By the founder of SEO agency BrilliantSEO - Mariana Franco
1 - Get Google and users to trust your company with on-page and off-page solutions that boost your credibility
Trust elements are essential to get your users’ trust but they impact how Google sees you as well.
Trusted websites by users get higher rankings and impressions on Google.
But how to use the right trust elements and why should you care about both on-page and off-page trust elements?
This article will dive into the differences, specificities and benefits of on-page and off-page trust elements.
We will also go over the most important factors to take into account when building Trust for your business and how the right trust elements can help you.
2 - Trust Elements for users or for Google as well?
With the surge of AI and the ease of building websites, getting trust, credibility and loyalty from your users can become a growing hassle.
But why is this important for Google?
As we know, Google considers factors such as the bounce rate, checkout process and overall user experience to rank websites and show them in SERP (impressions). We can then say that Google will be also paying attention to:
How you transmit the right message about your company across the internet since that will affect the users’ trust and behaviour (before the click)
How well you provide trusted sources and proof of quality as that will keep clients engaged and trusting (after the click)
3 - On-page vs off-page Trust Elements: What are the differences
As mentioned above, your trust begins off-page, when the user actually Googles your Brand or the name of your company.
Off-page trust elements are therefore anything that will make the user “impressed” or confident before even clicking your link.
As for Google, these elements can be seen as properly made connections between all your profiles and sources that sign to the Search Engine the value and importance of what you offer.
After the user clicks your link, we move on to on-page trust elements that will make sure the user confirms the confidence they felt before, grows their trust, stays on the page and ultimately converts.
Should all this be done correctly, Google will pick up the signals, showing you more often and improving your ranking.
4 - Off-page Trust Elements: Getting the impressions and the clicks
Your off-page trust elements can be categorized in:
Reviews: This can include Trustpilot, Google Reviews and even blog posts or videos of influencers talking about your products.
Mentions: Whenever your Brand, CEO or Founder is mentioned in an article, gives an interview or participates in a podcast.
Brand Amplification: this includes your Social Media Channels, Podcasts and media elements (indexed videos and images).
Each of these elements will create an idea of your Brand in the users’ minds even before they click the page. It’s the difference between looking:
Like this: in Image 1 - A rich SERP, with both useful and eye-catching elements.
… or like this: in Image 2 - A SERP showing negative reviews and questions about the trustworthiness of the business.
5 - From Trustpilot to Youtube review videos and everything else in between:
Platforms such as Trustpilot, Google reviews, Youtube, Tiktok and even Reddit are enormously trusted sources for users especially if you are a new player in the market or are introducing a new product or service.
And even though the external reviews are something you cannot control, there are always actions you can take to minimize some possible damage:
Answer the comments with kindness and try to solve the source of the issue
Use the review to turn the situation around: North Face is an excellent example of how to turn a bad review into a promotional stunt.
Work on solving the issue (is it bad customer support, pricing, service?) and launch a campaign to directly address your improvements.
Working directly with influencers and blog writers is an excellent tool not only for promoting your products and services but also to do some damage control when something negative happens unexpectedly.
6 - Get your CEO, Founder or charismatic worker out there
We know the importance of showing your face and your employees on your website. But if users get a first glimpse of your human side before they even click, you already earned their trust.
Giving a face to your business increases the credibility amongst users enormously. Clients like to know they are buying from real people and when you get out there with great charisma, advice or humour, you get 10 steps ahead of your competitors.
This can mean actively participating in interviews, external articles or events but can also mean creating your own podcast or webinar.
7 - Amplify your brand with the right campaigns
We all know the power of Social Media these days. However not all types of channels are suited for all products and brands.
When you decide to drive online campaigns, make sure to study your audience, choose the right channel and prepare proper posts/adverts.
Let me give you an example:
Ryanair is known for selling cheap flights so they often tease their own clients on Social Media. For Ryanair this is completely acceptable: their audience relates and laughs at their posts. Many times they even repost them. I personally think they are geniuses and I too fly with them.
This company tried to imitate Ryanair’s strategy on Linkedin, but what they failed to see is that the product they are promoting is: premium, expensive and directed to a high-level business audience. Not to even mention the low quality of the image!
These are some of the most important off-page trust elements you can actively work on, and that can make a big difference between having just impressions or actual clicks!
