Wikipedia quotes Trust with:

Trust is a relationship of reliance. A trusted party is presumed to seek to fulfill policies, ethical codes, law and their previous promises.

Trust does not need to involve belief in the good character, vices, or morals of the other party. Persons engaged in a criminal activity usually trust each other to some extent. Also trust does not need to include an action that you and the other party are mutually engaged in. Trust is a prediction of reliance on an action, based on what a party knows about the other party. Trust is a statement about what is otherwise unknown — for example, because it is far away, cannot be verified, or is in the future.

So the question remains, can you be trusted?

There are many indicators for trust on your website, in the way you do business and in the way you are presenting your business. If you are trustworthy, people will find it easier to purchase from you. How can you and your company become more trusted?

5 on-page factors that help visitors trust you.

1. Professionally  designed website
2. Testimonials from actual customers like you
3. 3^rd party verification like BBB or McAfee Hacker Safe
4. Background information and policies that are all legally approved
5. Easy to find contact information

That is not all what you can do to make sure your visitors have more faith in you and convert to customers. There are many of what I call “off-page” factors that will help you with becoming more trust worthy.

5 off-page factors that helps to increase your trust.

1. Unique content on related sites or print publications
2. Content on your site that helps people understand and use your product better
3. eMail campaign to guide new customers to all the great features to make them believers
4. Presence on Industry events, speaking on conferences or throwing industry parties
5. Your own BRAND

And we come back to what is most important in Green Hat SEM – Branding. There is not trust without a brand and without trust, itis hard to brand yourself. As example, if I would try to brand myself as the greatest Vancouver wedding clown, people would not trust me to get the job done. I’m no clown, I’m not even funny but I know a little bit about Search Engine Marketing so I brand myself as a Vancouver Strategic SEM and people trust me more. If you remain relevant to your niche and can be a expert in your industry, you increase your trust. Virginia from Bruce Clay Inc. made a great post about Trust factors of Internet Marketing.

Keep in mind Trust + Awareness = Profit²

Can you be trusted? is a post from: Strategic Search Engine Marketing : FalkoInc.com

1. Search Engines are always Changing: Search Engines are the major traffic creators for websites. With the application of a steady Strategic Search Engine Marketing Campaign, e-Business can better succeed long-term. Search Engines are evolving their algorithms daily to devalue inorganic websites to provide the best search results to there users.
2. User Behavior is Improving: The user behavior is changing too. Visitors are looking for the best Information, and they’re getting better in determining which websites are spam and who provides real value. Visitors who find real value on a website become most likely customers and often also salespersons for this website.
3. Competition gets stronger: The Internet is the most used medium in the world, almost everybody in the Western world has access to the Internet. Only when your e-Business can created trust, it would stick out of the competition and become a leader in its marketplace.

Strategic Search Engine Marketing is no longer an option for revenue-generating e-Business: It is essential, if an e-Business wants to succeed in short and long term.

3 reasons why e-Business needs Strategic SEM Today is a post from: Strategic Search Engine Marketing : FalkoInc.com