Credibility Indicators

[KingHippo]

What do you think are the most important credibility indicators for your website? I'm thinking testimonials is a big one. But if you are starting out, do you think it is necessary to "fake it until you make it" with the testimonials? I'm thinking yes because remember...

People will give money to someone who already has a lot of money and power like Barrack Obama but people will rarely give money to a homeless beggar. People are drawn to high value.

But what do you think about this?

[Steve B]

I wouldn't fake any testimonials. But, that doesn't mean you can't encourage them a bit extra in the beginning. Perhaps give some extra product or service to someone and hint that if you're satisfied we always love to get testimonials for our website.

[billbenson]

What's the site generally about? Getting traffic and credibility vary dramatically for type of site to type of site.

[Aaron Hats]

What's the site generally about? Getting traffic and credibility vary dramatically for type of site to type of site.

Very true. I would think a professional design goes a long way though. Testimonials would be low on the list.

[SteveC]

If you are thinking about faking testimonials... you should not be in business... go get a job because your integrity is screwed, and people will instinctively know this.

And online testimonials work only if they are traceable... and people believe them... you would gain more sales simply by having your address and full contact details shown... and the design of an ecommerce website can aid or hinder sales... for instance they layout of your shopping cart... the steps in the sales process and the trust generated all aid or hinder sales.

[Evan]

I agree with SteveC. Deception is never good for business, and it will certainly hurt your reputation. And while testimonials online are hard to trace, it's further proof that they are less credible.

While people like buying from small shops, they don't like buying from unprofessional companies. So a professional website goes a long way -- including a nice logo. And SteveC did hit it on the head with providing contact information that makes you feel real. An address and phone number provide limited assurance that you're "somewhere" versus just an e-mail address. Even if it was a PO Box, or Mailboxes Etc address, it just gives a better vibe than nothing at all. Plus lots of customers like knowing that they can speak to people.

[vangogh]

I'm going to agree with the above as well. Think about it. Your solution to building credibility is to do something that would damage your credibility if found out. Credibility isn't something with shortcuts. You gain credibility by being honest and by living up to your word. You gain it by being professional. And the longer you do each of the above the more credibility you build.

Online it's much easier than you'd think to figure out if someone is being genuine or if they're trying to be someone they aren't. Being genuine is probably the greatest thing you can do to be credible. Don't fake it or look for shortcuts. Build your business honestly if you want it to succeed beyond a few minutes.

[billbenson]

Give you and idea: A while back I was pitched by someone cold calling me to sell me SEO for a site. I listened to their pitch, in part, I like to listen to sales pitches over the phone because I'm a salesman. You can still learn.

They sent me to their site which had a bunch of testimonials. The testimonials had sites that were placed high in Google. I looked at them and discovered that most were placing for irrelevant keywords that nobody would search for. They also had links from spam sites. Both of which would make me go running the other way. Also is the sort of thing that gives SEO a bad reputation.

There was one site selling gaming computers in there. They ranked well for good niche keywords, and selling pc's is a hard place to rank well. Made me wonder if the gaming pc site was actually their SEO or did they just find a site with good SEO and reverse engineer it a bit and use it as a reference without the owners permission. What's the owner going to do; tell them to take it off their site, so they do. Probably not going to take them to court.

I don't recall if I checked, but you can usually find forum posts for people putting misinformation on a web site.

This goes back to other posts. Building a web business takes time and there are no shortcuts. Build a good website for a good product with good SEO. You will get the business, but it won't be in two weeks.

[KristineS]

Faking testimonials is definitely a bad way to build credibility. Misleading customers is never a good way to do business.

If you're just starting out and you don't have any testimonials, make sure it's very clear on your web site that you're looking for some. When you talk to a satisfied customer ask if they would be willing to comment on your product. You can build up a fund of testimonials quite quickly if you're diligent about asking for them.

Never, ever say something on your site you can't back up. People will search and they will find you out and then you're irrevocably harmed your business.

