Business owners invest in e-commerce stores for better reachability, customer count, sales, and revenues. To attract more customers to their store and to beat competitors, they plan, invest, and launch substantial marketing campaigns in the form of social media marketing, email marketing, influencer marketing, text message marketing, etc.
But, they need to learn that all these marketing efforts are secondary to gaining revenues. Gaining customer trust is the primary factor that keeps you going.
Trust badges play a vital role in gaining customer trust
Customer trust is the thin line that builds or demolishes a business. Though customer loyalty programmes, freebies, discount offers, etc., help gain customer trust, trust badges are the simplest and most effective way to gain customer attention and loyalty.
This blog is all about trust badges and the best ones that can be used to improve the conversion rates of your e-commerce store.
What is a Trust Badge?
Trust badges are just like site seals placed on the website. Site seals are a symbol of site security, whereas trust badges are a symbol of a trustworthy brand and a legitimate site. They are visible in the form of a symbol or an icon and portray site trustworthiness.
The main motto of e-commerce stores is to ensure minimum cart abandonment and maximum customer purchases. These trust badges ensure a safe checkout process for their customers and imbibe a secure and trusted feeling.
The best part is when third-party companies (SSL certificate providers like Comodo, GeoTrust, and other digital security solutions like McAfee Secure) permit you to use their trust badge for your site. This seal acts as a confirmation to your potential clients, displaying the authenticity and legitimacy of your site and the security of its data.
Importance of Trust Badges
Research Indicates:
- 60% of the customers do not purchase from a site that lacks trust badges.
- 35% of the customers abandon their carts in the absence of trust badges.
Trust badges display a trusted environment among site visitors. These badges are a must when your store is dealing with financial transactions, handling customer payments, or storing customer data.
Many potential customers feel unsafe sharing confidential information when your site’s credibility looks shady or unsecured. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has requested site visitors to act cautiously (because there are many fake sites) and site owners to ensure site security (because hackers are always on the prowl).
The importance of trust badges can be seen in the positive and powerful effect they have on your website’s visitors. Ensure the correct placement of them on your site to motivate your customers to make confident purchases.
Types of Trust Badges
Different trust badges are placed on websites depending on what message you wish to convey to your customers. The most impactful ones are:
1. The Safe and Secured Checkout Badge
The most vital trust badge is the Secured Checkout Badge. This badge is visible when an SSL (Secure Socket Layers) certificate is installed on the website.
SSL certificates secure the website and its data with encryption security. You should buy SSL certificate to secure all the data in transit communicated between the server and the user’s browser.
This badge indicates that the checkout process is secure and trustworthy and the customer’s information (card details, banking account number, etc.) is encrypted.
This, in turn, prevents hackers from misusing the data since it is in a coded form. This can help enhance customer trust and conversion rates, too.
Example:
The most popular SSL badges include “Norton Secured,” powered by DigiCert when a Digicert SSL certificate is installed, and “Comodo Secure” badge when the site owner installs a Comodo SSL certificate.
Badge Placement:
When these badges are placed near the “Add to Cart” buttons and checkout pages, they enhance customer trust.
2. Free Shipping & Free Returns Badge
This is a very popular badge for customers. Customers love everything free, be it shipping or returns.
This motivates them to approach your e-commerce store and purchase your products.
This badge assures them that they are free to return the product if they are unsatisfied with it. It also indicates a simple pricing structure for your store, an added advantage for your online business.
Badge Placement:
The “Add to Cart” and “Checkout” pages are the places where this badge is the most effective.
3. Accepted Payments Trust Badge
Users are relieved to see accepted payment badges of their trusted brand. They also love having varied payment options from brands like Visa, PayPal, MasterCard, American Express, etc.
The presence of these brands for payment options makes them feel more confident and secure.
Badge Placement:
When these badges are placed on the website’s payment page, the customers’ trust levels are boosted, and they approach the site without hesitation.
4. Third-Party Endorsements Trust Badge
When a third party endorses your business as authentic and credible, it helps garner customer trust.
Third-party endorsement badges are vouched for by reliable and popular third-party brands, which verify your business’s legitimacy and add credibility to your e-commerce store.
The site owner needs to apply for the same to the third party, which will be reviewed and approved before their badge is placed on your site. These badges make customers feel secure while making online purchases.
