A Tip on Establishing Crediblity for Your Online Business
Today I want to talk a little bit about credibility, and I’ll be including a lot of the things that I heard and learned down at Blog World a few weeks ago.
First a question: why is credibility important for a website?
That may seem like sort of a ‘duh’ question, but I think that far too many of us don’t think about our own credibility online.
What is Credibility
Sorry to pull out the dictionary on this one, but I think this is a nice and short definition of credibility from Dictionary.com:
capable of being believed; believable: a credible statement.
So what makes a website believable? What helps people to believe you?
Here’s the thing: the internet is full of all sorts of information. And we all know that not all of it is good credible information. One thing that they said at Blog World is that if you’re going to write about something you have to be your own sort of ‘reporter.’ You have to give credit to where you found stuff if you want to be taken seriously!
Going Back to High School
High school English was my least favorite subject. Actually I hated it. Which is kind of funny to think about considering how much I have to write now a days. But they did teach me one very important thing in those classes: cite your sources.
Nobody knows everything. So if you get information from another source, give it credit! Don’t just quote things without backing them up. By doing this you are showing a few things to your audience:
- You know where to get answers to questions
- You give credit where credit is due
- You have some good connections
I’m sure there are other things I could add to that list, but in the end people tend to trust you more if you are looking things up and backing up the things you’re saying!
Other Benefits of Building Credibility
Credibility equals trust. If you can build credibility with your audience (whether you’re a blog, ecommerce store, eBay seller, or whatever) you can gain their trust. This will keep them coming back to your site. Talk about effective website marketing!
As a side note, make sure that when these people do come to your site that you engage them. Don’t just be the ‘high and mighty’ know-it-all that doesn’t have time to talk to audience. You can build even more credibility by answering questions and being engaged with your audience.
Credibility is honestly really lacking online. So take the time to make sure that you are being credible and you’ll see the benefits of it. Research your topics so you know what you’re talking about, then give credit to where you learned what you learned.
And, to give credit where credit is due, I’d like to give credit to @almacy, @dalbee, @shawnomac for putting on a great panel about this topic at Blog World!
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Nobody knows everything. So if you get information from another source, give it credit. You can build even more credibility by answering questions and being engaged with your audience. Finally then give credit to where you learned what you learned.
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Dan Reply:
October 6th, 2008 at 8:54 am
I think those are some great tips! I think that intuitively people know that you don’t know it all, but sometimes we like to think we do. It’s much better to give credit.
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Lån Reply:
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:45 am
Well, I agree. But what you do if somebody tried to discredit you on the internet?
/Jonas
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I think that’s a very overlooked topic. Some of the best bloggers out there are quoting multiple sources, and I think folks really like that. It’s vitally important to ecommerce too.
From my standpoint, I think a displayed phone number, address, etc. goes a long way to instilling credibility and trust. After all, without those, I can pretty much forget about anyone entering their credit card number and making a purchase….
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Dan Reply:
October 6th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Good point Irish Gifts! If a customer doesn’t have a way to contact you on an ecommerce site, they really have no reason to trust you!
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make low price and crediblity ist not possible
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Dan Reply:
October 6th, 2008 at 8:57 am
yes, you have to do more than just have a low price!
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Good point indeed. Without creating credibility, any business can’t be successful. So it is real important to create and establish credibility with visitors in as much as possible ways.
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Dan Reply:
October 6th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Well said! Too many people try to just get by with a good website, but there’s more to it than that. You can have the best-looking site it the world but it doesn’t mean anything if there is no credibility
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Fantastic and informative points!! Giving credit where credit is due can be a huge boost in a reader’s trust of your blog or site. You also have to make sure that the information you share is as accurate as possible by double checking claims you make. Another good point to cover in boosting your crdibility is to have a well run site! Make sure links work, that spelling is correct, copy is clean and neat, images dont spill out of their areas, etc. A well put together look gives you the instant “first impression” of putting lots of time and effort into your blog or site, and immediatly boosts you above sloppy or quickly thrown together sites.
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Dan Reply:
October 7th, 2008 at 6:20 am
I agree, if a site looks like junk it’s hard to trust it.
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Getting credibility and building credibility for an online business is the hardest to do.
The website has to look OK.
References of customers on your website can help.
Word of mouth is the best that can happen to your web business.
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Dan Reply:
October 9th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Word of mouth really is huge. That’s how sites go viral! And if you have the credibility to back it up, you can expect great returns!
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The impression of credibility is critical to online success. From your site design to how you respond to email all adds up to how you’re perceived in the marketplace. Therefore, EVERYTHING counts and there is really little to no room for error.
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Dan Reply:
October 10th, 2008 at 9:59 am
I couldn’t have said it better myself! If you aren’t credible, or at least don’t look credible, you can’t expect much.
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Speaking of english class scares me but, I thought that ” now a days “was one word. Could be wrong though.I know this is the internet but you still have to look your customer in the eyes and do what you say your going to do. Cut and dry!
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Dan Reply:
October 13th, 2008 at 9:05 am
there are probably multiple ways of spelling now a days, so who knows. But yes, the internet really should be more personal than it is.
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That is one way of showing respect to your sources also, by giving them credit.
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Dan Reply:
October 15th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
I agree. It shows that you’re not just a content thief, and I gives you more credibility in the eyes of the people you’re quoting.
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Establishing credibility is one of the most essential parts of having an online business. It is one of the most essential components, yet it is one of the least addressed topics that the “gurus” will talk about.
Why? Think about it. If everyone knows how vital it is, and at the same time, so easy to do, it would equalize the playing field much more than they would be comfortable with. In other words, as fierce as the competition is online, if you haven’t established credibility, or trust, you are not a threat because you will not make the sales.
When people know who you are they will trust you and buy from you. If they don’t know who you are they will be reluctant to do so.
Almost everyone has the fear of being ripped off or possibly, having their identity stolen. They don’t know if you will be here today or gone to Maui. If you have not established a perceived aura of authority as an expert in your field, if you have not established credibility online, if no one knows who you are, it will be more difficult for you to achieve your sales goals than some one that has.
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Dan Reply:
November 12th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Very well said June. If you can get your site to the point where you are well known and have that trust things will really change in your business. And one way to build that credibility is to be involved with the people who are your potential customers!
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Content build Credibility. I know I am not a good writer so I outsourse all writting. I am glad I have someone who writes for me who does a great job
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Dan Reply:
November 14th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
That is definitely one way to do it. Play to your own strengths, and with whatever you’re weak at you can always outsource it or get strong at it over time.
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I think credibility is also helped by availability. Having customers who can get in touch via email, phone, Facebook, Twitter, etc. gives them options, which makes them more comfortable with your business (also, there are some customers who prefer a quick tweet over a phone call, etc). You want to be accessible and available, not just another nameless corporation.
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It sure helps - but im not going back to school…ever!
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Laan Penge Reply:
May 18th, 2009 at 5:58 am
sure, why not you can always learn new tricks in school
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Yes you pointed some nice topic.
These tips are very helpful for Establishing Credibility for Your Online Business.
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Thanks..
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Yes, it is about good connections
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Raising your page rank to a 3 or higher gives you great internet cedibility and makes it easier to keep building upon the foundation of SEO you have going. Getting to that point can be a lot of work and slow going, but once you get there, so long as you maintain and keep your readers coming back for more, your SEO should keep itself going.
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In order to gain the trust of your visitors and their business, your web site must convey a credible image. When doing business online your credibility will play a significant role in how much business you can get and how successful you can be. Just like any brick and mortar store, losing credibility with your online business can be disastrous for business.
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