The 6 Key Elements to Build Trust Online

How many online stores are there in the world? We don’t know with any exactness, but what’s clear is that there are hundreds of thousands. But… how many shops have built up enough confidence to generate sales? Or to say that in another way, how many shops would you trust enough to purchase from? Very few. You could count them on just one hand. Do you know how those online shops that you do trust are able to generate those levels of confidence? By using some key elements that we are going to share with you right now.

1. Information about the company

The “About us” or “Who are we” page is a compulsory task for any website, blog, and of course online shop. When we are going to buy something, we always want to know who is behind it. Nobody makes a purchase from a shop unless at least one of these three things happens:

1. They have heard about the shop before (on TV, radio, etc.)
2. The shop was recommended by a trusted person (friend, known blogger, influencer, etc.)
3. They know who is running the shop and they believe what they have read about them on the “About” page.

Options 1 and 2 are difficult to make happen since you would have to either do something really big or invest a large amount of money to get to achieve them. However, the third option only requires you to put some elbow grease into it to create a page that truly transmits your philosophy and can establish trust. In order to achieve that, you can include photos of your team, descriptions of each team member, and the history of your shop since its launch. Rather than “corporate”, a friendlier and more intimate tone is best.

2. Seal of online trust

Surely you have noticed the classic seals of online trust appear when you are about to make a purchase in an online shop from Verisign or the standard payment methods (Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, etc.). All of those seals or labels help the client know that it’s a serious business and not just some unreliable shop. Some of them are free and others require paying, but these online seals of trust are worth paying for, along with a payment gateway with Verisign, in order to increase your conversion rate.

3. Https

Any website that carries out any type of financial transaction (sales or purchases) must include the famous https protocol. On the contrary, without it your payment gateway will be very insecure and you will be risking a security breach at any moment . Bit by bit, online shoppers are starting to become aware of the fact that they shouldn’t purchase from a site that doesn’t begin with https. Don’t wait until tomorrow to change it – do it now, both for e-commerce security reasons and to protect your online shop’s image.

4. Customer support

Without support, there is no trust. Nobody is going to buy from a shop that they cannot contact by chat, email, or by phone in the case that they need to make a claim or simply resolve their doubts. Actually, an email address is hardly ever enough. People tend to mistrust shops when they cannot directly contact the staff with a phone call or a direct chat. Install some chat software so that customers can contact you and, when your shop starts to grow, you can also offer them a support phone number.

5. Opinions and reviews

Have you ever seen the stars shown next to an Amazon product before you actually buy it? Sure you have. Actually, you have probably decided not to buy a certain product just because it had a negative review. Those opinions about the products increase the client’s confidence in the products and the shop itself. If clients are allowed to give their opinions, it means that the shop is not trying to hide product failures and that the shop is transparent. Moreover, you must be aware of and keep up with the opinions about your shop that are available in Google . Go through them regularly and make sure you maintain a good reputation online.

6. Blog

An online shop that has a blog showing the shop’s products, how to use them, and other related topics can go a long way to increase trust online The blog shows that the people running it, who should be part of the shop’s staff itself, know everything about what they are selling. Create a blog for you online shop and share everything you know about the niche your products belong to with your potential clients . Besides, you can take advantage of the blog to position your shop in Google and to get more traffic through SEO.

Don’t be untrustworthy!

By not using some of these elements, you may inspire a lack of confidence in your possible clients. Are you going to let sales slip away just because you didn’t pay attention to these tricks? And you? How do you build trust in your online shop?