Does your website say “trust me”?
This article is part of the Take-Away series; where AI is applied to the Puddding database of marketing stories to identify key insights and learnings from our community of professional marketers. These insights are then summarized with clear actions for you to apply to your marketing efforts.
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When Larry Page and Sergey Brin first developed Google, the search engine, their big idea was to base the algorithm on trust. They detected and scored web pages based on the academic practice of citations. The more backlinks from trusted sources on a topic, the higher the trust score. It’s a smart idea - and appears to have worked!
Google’s search algorithm has changed a lot since that time, but the concept of trust still stands true today. Whether your goal is capturing a lead, making a sale or simply communicating a key message - in order for a website to be of value, visitors must trust it.
The Puddding robots mined the marketing stories from our community of market professionals and identified these key insights regarding website trust.
Clear communication builds trust.
We’ve all seen the website that communicates like the stereotypical slick salesman - blinking lights, text all over the place and buy now buttons at every corner. Website visitors are short on time and trust is lost if they can’t instantly understand the value you provide.
Storybrand author Don Miller said it best - “If you confuse, you’ll lose.”
Expert Engine is a resource for consulting firms and law firms seeking vetted expert witnesses, expert consultants, and expert researchers; an industry based heavily on trust. Overdrive Interactive assisted Expert Engine in simplifying their message - optimizing the information architecture of their website and improving the user experience. It was a massive undertaking, but well worth the effort; Expert Engine experienced a 414% increase in new leads due to their clear communication and trusted website.
Continuity is key.
Brand consistency is foundational to any professional marketing strategy. Ensuring that your brand is easily recognizable across all marketing channels and touchpoints.
CSRA is an IT company and cybersecurity government contractor. Trust is critical to their acquisition of both customers and employees. REQ, a branding specialist, helped CSRA launch a “Pentagon Takeover”. After developing a concise brand position – “Think Next. Now.”, brand messages were placed in advertisements all around Washington, DC. This strategy using traditional media spots such as television ads during the 2017 Super Bowl created massive brand awareness that even led to a Golden Sabre Award.
Take-Aways
- Have you ensured that your website is fast, secured with SSL and works on all devices?
- Has your website been updated in the past 3-6 months?
- Does your website have old materials or dated messaging that should be removed?
- If you have a client list (social proef) is it easily discovered on your website?
- Do you have testimonials (social proof) prominently displayed on your website?
- If you have products available for purchase, are their prices listed and easy to find?
- Is there enough product detail for your audience to make an informed purchase?
- Is it easy for your audience to contact you?
- Is your website free of misspellings and grammatical errors?
- If you link to external sites, are they also credible sites?
References
https://puddding.com/req.co/csra
https://puddding.com/overdriveinteractive.com/expert-engine-revitalization-delivers-course-correction
https://puddding.com/modifyed.in/gourmet-spice
https://puddding.com/duboseweb.com/home-pest-control
https://ccshamilton.ca/photos/custom/Library/WebsiteEvaluationChecklist.pdf
https://cxl.com/blog/website-credibility-checklist-factors/
https://libguides.berry.edu/evaluatingweb