Why should I trust you?
On the web, that's one of the first questions visitors ask.
If you don't give a good answer, they're gone. (No matter how great your offer.)
Well, believe it or not, there have been all sorts of studies and research projects dedicated to this problem.
It's that essential.
Based on those studies, and our own experience, here are 10 things you can do to put people at ease:
- Create a real presence: You don't need a fancy office. But you do need an address and other markers of a genuine organization. Don't make readers guess at your legitimacy. Post a picture. Show your location on a map. Do whatever it takes to get more physical.
- Make claims easy to verify: Don't just say it. Link to it. If 9 out of 10 people prefer your product, link to the study that proves it. (And make sure it's from an independent third-party.)
- Associate with expertise: Have letters after your name? Affiliated with an established authority? Credibility rubs off. So make the connection—and eliminate it with suspect people and organizations.
- Show that you're real people: Larger companies almost always get this one very wrong. Here's the deal: don't hide behind your corporation. Put yourself and your people on display—and let them speak like human beings. Want an example? Check out blogs like this one by 37signals. Then create profiles that talk as much about people's real lives (like the name of their dog) as abstract achievements (like the percentage growth in dog food sales they oversaw).
- Be easy to reach: Many sites get this wrong, too. Even though it seems so obvious. But when you bury your contact information or avoid sharing email addresses and phone numbers, you appear untrustworthy.
- Focus on users: It's not about you. It's about your users. Know who they are and what they want. Solve their problems. Make your site easy for them to use (and test it to be sure). Speak to them directly. And tone down the self-referential and self-promotional blabber. We don't trust people who talk too much about themselves.
- Update regularly: No matter how hard you work to earn credibility, it's lost if your site's out of date. Go through every page regularly to ensure it's up to date—and that it carries the date of its most recent update.
- Leave no gaps: Appear to know everything and acknowledge everything relevant to your company, your offering, your area of expertise and your industry. Readers who feel they know more than you will doubt your authority and honesty. See what Wikipedia, blogs and the traditional media are saying. Then show that you're on top of things.
- Eliminate all errors: Maybe it's not fair. But study after study shows that the smallest typo or broken link can undermine your credibility. Spell check, proofread, fact-check and test. Don't lose everything to a spelling mistake.
- Communicate openly and often: Get in the trenches and talk to your audience. Respond to blog posts. Start forum threads. Remember, the web topples hierarchy. Talk to your site's visitors as if they're coming to a neighborhood shop, and you'll earn the trust and likability of a local shopkeeper who's been a fixture in the community for years.
Of course, that's just a start.
We cover other aspects of credibility, including objectivity, in our free e-book, Breakthrough Web Writing.
And given the topic's importance, we plan to spend more time discussing it here.
So, if you have a question or tip, please post it in the comments below.
What challenges do you have creating credibility?