1. the site layout should be proffesional
2. you should have a clear contact section
3. in the contact section you need to put a telephone number, including a landline, a fax, an email, a physical address,
4. It helps to put a picture of the headquarter
5. It helps to be a known brand
6. have the pictures of the managers/ceo on the site. It helps to have several pictures and contact data of several company officials GM, Mk manager, sales manager, etc.
7. have a green line, posted visible
8. the site layout should be consistent with the people’s image on the business line. A banking site should never be black. Or an insurance site.
9. put linkedin accounts, yahoo messenger, aol, icq, irc
10. show testimonials from clients. Text, video, audio. Also, the testimonials should be very crredible, and the people that are credited for testimonials to be wellknown, not from invented sites: John Turturo, whateverbankingsiteonline.com
11. the site should be visual> put pictures in it
12. the google page rank should be higher. Also, the number of indexed pages should be ok, together with the number of incoming links, blogsearch presence. These are for experts.
13. the site’s every page should have a clear purpose: buy now, order now, register now, submit now, purchase now
14. offer for free samples of your product
15. organize webinars
16. have a professional email management. send interesting newsletter on the business
17. engage visitors.
18. increase visitors conversion from first time visitors -> repeated visitors ->clients->repeated clients ->brand ambassadors
19. have privacy policy in place on the site
20. put on the site logo’s from well known companies (visa, mastercard, truste, verisign)
21. put auto bookmarking services: digg, delicious, stumbleupon. Let people share the discovery
22. have an account on big social networks: facebook, myspace, youtube. Promote yourself there.
23. have bloggers speak about your product. Offer them for free something it cost usual, in exchange for a small review. Talk with thousands.
24. post on your site scans from your diplomas, certifications, associations you are in, written testimonials from clients
25. answer all your questions FAST
26. have an online messenger, waiting for peoples inquiries. The clients will give you the money if they consider you are safe and trustworthy
27. use friendly spam. Ask happy customers to recommend you to their friends.
28. show visitors (potential clients) that you have many other clients, happy ones and many business connections. Use Easy. Increase your trust points.
29. have some trolling activity on forums, about how great is your company and your products. It will help with seo, direct clicks and awareness.
30. state clear your full name
31. use scanned signature, to backup your promises
32. post videos on your site with you, as the founder, speaking directly to them, the visitors. address their brains directly
33. post on your site best practices. Show what you have done to help other clients. Together with their testimonials are the top weapon to convince
34. appear in tops, where you score best. Hell, why don’t you make your own tops, where you put yourself on first position in direct comparison with your competition
35. “as seen on tv” – can you brag on it? is very powerfull
36. speak at conferences. Post on your site or your blog the proof
37. Be in the jury of various competitions
38. post your short cv online. People who buys from you want to know you.
39. show you are involved in some charity, related to the activity

The list is not completed yet. Fell free to contribute on how to generate trust online.

Anyway, I thought to put here some methods to GENERATE TRUST (for potential clients in particular, to increase your sales).

1. the website should be professional

2. the emails you are sending should be signed, personalized, not from “financeANDrefinance.com team”, but from “The Finance Guy”. It helps increase personal relationship and preference

3. you need a human face on the site. If the potential client wants to give u money, you need to show him that you are a real person, not a crook

4. show testimonials, but not the fake ones, invented (John. T – Ohio – “You guys are great, Thanks”). No, I mean video testimonials, from recognizable people, preferable VIPs or from companies that we all know. I’m sure you know somebody famous directly or through your friends network

5. be visible. Show your linkedin account, myspace account, facebook account, …

6. Google yourself and see what others will see about you. Be carefull from youth what are you posted on the net. If you post picture with you naked and drunk, don’t expect to receive a banking top management job too soon

7. ask others to link towards your site. This is sort of a testimony that you are ok (on a specific keyword)

8. show that you are a leader – make a blog and post your ideas. Teach others

9. try to speak at all possible conferences (to be recognized as a leader in your field)

10. external shell counts. Everything is this world is based on perceptions. So, you should be excellent at this area. Hair, smile, skin, clothes, car,

11. have u appeared on TV, in shows, interviews? or advertising something? this advertising endorse you a lot. Or if a brand u worked for appeared on TV

12. generate trust by writing articles as guest in famous blogs, magazines

13. make a video by yourself an post on you site, saying something to the clients. Be impecable

14. …

Good luck generating trust