How To Develop Trust With Your Online Visitors

Trust is the most significant factor attributed to forming a relationship with a potential client. It is what enables a merchant to make continuous sales and it is a key element that helps convert a visitor into a subscriber or buyer. Without trust your business will be grounded on an unstable foundation.

Developing trust with a website visitor might seem to be an arduous task since you will never engage with the visitor on a face-to-face basis, but there are certain elements that can be included in your website itself to help form a relationship and develop a degree of trust.

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About Us Page

I find it extraordinary that many websites do not include an About Us page. This page is the most commonly used, yet certain website owners do not realise that this specific page can help connect with a visitor instantaneously. The inclusion of an About Us page that states the nature of the website, its purpose, and the people involved is the first step to establishing a relationship with your audience.

To some marketers setting-up an About Us page is more of a formality, and I feel this shouldn’t be the case. You should spend as much time creating your About Us page as you will any other page on your website. This page is a form of direct contact with your visitor and as such you should use it to develop a positive association with the reader.

A Clear Privacy Policy

When collecting a visitor’s personal details like a name and email address, you should emphasize your businesses privacy policy that states precisely how the visitor’s personal information will be utilized. With the amount of spam and deceptive sites that misuse contact information, it is vital for you to openly exhibit your intentions in obtaining these details.

Include an Introductory Video

Video is a powerful marketing medium that can be used to stimulate your visitor on dual sensory levels – visual and auditory. As such this medium can influence your visitor’s perception significantly, and it should be used as part of your on-page marketing strategy. When a visitor is able to see you and hear you, the result is a stranger who feels he/she already knows you. Video is able to transform a virtual world into a life-like setting and this adds the personal touch to a website.

How you script your video, the music background and even the tone of your voice will also influence the visitor’s overall perception of your website. When including a video you should approach the task in a professional manner and in accordance with the brand image you would like to convey.

Highlight Endorsements and Security Features

With the outrageous number of scams online, visitors are more cautious in their online behaviour. For this very reason, you should highlight any endorsements, awards or testimonials your website or product has received. Besides placing your visitor in a position of ease, this approach will inject your site with a measure of credibility. It is also imperative that you include the security features that your website offers – this is vital for sites that are ecommerce orientated.

The above mentioned features are tools that will aide in initiating and developing a relationship with your visitors. They will also ensure your visitor’s perception of your website is favourable and that will go a long way in earning the trust of a complete stranger.

This is a Guest post by Neil Jones, who Specializes in launching ecommerce sites, he is currently plying his trade as head of marketing for eMobileScan. With 18 websites based all around Europe they are on course to be one of Europe’s largest online retailers of Industrial handheld computers and label printers like the Zebra Tlp2844 or Zebra GK420T. Neil has been an online marketer for the past 6 years and in that time he has owned and run a range of sites all built around the ecommerce platform.