An SEO's Guide to Give Your Website More Trust
Google is all about trustworthiness in 2024 (it's all about EEAT after all). In order to combat AI-generated content, they want to sure they are sending their users to authority websites. If you're not an authority website in the eyes of Google yet, this means it's going to be tough to get your content to rank.
Luckily, convincing your users you are a trustworthy source is a bit easier. Here are some tips on how to make your website look like the authority that you are!
A dead giveaway to a website that doesn't know what it's doing is not having HTTPS implemented. It's 2024 for god sakes! If you are still rocking an unsecure version of your website, you clearly don't care about your online business.
Plus, if you aren't using HTTPs not only are not going to rank as well, but there's a chance that certain browsers won't even allow users to use your website without a few extra clicks. Extra clicks is always a bad thing, as you want to low click depth for your users and for search engines!
The single easiest way to be trustworthy is to write personal anecdotes that users can relate to. In the age of AI, content can be generated at scale with ease. The only thing that AI can't write currently is personal stories. That's how you can reach out and attract readers to buy your product or service.
Include a byline and maybe your face at the bottom of your post or website. That way, people know they're buying from someone real. With the personal story you've told and maybe a video, it will make users feel a lot more comfortable with you.
If you are organized, you look more trustworthy to others. It implies you took the time, energy and patience to plan out your website as opposed to someone who just haphazardly throws posts on their website.
If your website looks janky, people are going to be skeptical buying products from you. So in this case, it might be worth it to pay for some good design or a WordPress theme. The first impression someone has of your website could be the biggest factor in their decision to buy. You want to appear clean and professional right from the jump!
If your website is still rocking the same theme as it was in 2016, it might be time to give that website a facelift to appear more trustworthy!
Website builders make it super easy to create well-designed websites with templates, drag-and-drop editors, and plenty of tools and plugins for extra features.
Source: tech.co
It's easier for others to make a decision on your services or products if they know someone had a good experience with them before. For that reason, showcase positive customer reviews and ratings on your website. It'll provide the user with the social proof they need to commit!
There's a few WordPress plugins that will pull in your Yelp and Google reviews. From there, you just add some shortcode to your website and you can have a slider of your best reviews right on your website!
If you have customer testimonials that showcase your product or service, be sure to include them on your landing page.
Source: firtherdesignco.com
Taking it a step further, could you message someone who has given a good review in the past and ask them to be a subject of a testimonial? I think testimonials will have a secret sauce in search engine rankings for 2024.
If you can show the growth and satisfaction you gave a customer, it will provide the user with even more proof that you're the place to go with.
Do you have any certifications, degrees, or accomplishments? If so, putting badges on your website that convey that visually to users will be super helpful. If you're the member of an association that has a logo, slap that on the "about" section of your website. Little things like that will help build trust with users immediately.
I recently did this for a client. If you didn't know he was a member of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, now you do!
To build credibility even more, you can show badges that showcase your website security. This is particularly important if you are an e-commerce website.
Sometimes you have to acknowledge what the reader/user is thinking. If you're talking about your services, you'll have to acknowledge at some point why they should choose you and not some other schmo on the same block.
Mentioning your competitors doesn't send business their way. Trust me, they were going to find out about them eventually. Every buyer these days is an informed one, especially when you can just google your company + competitor and get results.
An effective landing page I've been employing for clients these days is a 'compare page', where they can see what they get with your service or product as compared to competitors. Even if they have a few boxes ticked that you don't, users will respect that you disclosed that with them prior to purchase. This is an easy and effective way to build trust.