There will be plenty of visitors to your site that you will never have personal contact with. They won’t have met you. They won’t have heard you speak at an event, and they won’t have talked with you on the phone. However, they may still buy something from you … as long as you have two things on your website:

1. Something to buy, such as a book, audio or self-study program, and
2. Credibility.

I’ve discussed the first item many times on this blog. For links to some of those posts, see the list at the end of this post. Therefore, I would like to focus this article on ways you can establish credibility.

Illustrate your expertise
Do you have published works, awards, certifications or memberships in professional associations that support your expertise? Then post them on your website. For example, I’ve posted my memberships in various organizations, as well as my life coach certification, on my site. You can even find my editorial awards in the “About Carma” section.

Post testimonials, reviews and case studies
Every time you discover a happy client, ask for a testimonial. Get one on video if at all possible. If you can’t get it on video, be sure to list the person’s name, photo and title. A link to their website can also be an enticement. Be sure the testimonial has substance. I’ll provide a sample script in an upcoming post.

If relevant, provide reviews of your products and services, as well. And don’t be afraid of negative remarks, as long as the positive outweigh the negative, you are fine. Remember, many people find negative reviews more helpful.

Case studies, where you describe a client’s problem, your solution and the results that client got, are another way to showcase what you can do.

Awards
Have you won awards for your work? Show them off. The more recent the better. If the award is less than a year old, mention it in an area of your website that shows up on all pages, such as the footer.

Seals of approval
Web-based quality seals can ease the mind of your customers. Examples include VeriSign, Better Business Bureau (BBB), PayPal Verified and HonestE. These seals boost your credibility online by showing a certain level of integrity and trustworthiness.

Privacy Policy
If you are collecting people’s information, you should have an updated privacy policy on your site. Having one boosts your credibility over a site that does not have one. You can easily generate one at this site.

When you have a mix of different types of credibility boosters, they will work synergistically to increase the level of trust strangers have when they visit your site. This will, in turn, increase you sales conversion rate.