The world of e-commerce is a nearly exponential array of options for the online shopper. Through search engine optimization, social media presence, word-of-mouth and conventional media, online retailers are able to target their audience from numerous angles. With so many variables and options available, the online shopper can be a hard catch. The highly competitive nature of ecommerce forces sellers to put forth a tremendous amount of effort to capture sales. Even with the most attractive website, competitive prices and user-friendly interface, a conversion can be lost if the user does not feel confident in your organization or product.

Whether your website is new, or you're an established online retailer who is noticing a drop in conversions, the best search engine marketing, branding and viral media may not be enough to turn visits into purchases. Even with massive strides in secure online transactions, a potential customer will always feel a level of uncertainty in the backs of their minds when adding your items to their online shopping cart. By establishing a strong sense of authority over your subject matter and product, a potential customer will be much more at ease knowing they are purchasing from a reputable and trusted source.

How to Establish Authority

Depending on your product or service, there are numerous ways to establish authority and instill trust and confidence in visitors. Here are a few ideas to help:

• Product or service descriptions need to be absolute. Make it very clear what the customer can expect and word these descriptions clearly. Be straight and to the point. If your market is highly competitive, focus on why your product is the best, without slandering your competition.
• Provide facts and resources to back up your claims. For example, if you offer a product that can be used on the consumer's body, provide clinical statistics in plain English so the consumer can trust that the product is safe and proven to yield the results you claim. Using before and after photos, offering clear instructions and photos of the product in use will help back up these claims.  If you are offering a service, explain in detail what the customer can expect, the time line they’re looking at and the relationship they will have with you.
• If your brand or product has been endorsed or mentioned in any mainstream, trusted media, make very clear mention of this! Let familiar names vouch for you.
• Ask for and clearly display customer testimonials. If a visitor can see that others have worked with you and are satisfied, they'll feel more inclined to buy.
• Utilize social media marketing, blogs and articles to speak about your services. You don't need to try to sell the product, but discuss your expertise in your field to reinforce your authority on the topic. Speak about developments in your industry, how you plan on addressing a changing market, etc.
• Of course, provide honest and engaging customer service. Give your visitors a quick turn-around time for any questions they have. Make it worth their time to interact with you. Make return, privacy and satisfaction guarantee policies easily accessible. Clearly indicate secure shopping cart and credit card encryption measures.

Remember, your website is a source of information, just as much as it is a source for purchasing your services or product. The key is to present it not only to attract buyers, but completely encompass your topic to suggest that you are the best source available for customers to bring their questions, curiosity and ultimately, their money.

By presenting your organization as an ultimate authority on your subject and product, customers will feel much more confident in doing business with you. Having all the pieces of the puzzle clearly put together will help answer a customer's questions before they need to be asked. Make your website an experience for the visitor that will not only secure their business, but bring them back to you as their trusted vendor of choice.

Shopping on the web is so convenient and easy, however there is one major drawback... The shopper cannot hold the product in her hands or read the writing on the box. A major challenge for web retailers is to provide detailed information for each and every product so the shoppers’ questions are answered and the shopper feels secure.

Here’s a list of potential details that might “make or break” a purchase if it is not included.

Intro - Start with a short descriptive paragraph about the product that creates excitement and include important keywords such as the name of the product, the brand, and what it is or what purpose it serves. Repeating the name of the product in the paragraph enforces what it is and scores points with search engines.

Compatibility – Does this product match a set of products or does it fit with certain products? Is it part of a special line of products? More importantly, are there some products that this product does not fit with that might confuse the shopper?

Fabric/Material – This is a biggie! People look for fabric or material to understand the sturdiness, feel and texture. There is a big difference between, for instance, cotton and wool or plastic and metal.

Manufacturer - Sometimes the manufacturer is not included in a product’s title. This could be valuable information especially if the manufacturer is popular or has a trusted name.

 Inclusions – How many pieces are included and what exactly are they?

Batteries – Does it take batteries, and are they included? What kind are they and how many?

Dimensions – Let the shopper get a good feel for the size of the product by including height, length and width.

Weight – Weight is another factor the shopper might wonder about, but it is also a requirement if you have shipping cost functionality.

Age – Is there a recommended age for this product… a minimum and even a maximum perhaps?

Safety – Are there special precautions that deserve mentioning on the web site?

Sometimes, the web retailer employees are adding products to the web that they have never seen. If this is the case, go to the manufacturer to get all of the information possible.  You can’t go wrong with a product description that is too specific!
 

Good web page content is believed to be one of the highest weighted measures in achieving optimal organic rankings.  In order to help you achieve success in this area, here are 8 tips on writing good content for your site.  Keep these in mind as you are deciding what to write in your copy and your search engine optimization efforts will show better returns. 

1.      Tell them why they should buy from you - Clarity of your products or service value is the most important factor in determining whether a customer buys from you or not. Ask yourself the question: “Why should I buy from this site?”

2.      Flaunt what sets you apart - What differentiates you from your competitors? Free shipping, discounts, a 365-day warranty, price protection, privacy, customer service, etc.? If you’ve got it, flaunt it!  Researching your competitors is key to determining these traits.

3.      Write naturally - Write just as you would talk to a friend.  Clearly and concisely state your key message.  Then after the copy (content) is written, add in some relevant keywords.  If you need any assistance with keyword research, please contact us and we would be happy to provide you with some assistance. 

4.      Plug keywords into the right locations – Your website is full of hot spots that search engine spiders check regularly.  Use keywords in headlines, subheads and body copy of your web pages.  But, use those words sparingly.  Keyword “loading” can actually have a negative affect on your ranking.  A good keyword density is between 4 and 6% of the total content.

5.      Keep the spiders coming back - Keep all the copy on your content current.  The more fresh and relevant content they find, the higher the search engine is likely to rank your site.  Make sure to link keywords within your content to other pages about the topic where appropriate to guide both spiders and readers.

6.      Rally the believers - Credibility is a true testament: people don’t buy from websites, people buy from people. Thus, testimonials from devout customers—or even a letter from the CEO/Editor—persuades the unbelieving.

7.      Let them make the choice - “Why should I buy this specific product?” Almost every e-business shop forgets about this, but it’s the question that’s key to Mr. or Ms. Customer’s mind. Prove to him or her why they should buy this over the competitive product by offering reviews, ratings and comparisons.

8.      Write a keyword rich article  - People usually come online for two reasons, to check their email or to look up information.  They want the answer to a question or a solution to a problem – and you can provide that in a short article.  Look for article ideas in the questions that you regularly hear your customers asking or about things you regularly see people doing wrong.  Share tips on how to use the products you sell or talk about industry trends.  Other tips on this subject are:    

 a.        Keep articles shorter than 400 words                                                                 

 b.        Contain a relevant keyword in the first 90 characters                                         

 c.        Contain the keyword in the first and last paragraphs                                         

 d.        Provide a short credibility-building bio at the end of your article.