Merriam-Webster defines credibility as, "The quality or power of inspiring belief."
For business owner, inspiring belief in their abilities and their company is how they land clients and make a living. In the pre-Internet era, credibility was built through face to face interactions, word of mouth, and by building a reputation in your industry. None of that has changed, but what has changed with the rise of the Internet is the company website.
Today, your website needs to project credibility because so often it is the first thing that prospects see of your company. But credibility isn't something you can just copy and paste onto your website, you need to build it just like in person. We have four steps to help you establish website credibility, check them out!
1. An easy to use and professional website
Sure, you can have a great business with proven results/stellar products and a web site that's hard to use, confusing, and unprofessional. But if your website isn't easy to use and professional, then you are making it that much harder to establish your credibility.
For example, I had a doctor who I loved. My doctor was always on time, their staff was friendly and professional, and they were a great doctor. But their website looked like some horrible, barely functioning 90s throwback. Sure I kept going to my doctor, but that's because I knew them before I had to wrestle with their terrible website. If I had found the website first there is a very good chance I never would have gotten past it to making an actual appointment. My doctor was credible, but their website wasn't
2. Use real life experiences to establish online credibility
Do you have clients who've been blown away by your performance? Do you have staff with killer experience and clout? Do you contribute to industry publications or sit on industry related boards?
Your real life experiences, from satisfied clients to authoritative publications, all help build your in person credibility, but they can also build your online credibility if you take the time to show case them. Client testimonials, employee spot lights, and republished content are all great ways to not only add some more meat to your website but also build your credibility. These kinds of things also help build credibility because they help...
3. Prove that you're real
Not everything you read online is true, which is why it is so important to establish that there are real people and a real organization behind your website. Reviews on trusted sites like Yelp, testimonials, pictures of your employees, pictures of your office, and all the other kinds of content that provide touch stone to reality help show your visitors that your website isn't just a mask over a nameless, shadow organization. The single easiest way to do this, however, is to list a physical address.
4. Avoid clutter
This step is also tied into step 1 because professional websites tend to minimize the clutter on their pages. Clutter on a company website is so off putting, however, that we thought it deserved its own step.
By clutter we mean everything from ads to gratuitous graphics or animations. Really clutter means anything that distracts a user or doesn't contribute to the purpose of the website. Things like ads, especially the kind that pop up and are hard to dismiss, are not just distracting to users, they also slowly erode a websites credibility.
Topics: Marketing
