Last Thursday’s keynote speaker at Search Engine Strategies proved to be another valuable voice of the conference. Tim Ash, current CEO of SiteTuners.com, is an expert site optimizer with several years of experience in the industry, as well as author of the bestselling book Landing Page Optimization.
Tim began his presentation by melting away the perception that a landing page full of information is a good page. The science behind SEO and attracting users to your site is one that involves breaking down the uber complicated algorithm of Google among numerous other factors. Then there is the bigger question of what users will do once they arrive at your site. Well, Ash showed that building an effective site is really quite simple – it’s not about technology, it’s about humans.
In the ever evolving world of the web, it can be difficult to manage all of the necessary components of your site, but Ash shared a reassuring message – humans are predominately very similar and there are fundamental parts of our being that seldom change. One such part is the idea of trust. Ash explained that building instant trust online is key, and that web site owners only have one-twentieth of a second to gain that trust among users. This trust not only needs to be built quickly, but anonymously—you are lucky if a site visitor takes the time to navigate several pages and figure out exactly what your business does. Chances are if they don’t trust your site at first glance, they are already gone.
The brunt of Tim’s presentation focused on the “four pillars of truth” as they apply to gaining trust on web sites, emphasizing the underlying message of simplicity. The following points break down four important areas to keep in mind when building trust with your web users, along with a few pointers to keep in mind when sizing up your site.
• Appearance – Leave the creative at the door, less is definitely more when it comes to your site
- Professionalism of design
- Sparseness and neatness
- Organization and clarity
• Transactional assurances – Don’t buy trust symbols such as VISA to only put them below the fold
- Forms of payment and delivery
- Data security and privacy
- Policies and guarantees
• Authority – Place important logos on your site and put them before your call to action button
- Reviews and awards
- Marquee clients
- Media mentions
- Trade associations
• Consensus of peers – Build that “social proof” on your site so users know you’re legit
- Objective large numbers
- Likeness
Tim urged the crowd to take off our rose colored glasses and get real about our sites. Is it simple? Do people know that you are credible? Can a major credit card be used as a form of payment? These are all important questions that users need answered upon visiting your site, and they can make all the difference to your bottom line.
