Fix ecommerce trust badge mistakes
Fix ecommerce trust badge mistakes
1. Remove any trust badges that you don’t have permission to use.
Always go through the proper channels to acquire a badge and check that you meet requirements for displaying it. Displaying trust badges you don’t have permission to use is at a minimum unethical, and often illegal. This can put your business, and your customers, in jeopardy. It can also damage trust if the badges don’t function as intended by the provider. For example, if the particular brand of trust badge opens an onsite modal when clicked, that function won’t be supported without the original code from the provider. A visitor may notice this and question why your trust badge doesn’t function as expected, and then may question the security or legitimacy of your business. If you’re working with a limited budget, free trust badge options are available through some providers.
2. Display trust badges that you have to earn to boost their impact
Showing that you’ve actually earned your badges is a much stronger way to build trust because potential customers can see that an outside organization has verified your security or business practices. Use a trust badge service that requires you to abide by certain security protocols and good business practices before you can display the badges. Look for services that offer regular security scans and monitor your site for issues. If an issue occurs, they’ll notify you to correct it as quickly as possible so that your business and customers can stay safe.
3. Link trust badges to the provider’s website to give visitors more information about what they mean.
Open the link in an onsite modal or new window that shows it is valid and explains how it’s helping to keep the visitor safe. A modal is better, because it doesn’t redirect visitors away from your site. Trust badges that are not linked may not give visitors enough context to understand what they mean. Customers might recognize the provider’s logo, but not understand how you earned the badge or what kind of protection it provides. Unlinked badges aren’t conducive to trust-building.
4. Make trust badges look great on all devices by ensuring they display properly and are high resolution.
Use high resolution images for your badges. Ideally, use a .svg image file so that it scales and adapts to the browser’s size and screen resolution. Avoid smaller images that can appear blurry if the screen isn’t large enough.
5. Get rid of trust badge clutter; too many badges placed in one area.
Some ecommerce sites will display a handful of trust badges in the checkout or footer, believing that more badges will generate more trust. Trust badge clutter can make your site look spammy, and can actually be a distraction to visitors. If they have to look through a bunch of badges one by one to determine the message and the trustworthiness, it delays the action you want them to take, which is to complete their purchase.
6. Ensure a trust badge is visible on every page.
Ecommerce managers recognize that trust badges are important to include in the checkout, but many overlook the need to build trust across every page of the site. Online shoppers have concerns long before they reach the checkout. According to a survey by TrustedSite, over 65% have concerns about business legitimacy when first arriving at an unfamiliar site. The fear of making a purchase from a fake business or scam has led over 50% of them to abandon a purchase. If you don’t immediately establish trust when visitors first arrive to your site, you risk them leaving to shop on another they trust more. Place a floating trust badge in the bottom left or right corner of every page on your site. This way, no matter what a visitor’s entrance page is, they can see the trust badge from the very start of their journey all the way to the end.
7. Include trust badges in high friction areas of the customer journey.
Include trust badges throughout the customer journey in key places where concerns can throw shoppers off track. Some of the most important places include:
Product pages
Shopping cart
Checkout
Login and register pages
Footer
Place the badges in the exact place on the page where concerns arise. For example, in the checkout you should include a trust badge as close as possible to the credit card fields, so there’s less of a chance that they’ll miss this sign of trust when inputting their information.
Lensabl.com displays 2 TrustedSite trust badges in their checkout, in addition to other badges throughout the journey. They display the Secure Checkout badge next to the credit card fields, and the Identity Protection badge underneath the final place order button.
8. Use trust badges that address different kinds of shopper concerns.
Some ecommerce sites focus solely on addressing security concerns with trust badges, but there are a range of other shopper concerns that need to be addressed as well, like email spam, identity theft, and order fulfillment. Consider all the possible concerns customers might have when shopping on your site. Think about what stage of the customer journey that those concerns might arise, then add a trust badge in that place to address those specific concerns. For example, customers may feel uncomfortable when asked to share their personal information to create an account. Adding a secure form trust badge to your create account page can help to show that you take data protection seriously.
9. Test trust badge placements when possible to identify the impact on your KPIs.
To justify the budget you’re spending on trust badges, you should know exactly how much they help to increase your conversions and sales. Testing trust badges also helps you find the optimal placement for badges, since different audiences may respond to them differently. Set up an experiment in Google Optimize, Optimizely, HiConversion, or other conversion testing tools to put your trust badges to the test. If you aren’t familiar with these tools, or just don’t have the time, hire a conversion optimization expert through an agency to set it up for you.