How to Know If You Can Trust an eCommerce Website

Doing business online is convenient in today’s quick-paced, advancing world. However, purchasing things online can also be sketchy, if you can’t trust the website. This is why it is important to know how to trust a website. 
 

The main thing to look for is a secure trust seal. Besides having an SSL certificate, most secure websites will display a third-party security seal on their main page to show consumers that their information is kept private and secure.

So, what is a Trust Seal? A trust seal is an image or logo that online business owners can obtain for their website from trusted third-party verification companies like Trust Guard.

This trust seal is not easy for business owners to acquire. In order to have a trust seal displayed on your website, businesses must go through a series of privacy, business identity and website and server security vulnerability tests to see if they are processing credit cards safely. They must be PCI Compliant to obtain one of these trust seals.

Being PCI Compliant means that you comply with all of the security standards of the Payment Card Industry. In order for a business to be compliant they are also required to take a self-assessment questionnaire. This verifies that they are running credit card transactions securely. This SAQ goes through a detailed set of questions that must be answered correctly in order for the business owner to be approved as a PCI Compliant company.

Also, to obtain a secure trust seal, the website and server have to go through a security scan. This security scan goes through the business owner’s website and internet to check for viruses and ensure that everything is protected. This decreases the chances of allowing hackers to access and infiltrate the site.

When purchasing a product online, it is important that consumers know whether or not they are visiting a website that can be trusted. The best way for consumers to know if they can trust a website for online purchases is to see if the site has a security seal boldly displayed on it.

                                             

                                             

Trust Seal Credibility

Did you know that it is required by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) that all online ecommerce businesses must be consistently conduct a security scan on their site and provide a secure check out for their customers. Some business owners think it is a pain and a waste of time and money to be PCI compliant. But companies like Trust Guard have turned a perceived negative into two proven and valuable positives.

Trust Guard provides business owners with trust seals that they proudly display on their websites. These seals are small images that, when hovered over or clicked on open up a certificate that explains all of the company’s efforts to keep the information provided by online consumers safe and secure.  Here are the two benefits of displaying trust seals on your website:

1.      When customers see all the effort you have made to keep your site safe, they will trust you.

2.      Because they trust you, they are more likely to purchase your products and services.

In fact, several third-party tests have repeatedly shown that sales and profits increase by at least 15.28% in just the first month of displaying trust seals. For example, say you own a small part time business that brings in just over $2,000 per month. By adding a trust seal to your website, stats have proven that you are expected to make at least $300 more each month without any additional cost in advertising.

The reason why business profits automatically increase, just by adding a secure trust seal to your site is because people trust them. When customers visit your business online, they are interested in what products and services you offer. But that doesn’t ensure the sale.

Often, it is only when consumers visit a website that displays a secure trust seal, that visitors unfamiliar with your brand will take a chance on you and purchase your products.

Trust seals give your website more credibility. They tell your consumers that you have the ability to offer them quality products and services and that you are a business that they can depend on.

Trust seals are simple to add to your website – all you do is copy and paste some HTML code. They are affordable. They build your business’ credibility and can substantially increase your profits. All around they offer a “win, win” for you and your online visitors.

How Trust Seals Increase Your Business

 

As you know, much of what we do today we do online. Businesses now have Facebook pages that customers can “like” and be made aware of promotions and new products through status updates. Companies also “Tweet” on Twitter stating things like: “ClearanceSale/Hot NewItems/50%Off.” This is how many businesses today choose to market their brands.

Because of this, nearly all businesses have a website, whether or not they actually sell products online. To start, they purchase a URL and domain name and find some company to host it. Then they find a design company and create a beautiful, functional, easy-to-navigate website which, by itself immediately increases their chance for success.

By creating a business website, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc., businesses are able to let people all over the world know about whom they are, what they sell, and why we should buy their products. Having an online presence has proven to increase customer bases by providing a free report or digital product simply by asking for a person’s email address to access the free gift.. This is one way that today’s business world continues to evolve.

Multiple surveys and case studies have shown that the #1 way to entice online consumers into purchasing products is to have a secure website. Having a secure websiteis more than just having an SSL certificate. It also means daily vulnerability scanning which checks for loop-holes hackers could use to gain access to the website.

These scans should be accompanied by a trust seal which demonstrates to individuals visiting the website that the site is clean and free of security vulnerabilities. The trust seal shows a consumer that you are compliant with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) and that you care about the safety and security of the shopper’s personal information and any private data they might need to enter.

A recent Trust Seal survey showed that for businesses that displayed a security-related trust seal on their website garnered the following results during the first full month of visibly demonstrating their concern for safety:

1.     At least a 7.5% Increase in conversion rate,

2.     An average increase of 4.0% in average order size, and

3.     A Minimum of 11.9% increase in net revenue.

And because most trustworthy trust verification seals offer a substantial guarantee – including Doubling Your Money Back, there really is no risk on the part of the business owner to display the security seal and scan the site against vulnerabilities – especially when you consider that being PCI compliant is no longer mandatory.