[Dan Furman]

If you are thinking about faking testimonials... you should not be in business... go get a job because your integrity is screwed, and people will instinctively know this.

I sooooo agree with this.

[orion_joel]

I think the other key point is that not only backing up yourself with proof of a testimonial but also ensuring that if someone decides to follow through on verifying a testimonial, Which you should be able to allow as long as the person who gave the testimonial is accepting of this. Ensure that the person who originally gave the testimonial actually thinks what they initially said is still relevant to your current business relationship.

I know of a software company that not long after implementing a fairly expensive installation for a customer. Initially everything went fine the software worked perfectly and did everything it was suppose to. But as the business grew, the software developed more and more problems. Cut the story short at the end of the day the software company gave the testimonial to a client, as well as details to contact this client. The person who was suppose to be contacted wasn't available and the person that did answer the phone pretty much gave the software a really bad summary.

This showed to me that you must be absolutely sure that the customer is going to say the same thing each time a person contacts them, which is your responsibility in the respect that you drop the ball in dealing with this customer the response they give for a testimonial will change depending upon how you deal with them.

[billbenson]

Perhaps the Amazon sort of on page blog / commentary approach is a good way to get testimonials in many cases?

[vangogh]

One thought about the idea of getting user comments/reviews on your site (like Amazon) that seems appropriate for this thread, is the idea of the negative reviews being a good thing. When people see an endless string of praise it tends to ring hollow. Very little in life is so good that everyone can agree how wonderful it is. A little negative feedback is more realistic and in a way lends an air of credibility to the other positive reviews.

[orion_joel]

I tend to agree Vangogh, it kind of makes you seem a little more human even, in the respect that people see you are not always getting it right, and are accepting to show both sides.

[vangogh]

Yep. Nobody is perfect. I know when I see an endless list of complementary reviews I start to question all of them. Most honest reviews will still be able to point out a few things that didn't work quite right even if the overall review is a positive one.

[KristineS]

I would have to agree, balanced reviews are generally the most believable. There is always something that can be improved. When I see all raves (and lots of exclamation points) in a review, I start wondering if it's genuine. It almost feels like the company is trying too hard to get you to believe the review.

[Dan Furman]

I think the other key point is that not only backing up yourself with proof of a testimonial but also ensuring that if someone decides to follow through on verifying a testimonial, Which you should be able to allow as long as the person who gave the testimonial is accepting of this.

I generally provide website links to work that I've done, and that's it. I'm not going as far as to providing personal references, phone numbers, etc. I look at it this way - If someone must have that, I probably don't want to work with them anyway.

[KingHippo]

Thank you all for your input on this. I realize that I have even recently purchased from some online dealers without checking any testimonials. SSL and good Google page rank were enough for me to trust these sites. I have decided to not include a "fake it until I make it" testimonials page for now and to just ask for the testimonials after a user orders a product.

[KristineS]

Good for you. That's definitely the way to go.

[vangogh]

Agreed. Better to earn the credibility than fake it. And the credibility you earn will carry you much further anyway.

[Jagella]

What do you think are the most important credibility indicators for your website?

I suppose Better Business Bureau approval might help. Having a reputation for reliability and quality products tends to convince me that a site is legitimate.


I'm thinking testimonials is a big one.

Testimonials do help. I purchased my current PC from Ibuypower.com. I never did business with them before. One of the factors that led to my decision to make the purchase was their testimonial page on their Web site. It turned out that I made a good decision, and I've been using that computer since April 2007.


But if you are starting out, do you think it is necessary to "fake it until you make it" with the testimonials?

Don't do it. It's simply dishonest, and if you get caught, then who's going to trust you?


People will give money to someone who already has a lot of money and power like Barrack Obama but people will rarely give money to a homeless beggar. People are drawn to high value.

But what do you think about this?

