25 October 2024
Gaining the trust of online shoppers has always been challenging, but is pivotal for achieving sales targets. With Black Friday around the corner, it’s critical to focus on garnering customers’ attention and trust.
This is the time where customers hesitate to buy from new business websites owing to concerns about credibility, security, and product quality.
This is where customer reviews and trust badges act as powerful tools to efficiently convince them that your site is trustworthy.
What is the importance of customer reviews and trust badges?
Google’s latest guidelines on EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) focus on creating websites that are transparent about their services. The search engine encourages businesses to offer greater usability and reliability to website visitors.
Clearly displayed customer reviews and trust badges can influence search rankings and user engagement. Customers avoid shopping from websites that lack credibility. Feedback provides a social proof mechanism that reassures potential buyers.
Positive feedback from others makes new customers feel more confident in their purchasing decisions. During Black Friday, prominent reviews from real people vouching for your products or services can help you boost sales.
On the other hand, trust badges like SSL certificates, secure payment icons, and popular security symbols like Norton Secured or McAfee lays the foundation for your website’s credibility.
For example, high-street retailers like John Lewis andCurrys combine customer reviews with visible trust badges on their product pages.
Reviews are placed front and centre, helping website visitors leverage the positive experiences of previous customers. Popular terms like “Free Returns” or “Money-Back Guarantee” are visible during the checkout process, helping to captivate user attention and trust throughout the process.
An optimal mix of social proof and security assurances builds confidence among website visitors. Consequently, this helps to transform hesitant shoppers into loyal customers.
Here are 4 tips to leverage customer reviews and trust badges
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Display customer reviews prominently
Visibility is the key, and you should display reviews ideally:
- Around the top of the page
- Just where the product title ends
- Next to the images
Placing reviews in conspicuous positions allows shoppers to see what others think of the product right away, eliminating hesitation about purchasing from you.
Additional tip: Showcase reviews that focus on product quality and customer service. You can do this for items featured in your Black Friday sale or all the products round the year.
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Encourage review collection prior to Black Friday
The more reviews you collect, the more social proof you’ll have. This helps to convince new buyers and enhances the chances of generating sales. You can offer incentives like some discount on their next order for reviewing products. This can help you gather more feedback quickly.
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Feature trust badges in appropriate locations
Strategically place trust badges on your website to increase customer trust and credibility. For example:
- Homepage: Add relevant badges like SSL certificates, awards, or certifications.
- Product pages: Include badges related to the products. This includes ratings, certifications, product warranties, etc.
- Checkout page: Users are concerned about security during the payment processing or when placing orders. Secure checkout badges, payment security badges, etc, can help you build trust at this point.
- Footer: This is a consistent element across all your pages, and users often scan for reassurances here
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Add third-party review platforms
You can also use third-party review tools like Trustpilot or Reviews.io. However, ensure these reviews are easily accessible across your entire site. Third-party reviews help to gain an additional layer of credibility. Customers view them as impartial and trustworthy.
Conclusion
Trust is often a deciding factor in whether a potential customer becomes a paying one. With the great influx of shoppers during Black Friday, you need to build security and reliability to achieve a good conversion rate.
Take your time incorporating and highlighting customer reviews and trust badges on your website. This can help you build the trust needed to convert your Black Friday sales successfully.