How important is credibility to your website?
Posted by Katia Pereria on 19 Sep 2007 | Tagged as: SEO Strategy
It`s not rocket science. Trust is critical in any relationship, be it personal or professional.
If the client is going to give you work, he is going to have to feel a strong level of trust in your business. There are different degrees of professionalism, based on your target audience. But alas, there are not varying degrees of trust. If that client is going to pass on his private information, he either trusts you or he doesn`t.
When you are trying to get your website off the ground, portraying a high level of professionalism is absolutely vital to the credibility of your website.
Aaron Wall spoke about this in a blog post on Search Engine land last week; he discussed a few of the elements that go into creating a trustworthy site. I will also be taking reference to a study on website credibility that was done at Stanford University.
Personal contact info and an about us section with up to date detail is very important. These details are important to the appearance of professionalism, as without this information the company appears less like an established organisation and more like a fly-by-night Internet company.
The URL should describe what your organisation has to offer. The more original, relevant and memorable the URL is, the better it is. The website should always offer quality information and not just cut and paste info from other websites. The content should be original and present something that the visitors will be able to take away with them, with the intention of returning. All articles must have publication dates and references with links to the authors.
Your website design should be unique and convey an element of trust. It must portray a legitimate business and shouldn`t give the impression of a personal homepage. If the appearance is not at the level of professionalism that you want it to be, consider redesigning it.
Design should be simplistic and easy to use. Uncomplicated and uncluttered websites give the appearance of more structured organisations, and these also make the visitor want to stay longer. Complex, user-unfriendly sites do the opposite; they scare people off, as the look and feel is uncomfortable.
You should consider adding a professional picture of yourself on the about us page. This shows an increased level of confidence to potential clients, as they can see that there is a real person behind the business.
Control your spam. The vast majority of spam occurs not from your own website, but rather the many places you post your email address without precautions.
A clear, professional picture helps to create a specific contact page on your site. This page should provide all of your contact information. For contact by email, the use of forms adds to the professional image of your site. You can also configure these forms NOT to display your email address.
Content needs to be fresh and regularly updated. Aaron Wall made a very valid point:
“Authority is not something you take, but something that is granted. Gaining authority makes it easier to gain more authority, and eventually it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In many instances appearing as though you are credible is more important than actually knowing what you are talking about, especially on a network that has no respect for copyright, and where just about everything is freely available.”
At the end of the day, when it comes to your website, it does not matter which tools or methods you choose. What matters is if the result produces a website that portrays a “legitimate” professional business. Therefore it`s CRITICAL to take the time to learn and implement methods that will help instil credibility in your website and in your business.
