
Trust is one of the most crucial factors in life – whether it be in business, relationships etc. Developing that trust and keeping it can take a lot time and effort however, it is worth every second. You see, no one works with or buys from someone they don’t trust! So, if there is one thing that can make or break you – that would be it – TRUST.
With that said, it is important to understand that even though you may be the most trustworthy business person – your website may not be reflecting that (and you probably don’t even know it!)
If a potential customer/client comes across a website that they don’t trust – you run the risk of losing them.
Today, we are sharing 7 reasons people may not trust your website! Make sure to read through them and take a look at your website. If you are making any of these mistakes – it’s time to make some changes!
- Too Many Ads: A website with too many ads is probably the number one reason people leave your site! (Multiple ads along the sidebar, in the headers, pop-ups and within the body of the page) Especially, if they can barely get through a page or post without having to “X” out of ads that pop up. This is probably one of the biggest annoyances. If you have pop-ups and ads for your own products/sales etc on your page – keep them at a minimum (one pop up, not multiple). Unless you are a blogger or a site that relies on ad revenue – don’t place any unrelated ads on your site (like “Google ads). If you are a blogger or a site that relies on ad revenue – keep it MINIMAL (one ad in the sidebar and maybe one in the body of your content). No one likes anything that appears to look spammy!
- No one knows much about you: If your page is lacking information in your “About Us and Contact Us” pages, you will be turning people away. Customers like to know who they are working with, talking to or buying from, a little history about them and they want easy contact methods for inquiries and support (this includes a office location). Nowadays, people will Google a company’s information, reviews etc before trusting them. Make sure that your website clearly allows people to see you and your business and make sure you are building that “open” trust. Many companies don’t realize that they sabotage themselves by providing very little information about their business – which will always raise suspicion with customers. They will think you’re hiding something or you may take their money and run. Don’t lead your customers into believing you’re hiding something about your business or yourself. Also – make sure your Privacy Policy is up to date.. and IF POSSIBLE – humanize your page! Add photos of staff members, events etc.
- Private domain registration: This issue is a companion to point #2 above. As mentioned, nowadays people Google everyone and everything. If you are a legitimate business and someone Googles your domain information – suspicions will raise if it is “private”. Make sure your domain registration clearly shows your business name (or DBA) and office/business location and contact number. However, if you are a small business with a home address – you may not want to make that public information (for safety reasons)! In a case like this (or similar) make sure that you rent out a PO Box and have that address listed on your domain registration. Some PO Box addresses come with a “street address” feature, which is the best option so that your box address can “look” like a professional business address. Your domain registrar can assist you in editing this information once you are ready to change it. You can also ask your domain registrar for “WhoIsGuard”, to help you correctly conceal any private (delicate) domain information without looking like a sketchy page.
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Infrequent updates: Did you build your website and then ignore it? When companies do not update content frequently – customers may feel as if the website is abandoned or the business is probably no longer running.
Your website needs frequent updates for both TRUST AND for your own Google ranking. This includes adding a new flashy sales banner or adding a blog (and updating it once a week, 2x a month, 1x a month etc). Make sure that if you have a blog on your website, that the “recent post” is not from 2012. Hire a Virtual Assistant or a staff member to update your content (with informative and interesting content for your audience). Even if no one is reading your blogs at first – this will still help search engines like Google notice you have new content and add it to the rankings.
- Outdated website design: Be honest – Is your website theme super outdated? Does it stand out? If your website theme is outdated and not eye-catching, customers will see you as a small and possibly untrustworthy business. Have a few people take a look at your website and give you their honest feedback! You can also use a website like PEEK USER TESTING to get a free website review about your site (the good and the bad). Don’t take it personal if the review is very critical, take note of the changes you think you need to make. Then, call your favorite web designer (ahem) and get to work on an amazing new, eye-catching, customer-keeping, fast-loading website! Make sure your page is easy to navigate, uses your brand colors (and bright accent colors sparingly – like for “Calls to Action”) and make sure you PROOFREAD it! Visitors don’t trust a page with multiple grammatical errors!
- You don’t have an SSL: If you collect visitor information of any kind or handle transactions online – make sure your page is secured. Google has now made it very easy to see who has a secure page and who does not. Visitors do not like taking a chance on entering any information, if they feel your site is not secure (this includes even providing just an email, let alone a credit card number!). And they definitely will NOT “purchase” product if your site is not secure.
- You don’t have testimonials: Visitors LOVE to read reviews! When you have testimonials posted customers feel they can trust you because they see so many other people have placed that trust in you and have written about it. There are many ways to place a spotlight on testimonials – you can have them sparingly around your website (different ones per page at the bottom of the page content) or you can dedicate a page to them. However you choose to display them, make sure they are eye-catching and make sure you always update and add NEW reviews as you receive them. Your web designer can also assist you in posting your reviews.
The fact is that 40% of users will not return to a website if they had a negative experience the first time. While many people may have their own “standards” as to what is a trustworthy vs non-trustworthy site, these items listed tend to be on the top of most people’s list. Don’t self-sabotage your business by making these mistakes. Whether your business is large or small or just a simple blog – make sure you build that trust by making the easy changes mentioned above.
Let us know what you would add to the list of “untrustworthy sites”.