You might think I'm crazy, but some things are more important than money. Personal integrity is one of those things. Don't fake testimonials.

Jagella

[Jagella]

I wouldn't fake any testimonials. But, that doesn't mean you can't encourage them a bit extra in the beginning. Perhaps give some extra product or service to someone and hint that if you're satisfied we always love to get testimonials for our website.

Hi Steve. As far as I'm concerned, asking for testimonials is fine. “Encouragement” is OK too as long as the testimonial is the honest opinion of the patron.

Jagella

[Jagella]

What's the site generally about? Getting traffic and credibility vary dramatically for type of site to type of site.

Bill, what kinds of sites would you say have low credibility? Phishing sites are obvious examples. I never click site links in emails unless I know the business and the site. I remember receiving emails from parties posing as AOL when I was a member of AOL. They claimed that my account information had been lost on the AOL server and included a link in the email to a page with a form that asked for my credit card numbers among other bits of personal information. Fortunately I wasn't gullible enough to bite! You just need to be careful who you trust both online and off.

Jagella

[Jagella]

And online testimonials work only if they are traceable... and people believe them...

That's an interesting point. I'm thinking that if I include testimonials on my site, placing the person's name, position, and URL next to the testimonial should help it look more credible. That way prospects can contact the person(s) submitting the testimonial and ask: “Did you really say Jagella is any good?” :D

Jagella

[Jagella]

I agree with SteveC. Deception is never good for business, and it will certainly hurt your reputation.

One problem I've had with some businesses is their pressuring me to give them a better rating than I thought they deserved. I had this happen to me at Amazon.com several times. I refused to do it. Customer satisfaction ratings should reflect the free opinion of the customer rather than what the sellers want people to believe. As a result of sellers pressuring me this way, I try to be careful who I buy from and often stick to the better-known companies like Amazon.com itself even if I have to pay a higher price. Their service is often better than the lesser-known sellers. In addition, I don't fully trust the seller ratings. If I see a “98% positive” rating, I'm left wondering how many of the customers in that 98 percent were pressured like I was to give the seller a good rating.

Only “pressure” customers with good service, a good product, and reliability.

Jagella

[Jagella]

Online it's much easier than you'd think to figure out if someone is being genuine or if they're trying to be someone they aren't.

What ways would you suggest we use to check credibility, Steve? One site I've used is Snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/). I've received emails from people saying that some charitable organization will donate money to a cause if I forward the email to everybody in my address book. It's stupid, but lot of people will fall for it. Anyway, Snopes.com is useful for checking these hoaxes. It's low to take advantage of people's sympathy by creating such hoaxes.

Jagella

[vangogh]

For me a lot of it is picking up clues in how something is written. For example a forum likes this gets plenty of people who are more interested in marketing themselves than being part of the community. We've all seen people come in and write what at first glance might appear to be helpful advice, but then you notice a link dropped into the post that matches the one in their forum signature. Just a little bit of investigation can reveal intentions.

I don't really look to outside sources. You can't fake being genuine. Offline people fool each other with facial expressions and tone of voice. If you tell a lie, but are in control of many subtle physical cues you can get someone to believe it. Face-to-face there are a lot more communication tools that the words themselves. Online those tools are gone. You can't offer a smile at the appropriate point. You can't look people in the eyes.

In addition when people aren't wanting to be genuine they're often looking to get in an out quick. When people are on a forum like this I tend to build my view of them over time. While there are cues I'll look for in the first few posts over time I can gain a much better picture of what a person is like. Those looking to fake credibility usually won't put in the time.

In general credibility is highly connected to time. You can't gain credibility by doing something once. You don't gain it by saying something about yourself. You don't gain it by one other person saying something nice about you. You gain credibility through consistent credible signals about you.

[Jagella]

When people are on a forum like this I tend to build my view of them over time. While there are cues I'll look for in the first few posts over time I can gain a much better picture of what a person is like.

