Credibility is critical in order to convert website visitors into clients or customers. Consequently, website credibility is a requirement for a successful web presence. If you are a fortune 500 company building your website, you don’t have to worry about establishing credibility. You have an established brand name, most likely recognized worldwide. Unfortunately, the rest of us will have to work hard to establish credibility online.

            In the process of building a successful online business, you have to establish credibility. Take steps to establish your site as a credible business. Credibility does not guarantee sales, but, without a doubt, it will improve your sales conversion. As you consider your strategy for building credibility, think of the companies you consider credible. Think of the characteristics that make them credible. Is it their, customer service, product, quality of service, image in the community, philanthropy?

Make your site personable. Post pictures of real people. Don’t use stock photos of models. Your clients want to see the people behind your business. On your “About Us” page, take a picture of your team members and provide a brief description of their job descriptions. Posting the pictures will have a positive impact on your customers. In addition, your team will have a growing self-respect.

            Make your contact information highly visible. Don’t hide your phone number if you want your customers to call. If your business is unable to support phone calls, don’t list your number. Instead, implement an easy to use “Contact Us” form. Your physical address should be listed on your site. If you are a home-based business and you don’t feel comfortable listing your address, get a PO Box. It is an inexpensive solution. Real businesses have real addresses.

            Do not use auto responders. Ten years ago, when people were receiving ten percent of the e-mail they are receiving today, it would have been a great idea. Today, auto responders are the sign of amateurs. With a few exceptions, you should not use them. Don’t ever send an auto responder to an e-mail. Your customers don’t care that you have received their e-mail. They want an answer to their query, and if your response doesn’t include the answer, you have no business sending the e-mail.

Shared SSL vs. Standard SSL

Shared SSL
If you use your hosting company’s shared SSL, your checkout page’s URL will appear as follows:
https://secure.yourhostingcompanysdomain.com/andsomemorerandompathhere

Standard SSL
If you purchase your own SSL Certificate from a CA such as VeriSign, your checkout page’s URL will appear as follows:
https://www.yoursite.com/yourcheckoutpath

Social Engineering

Social engineering is a deceptive practice to manipulate people into revealing confidential information. Criminals have been known to trick people into disclosing personal information, passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive information. Social engineering is one of the most dangerous crimes web surfers and online businesses face today. It is a low-tech crime, but it can hurt some of the most sophisticated companies.

Pretexting

This technique is commonly used to trick a consumer or business into divulging sensitive information. Individuals use this method to obtain phone and utility records, banking records, addresses, credit card numbers, user names and passwords, e-mail addresses, and other confidential information. Bases on the information collected, the criminal can establish an even greater authority. Many U.S. companies ask for a social security number, mailing address, phone number, mother’s maiden name, or date of birth to authenticate customers. All of which can be easily obtained.

Pretexting is frequently used to impersonate colleagues, authorities, bank, tax authorities or anyone who could have a right-to-know in the mind of the target. The pretexter is armed with prearranged answers to possible questions that the target may ask.

Voices over IP programs are popular among pretexters because they provide an easy platform for untraceable phone calls. The lack of a traceable phone number makes the pretexter less vulnerable to being caught.

Ideally, you would never write down your passwords, but it is becoming difficult to do with so many accounts. If you have to write them down, keep them locked in a safe or some other secure environment. Passwords on Post It notes are a recipe for disaster. Don’t do it!

            Don’t share your passwords with other, not even friends or family members. If someone has to use one of your accounts, log them in instead of sharing your password. Don’t give out your password over the phone unless you have initiated the phone call. For example, you may receive a phone call from your Internet Service Provider asking for your password. Ask for their phone number, cal them back, then give out your password. Telephone conversations are not considered secure. Neither are online chat, email, or instant messaging.

            Change your passwords regularly. A new password every 45 days is a good practice. Having the same passwords for years is a weak security practice. Set yourself reminders in your calendar. Make it a routine procedure. You’ll see that after a few months, it becomes a habit.

            Avoid typing your password on public computers. Unfortunately, many public computers have been compromised, making their users vulnerable for malicious keystroke logging scripts.

It all starts with a strong password. We all have more passwords we care to have. It might sound simplistic, but strong passwords are a must for good security. Strong passwords to your web, ftp, and data servers are the easiest first step toward a secure web presence.

            What Makes A Strong Password?

• A three-character password is much weaker than a six or eight character password. A good rule of thumb is never to use password shorter than eight characters.
• In no way should you use the default password
• Never make a word found in a dictionary your password. One of the most common methods to break into systems is to run scripts that try using dictionary words to guess your password. The less your password looks like a dictionary word, the less likely will someone guess what it is.
• Include numbers and special characters
• Avoid repeated numbers, characters or sequences such as 12345678, bbbbbbbb, or 33333333
• Never use the user name, or any combination of it, as your password. Don’t use your domain name as your password either.
• Don’t use look alike substitutions like “4ufromme”, or n0t@home”
• Use the entire keyboard, and try to use the less common keys
• Use different passwords for different accounts. If you use the same password for all of your accounts, you may find multiple of your accounts compromised simultaneously.
• Never, ever use a blank password.

Examples of strong passwords are:

A combination of several words that aren’t themselves a word interspersed with special characters (e.g., !4scOrE&sDayNYeaRs_ag0)

A word with digits of a memorable date sprinkled inside it
(e.g., vacation -> 0vac2a0t9io19ln99)

It requires a significant time commitment, publishing a newsletter may be one of the most effective ways to keep in touch with your clients. The newsletter can help you, generate trust, develop brand awareness, produce leads, and build future business. In addition, it helps you build a list of e-mail addresses from those who visit your site but aren’t yet ready to make a purchase. Always, ask for an e-mail address and first name so you can personalize each newsletter. The key to an effective newsletter is quality not quantity. If you cannot produce enough quality content each month, release your newsletters less frequently. Provide quality and your readers will thank you for it.

Providing free information to your site visitors could lead to sales. You might have a new book for sale, and making the first chapter freely available might help you close more sales. Letting your customers try some of your product before buying reduces buying stress, and it can lead to higher conversions. If you are a consultant, you could give away free online reports.

Issue Press Releases

Announce newsworthy events to the world though press releases. Unlike articles, press releases should be about your business. The key to effective press releases is to create a sense of excitement. If you have a boring press release, nobody will read it. Use stimulating language. Similarly to articles and press releases will result in links pointing to your website.

The links to your site in online news databases may remain for years and have significant weight with link popularity. Don’t bother stuffing your press release with insignificant content. Make sure you offer newsworthy information. There are several reputable press release services available to you.  One of them is PR Web. PR Web can help you to distribute your press release to a wide audience. Placing your website URL in online copies of your press release showed increase your site’s link popularity.