts?

Ask yourself the following questions.

Q. Can customers visualise me?

If they can’t meet you in person, the next best thing is to see you. A picture of the business owner, with his or her name, goes a long way. A quote beneath the picture about “quality” or how you “love customers” goes even further. A video message from the owner is best.  Video is more tangible, almost like meeting you. If not a video, how about photos of the whole team?

Q. Do customers get to know me?

One of the best things about shopping locally is that you get to know the store. You get to know the people in the store. You learn about their values and get a feel for what they stand for. Can your website do that? Of course it can. That’s what your “about” page is for.

Q. Can customers visualise my business?

If they can’t walk into your shop, at least they can see that you have a real address.  That boosts trust right away. A real address means that you are less likely to be a fly-by-night scammer. Even better, post a picture of your place of business

Q. Does the crowd support me?

Trust logos tell people that your business is safe. You deliver.

But do you deliver well? Let your customers do the talking. A text testimonial is OK, but easy to fake.  A testimonial with a pic is more real. A video testimonial…well, that’s not fake, right?

Q. Can customers see what I’m offering? 

Try showing your product in use. Ideally, a satisfied customer shoots a video showing how well your product works. Show-and-tell and testimonial all in one shot.

You don’t have to do all these things to create trust. But the more you do, the less doubt customers will have, and the more sales you will make. Tell your story. Show as much as possible. Get third-party credibility. That’s what it takes.

So tell me, does your website say “Trust me”?