Improving Trust Improves ROI

You can use search engine optimisation to make people visit your web site but you cannot make them buy. However, you can increase the chances that someone will buy if you can create a site which engenders trust. We take it as read that you have a great product and it is well priced. How do you make visitors feel the site is trustworthy? Essentially, all the changes that go to make e-commerce more trustworthy concentrate on making the process transparent. The user can see what they are getting into before they make a commitment to buy.

While the build up of trust is not something that can instantly achieved, there are a number of things that can be done to make the site show the right signs. One of the major concerns is for handing over credit card details to company they do not know.

Another interesting result from the survey was the increasing time delay between searching for a product and actually buying it. Consumers are much more likely to research product before buying online. This make it extremely important.

About Your Company

Contact details are vital. In addition your phone number and email address, your site’s contact details should include a physical address and details for customer support. This puts it in a real location rather than a website which could be anywhere in the world.  Another great concern is the safety of the site to hackers and encryption of the data being sent. Displaying any security features prominently can help somewhat. ScanAlert have published the results of  a comparison study  on retail sites showed that the display of the HackerSafe logo increased the conversion rate by  14 %.

• Explain your policies on returns and refunds.
• Make it clear about your returns policy.
• Make it clear from the start which forms of payment your will accept.

Streamlining your Shopping Cart

When competition is high, price is often similar among different retailers,  other factors become important and one factor that can make nudge the sales is ease with which the form information is collected. The first rule is don’t require users to sign-up create to add items to a shopping cart.

The amount of information collected by forms. This is more of a usability issue but it has an effect on the bottom line. Look at the information you collect on the form, do you really need to have two copies of the email address. Many users will simply copy and paste anyway making this check redundant.

When I buy online, I want to know the full cost of what I am buying before I checkout. Many site still have shopping carts which do not tell you total cost until you get past your shipping address. While delivery charges vary to different countries, a flat rate for each country which is made explicit when the product is displayed makes it absolutely clear to visitors what the total cost will be. Alternatively, offering free delivery and incorporating the delivery charge in the price simplifies the matter.

Give Extra Information

One of the interesting results from the ScanAlert survey was the increase in the number of people that were using the web to research their purchases before buying. The delay between visiting the website and the decision had increased in 2007 compared to that in 2005.

Another reason for customers to trust your website is because of the extra information it gives.  While customers are researching their purchase, give them the information they need to make their decision.

Allow customers to create reviews of products is an option and this can work if you have lots of customers, however most sites are too small to gain any reviews. However, it is possible to create your own reviews of products listing their features and showing how they work.