8 - Connecting the off-page trust elements to Google
We talked about users a lot over the last points so let’s see now the connection to Google.
Just like the user, Google sees everything your company has online and it too will classify the quality of your presence:
Google primarily shows reviews with images for instance, so get your happy users to post some.
It will understand your company better when your online information is properly connected: make sure your YouTube channel, Social Media profiles and articles all point to you.
Always opt for high-quality media content: post real images with proper markup and ask your interviewers or hosts to do the same.
9 - On-page Trust Elements: do you have what it takes to get the conversion?
Your client saw your link and clicked on it. Now it’s up to you to keep them going down the funnel until they finish their purchase.
Your on-page trust elements can be categorised in:
Numbers, Advantages and Testimonials: Include information about how many years you are in business, how many happy clients you have, or how good your customer support is.
Media Elements: Add videos about your company, products, and testimonials; add high-quality images of what you offer, your processes and show your company as well!
Overall Quality: Build a simple, well-performing and organised website where users feel compelled to read, engage and buy.
10 - Show the numbers, advantages and testimonials
Numbers, advantages and testimonials are a great way to build trust:
10+ Years in Business
1.000+ Happy Clients
24/7 Customer Support
“We used it and it’s even better than expected”
And your designer will definitely know how to make them pop and where exactly to place them.
But the usage of this type of trust element shouldn't stop there! Giving context to Google will help you gain trust and credibility:
You can choose to use numbers in chunks of text on your About-us page and even on some service/product pages. The trick is: to do it naturally (NLP), making it relevant to the context and useful for the users and Google.
Some advantages can have their own page: do you offer customer support in 20 languages? Make a short page stating these languages and while doing that, mention how diverse your company is and add a link to the about-us page.
Use your comments from Trustpilot and Google reviews to build on: export them and find out what pieces of information you never thought of that you can now use on blogs, case studies, or product descriptions to inspire trust.
11 - Video and Images are a must to grow the trust in your Brand
Stock photos are practical and easy to get but you risk having the same sales agent as 10 other companies out there.
So here’s how you will succeed in building trust for your users and Search Engines:
Have real people pose for your photos,
Use your actual office (or even home office),
Give context to the images,
Add names and descriptions.
While the first 2 points are working on getting the users’ trust the last 2 focus on Google and other Search Engines. This is one of many simple techniques you can implement to push your Brand up, creating understanding (in Google’s brain) and empathy on your users.
Video is the other must-have element of the 20s in the XXI century.
We know the search in videos is increasing every year, and that for certain topics it already dominates when compared to written content.
Of course, not all content can be done in video but there are some videos every company should have:
Introduction to the Brand: this is the video you include on your homepage, presenting your company or brand and sharing how you differentiate yourself in the market:
Product or Service Presentation: typically these are videos featuring a certain product where, in under a minute, you introduce the product, the features and advantages. You can opt to have short-form and long-form videos for certain products, but make sure you feature them in the right place.
Case Studies and Testimonials: getting clients and partners to share their experiences with you on video is the cherry on top of the cake. This is the best trust element you can give to both users and Google.
12 - Quality of your Website: Performance, and Usefulness
The on-page trust starts the moment the user clicks on your link and can be defined by:
How long the page takes to render and interact: If you have many competitors in the market, the user will feel compelled to bounce off a lazy page and jump to another company’s link selling a similar product.
How well the content is written, displayed and available: Make your text unique, short and compelling. But always make sure you provide all the information the user needs to get convinced you are the right choice. Include proper interlinking and give your clients the option to always check your about-us page, delivery information or product features.
How easy the navigation and the conversion process is: Users don’t like to spend time searching around for answers. Allow your users to navigate easily on your website, add a search bar, FAQ page links and make the conversion process as fast and simple as possible.
13 - Take Control Over Your Trust Elements and Dominate
Any brand, small or big, needs to have the trust of its users and Google.
While small brands may consider on-page elements to be the only work they need to do, the truth is that off-page trust elements are easy to build and the ROI may be huge.
Connecting your on-page and off-page trust elements gives Google the signals your Brand needs to be relevant, credible and most of all trustable.
Author: Mariana Franco - Founder of SEO agency BrilliantSEO
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