Example:
Google Customer Reviews Badge and the Better Business Bureau badge are popular third-party endorsement badge options that customers rely on before purchasing.
Badge Placement:
They are more effective when placed on the footer of the website.
5. Money-Back Guarantee Badges
This is the most effective badge among all the other badges. Customers have a hidden fear when they approach an online store to purchase a product.
Since the product is not physically seen or touched, purchasing it based on its description is tough. Some are even worried about the technical functionalities of the product if any. The presence of this badge clears all their doubts.
Badge Placement:
Download this free badge and display it near the “Safe Checkout” badge on the “Payment” page. This badge can also be placed near the “Add to Cart” or “Checkout” button, which will be a shout-out to your customers stating that their money is safe.
How can you Set up Your Trust Badges?
The display of trust badges depends on which kind of trust badges are placed on your site. Free trial offers, money-back guarantees, etc., can be acquired from the net. Just copy an appealing image and paste it on your site.
You can also create one that matches your brand colour and place it at its best position on your site to gain the maximum positive impact from your customers.
The CMS platform on which your site is placed also matters because if you use WordPress, you can easily add trust badges using WP or WooCommerce plugins. Another budget-friendly option is to explore free trust badge plugins, download them, and place them at their best place on your site.
How to Add Trust Badges?
Trust badges can be either added manually or via apps.
- You can manually set up a trust badge by editing the page from the theme editor. Please pick up a badge image, paste it, and save the changes.
- You can add trust badge apps from the WordPress marketplace or Shopify marketplace and paste them at your desired location on the site.
How to use Trust Badges to Boost Conversions and Sales?
Cybercrime stories are horrifying. And the world is aware of how risky the online market is. Hackers have stolen identities, data, and other sensitive information sitting in their homes while customers are happily making an online purchase.
Users visiting your site for the first time are not only unfamiliar with your brand but also need clarification about its authenticity and the security of their information.
To motivate them to purchase, you need to clear their doubts and show them that your website is secure.
There is no doubt that e-commerce trust badges play a vital role in enhancing conversions and sales since they help boost customer confidence in your site.
A few tips on using these badges to their highest potential are below. Let us check them out.
Add Trust Badges to the Homepage
A customer’s first impression always matters; adding a trust badge on the homepage makes your site look more trustworthy and professional.
A subtle yet visible trust badge works wonders for your site’s conversions and sales.
Show Trust Badges with Popups
Trust badges using popups instantly gain customer attention. Trust badges displaying social proof, free shipping, money-back guarantees, etc. can be created with an easy-to-use popup builder and placed on your site to enhance conversions.
These badges also help you address cart abandonment, hidden charges (shipping charges), and other trust issues like “do not trust the site with the credit card information,” thus enhancing conversions.
Money-back guarantee badges placed on the product pages, trust seals on the footer of emails, checkout pages, etc. will all help boost site conversions.
- 47% – High Shipping
- 19% – Non-trustworthy Site
- 17% – Pricing Issues
- 16% – Unsatisfactory Return Policies
- 11% – Lack of Payment Methods
All these reasons can be eliminated by using appropriate trust badges and placing them in their proper places. This, in turn, increases conversions and sales.
Wrapping Up
The digital market is full of websites that are not genuine; hence, e-commerce customers always need clarification about which brand is authentic and which is fake. They always prefer secured sites where data privacy is ensured.
Trust badges give them that security; hence, they significantly impact your website.
Use varied trust badges on your website, ensure appropriate placements of these badges, and use popups at crucial pages to build trust, increase conversions, and enhance sales.
Highlight your site with these trust icons and make way for online shoppers to shop happily.
Trust Badge FAQs
1. Are all trust badges equally effective in gaining customer trust?
No, it is a misconception that they are equal. Some badges are more trustworthy and credible than others. Hence, it is vital to choose badges recognized by reputed companies and pertinent to your e-commerce store and target audience.
2. Where should these badges be placed to gain the best impact?
The placement of a badge depends on the type of the badge. They can be placed on different site pages (home, payment, checkout, etc.) to boost conversions. Web owners also place them on the website’s footer to validate their digital infrastructure.
3. Do trust badges work?
Yes, of course. A Survey by NovoChat indicates that 76% of shoppers find trust seals enhance their sense of trust in a website, whereas 48% find trust badges to reassure them about site security and site trustworthiness.
