Nov 04 2007

How do You Become Credible Online?

Published 2007-11-04 | Views  | Internet Marketing

The only way to keep up with the latest about building online customer trust is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information. If you read everything you find about developing website credibility, it won't take long for you to become a confident webmaster. An important part of building a successful Internet business, is developing your credibility. Although the Internet has opened a whole New World of opportunity for all of us, it has also created a breeding ground for scam artists. Internet users are very reluctant to order online and share their personal information. For this reason, you must take every opportunity to build your credibility. Domain Name The first step in establishing a credible Internet business, is to invest in a domain name. This will instantly convey to your visitors that you take your business very seriously. Websites hosted on free servers are not taken seriously and will suffer a serious loss of business. Your visitors may feel that if you don't have your own domain, you may not be a credible company. They'll simply take their business elsewhere. Contact Information It is very important that you provide your visitors with your complete contact information. This information should include your "real" postal address and not a Post Office box number. A business that hides behind a PO box loses credibility. It's perfectly acceptable to use a PO box as long as you also include your postal address. A great way to display your information is to create an "About" page. Your "About" page should include all of the following: * A personal or professional biography * A photograph of yourself * A complete description of you and/or your company * Your website and/or company objectives * Your name, address, phone number and email address An "About" page is a very important part of building your credibility -- especially if you're selling a product or service. You must do everything in your power to put your potential customers' mind at ease. Privacy Statement A credible business should let their visitors know exactly what their policies are in regard to the personal information they collect. A great way to disclose your policies is to create a "Privacy" page. Your "Privacy" page should include all of the following that apply: * How do you plan on using your visitors' information? * Is your visitors' information sold or shared with a third party? * Why do you collect your visitors' email address and how will it be used? * Why do you track your visitors' IP address? * Let your visitors know that you're not responsible for the privacy issues of any outside websites you may be linking to. * Do you run contests and what do you do with the information? * Do you have a discussion forum or message board? Let your visitors know that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and caution should be taken. * Do you have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under your control? If so, let your visitors know. * Let your visitors know how they can opt out of your mailing lists. * Provide your visitors with your contact information, should they have any questions in regard to your privacy policies. Truthfully, the only difference between you and web design experts is time. If you will just invest a little more time in studying Internet designing techniques, you'll be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to building customer trust online. Testimonials A great way to convey your credibility to your potential customers is to display customer testimonials. Your testimonials should include your customers' name and web address. In addition, try to avoid using testimonials that you have to ask for. For example, instead of using a testimonial like this: "John is a great web designer and I have been very happy with his services."

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