Very interesting, Steve. I was just thinking that being exposed to a person over time is a good way to judge character and credibility.


In general credibility is highly connected to time. You can't gain credibility by doing something once. You don't gain it by saying something about yourself.

Would you say honesty is the best policy regarding any faults a person believes she has as a professional? Should she say upfront that she's “inexperienced,” “struggling,” or something like that? Another student in one of my classes wrote in a cover letter for an assignment that her Photoshop skills were “minimal.” I recommended she not use words like that and put her best foot forward. She said she wanted to be honest, but I said she can be honest without using disparaging descriptions of her skills.

Jagella

[vangogh]

I wouldn't call attention to the fact someone is inexperienced. I wouldn't lie about it, but I wouldn't mention it either. What I'd do is focus more on something else that is positive. Now if someone asked how experienced I was when I didn't have much experience I would be honest. I'd also have something else I could add that might deflect the lack of experience like being more open to different styles.

[Jagella]

I would have to agree, balanced reviews are generally the most believable. There is always something that can be improved. When I see all raves (and lots of exclamation points) in a review, I start wondering if it's genuine. It almost feels like the company is trying too hard to get you to believe the review.

Kristine, do you know of cases in which a business running a site may have slanted reviews in favor of its product(s)? I can vouch for Amazon.com that all of my reviews of their products were free from coercion. I just wish, though, that Amazon.com would get a little more strict about seller reviews. In several cases I was pressured by sellers for better reviews. I told one seller to quit contacting me, and he kept up! I finally had to tell him to either leave me alone or I would report him to Amazon.com.

Anyway, I hope it's obvious to both customers and businesses selling goods on a Web site that reviews are to be information that customers can rely on for getting a good idea about products and sellers that are trustworthy and serve their customers well. I certainly want to know!

Jagella

[SteveC]

One of our websites reviews software... we are given software, books, etc and asked to review them... which we do and we are brutally honest... over the years most companies accept our review for what it is... however we have in the past been asked to amend reviews, etc... by certain companies... this we never do, unless we review the software again and change our opinion.

[vangogh]

I've never specifically been asked to write a review, but every so often I've reviewed some product or service. I always try to balance the pros and cons and let the reader decide whether or not they want to try the product or service. Naturally some reviews are more favorable than others, but I always do my best to be honest.

So far people have seemed to appreciate the honesty.

[KristineS]

Writing reviews can be tough.

I think people appreciate balanced reviews. There are also a lot of ways to say a product isn't so great without actually coming out and saying that. Most people can read between the lines.

What I hate are sites that claim to have reviews and then don't really write anything of substance. One of the bloggers from the OBS is doing that now. He claims to be writing reviews of outdoor blogs and mostly what he's doing is just reciting the profile information from the person who writes the blog. If you're going to write a review, it should have some opinion in it. Otherwise it's just a waste of time.

[vangogh]

Not exactly a review then, is it? Sounds like he's going for the easy way out instead of writing an honest review.

[KristineS]

I think he may just not know what he's trying to do. The guy really isn't really that great of a blogger, and my guess is he just wanted to drum up some ties with other bloggers by offering them some free publicity. The problem is that what he's doing is actually worse than if he'd done nothing. It doesn't do anything to spotlight the blogs he mentions and it certainly doesn't make me want to go read them.

Writing an honest review would be more work, but it would also be worth more, both to him and to the bloggers he spotlights.

[vangogh]

Probably a case of looking for the easy way out. It's hard to write an original post day after day. Much easier to copy and past content someone else has written. Of course it's the original content that leads to a successful site, but those looking for the easy way out are more concerned with minimizing the work and then complaining about the lack of success.

[KristineS]

My feeling is that the guy was looking for links and thought an easy way to get some was to offer "reviews". He may have good intentions, but if he'd even done any elementary reading he'd have seen that most blog reviews are in depth. I don't know that he's doing any harm to the bloggers he spotlights, but he certainly isn't doing them any good.