Trust Seals: Are You Trustworthy?

Do visitors to your website trust you?  Nope!  It’s nothing personal, to be sure; after all, you are asking them to put their vital and sensitive information – name, address, financial info, etc. – into the ether from whence it can go just about anywhere. How do they know it’s safe? Research shows us that web users overwhelmingly trust a third-party recommendation over a company’s own campaign.  So, having Verisign say you’re OK is a lot more effective than you saying it.  Ninety-two percent of consumers trust this “earned media,” which is almost double the number of those that trust ads.

Here are some tips for using trust seals in your website:

• Choose the right seal(s) for your site.  There are security, reputation, privacy, anti-hacker, trust, and industry-specific seals.  For instance, Verisign offers an SSL certificate, indicating that the site has taken steps to create secure transactions between browsers and servers.  If you offer a search box option, you might add a seal that indicates safe scanning, which is available from McAfee, Comodo, and others.
• Choose a seal that scans for malware, spyware, and adware every day, such as Norton’s seal does, and/or updates itself.
• Put the seal above the fold. Users need to be able to see it, particularly if you are an ecommerce site or are going to be asking for any of their information.
• You can try either a floating seal, which stays in place as the user scrolls down the page – so it is always visible, or one that is integrated into the layout and does not move.
• If the seal is on multiple pages (sometimes, they will be on all pages), put them in the same location so the user doesn’t have to look for it.  The top left and top right corners are both good options.

Trust seals can help boost CRO and sales.  Find the best one for your needs, and go live soon.