11
Jan
5 ways to establish trust online
Establishing trust online is key to building a relationship with
visitors to your estate agency website. Creating a good impression
online is a lot harder than face to face interaction. Despite the
enormous rise in popularity of online shopping over the years the
level of trust has stayed the same.
The distrust comes from the media coverage of scams and general
bad internet experiences you may have heard from your friends and
family.
Although it may be difficult to gain the users trust, there are
many things you can do to help build on it.
Here are five ways in which you can help build the trust factor
on your website:
1. Make it personal
Help the user feel like they know you, help them understand
about the business in as much detail as possible. Don’t just
use your about page to promote what services you do, mention how
long you have been established for, who works at your estate agency
and include testimonials.
A staff profile page can be hugely beneficial and doesn’t
require much effort to set them up. All you need is to have a short
description of each of your employees experience and credentials
with a photo of them. This shows the visitor that you are a real
business and helps them see you are an approachable
company.
2. Professional Presentation
Although design is a big part of the trust factor, not even the
most creative and unique websites can disguise bad grammar and
spelling mistakes. If a business can’t even proofread their
homepage content or address its audience appropriately, how is the
user going to trust that company to sell their house?
3. Up-to-date Content.
Out of date content makes your website look poor and
unmaintained. Your website is your online store front and should be
maintained to the same standard. Ensure content is kept fresh and
up-to-date as well as including your latest testimonials.
4. Be Contactable.
You need to be easily contactable. Clearly provide a telephone
number, email and even social networking contacts throughout your
website so your customers can get in contact with you easily.
5. Protect Personal Data.
Web savvy users want their information kept private and
don’t expect their email address and telephone number to be
passed on to any other affiliates. If you do pass on or sell data,
ask for their permission first. Make your privacy policy clear and
understandable and only ask for the information you really
need.
By Luke Stanley
SEO Consultant
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