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Increasing trust between your customers and your company is of utmost importance nowadays. Especially since online scams and personal data theft have grown exponentially during the pandemic. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), fraud losses exceeded $5.8 billion in 2021 alone and were the second most reported category by consumers.
In Spain, the situation is not far behind, the newspaper El País reported that scams increased by 70% during the pandemic. This situation is undoubtedly alarming, especially for online merchants. For this reason, it is important that your company has the right digital certificates, URLs, and trust seals to reinforce the trust between your customers and your company.
In this article, we are going to focus especially on the importance of digital certificates and trust seals. And how they can bring you a lot of benefits.
What is a digital certificate?
Digital certificates provide security for your website. They help you to officially declare that your website meets the security and privacy requirements in order to protect personal data.
When your customers enter your website an exchange of information takes place. From basic information such as the location of where they visit you to their bank account information. Clearly protecting your customer's data is of utmost importance and doing it the right way will help you establish secure navigation and is essential for your business if you want to keep growing.
Data protection must be a priority but there is more
For sure it is important you protect all the personal information of your customers but, do you know that digital certificates and trust seals can also bring you the following benefits?
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Encrypt your customers' personal information, preventing hackers from accessing them.
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Verify the authenticity of your website, thereby increasing conversion rates and average basket values.
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They help you maintain a secure connection to the server.
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Today more and more companies are embracing the path of sustainability. A digital certificate that can show your interest in being greener could increase your sales.
- Offer tangible benefits to your customers by offering them buyer protections for their purchase
Does HTTPS to HTTP have any bearing on the security of my website?
Yes, when the SSL digital certificate is activated (we will talk about it below) the HTTPS protocol is activated. In a nutshell, having your URL start with HTTPS provides security and gives credibility that your website is not a fraud.
This is very important to Google, as of 2018 and with the release of Chrome 68, the famous browser marks all HTTP sites as 'not secure' and clearly this is something you want to avoid if you want your clientele to trust your website and make a purchase.
What types of certificates are available?
The most common and arguably a must in the world of e-commerce is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), but some green certificates have also become trending.
1. SSL Certificate: This certificate encrypts all personal information and helps to ensure that it travels securely over the Internet and is not accessed by third parties.E-commerces use it to communicate to their potential customers that the purchases they make on your website will be secure. There are three types of SSL certificates.
- Domain Validation (DV): is used for small websites and personal blogs. It validates the trust level of the domain.
- Organization Validated (OV): used by websites of medium-sized companies and online stores. It validates the physical existence of the company and its suitability.
- Extended Validation (EV): large companies and high-volume online stores certainly count on this certificate as it is the highest level of security.
Now once you activate this certificate on your website the HTTPS security protocol will appear in your URL and you will avoid Google categorizing your website as not secure.
How can I get an SSL certificate?
You can do it for free or there are many websites that can help you with this process. Some of them have internal benefits, but obtaining the SSL certificate is free unless you need some extra service. Here are some options where you can obtain the certificate:
- Google My Business
- You can do this by setting up your website from a custom domain like blogger
- With an external supplier such as:
- Bluehost (WordPress)
- Shopify
- Squarespace
- Weebly
- Wix
2. FSC® certified: If you are already choosing to be an environmentally responsible company, welcome to the green team! One certification that will help you in this process is the FSC® certificate. It attests that the materials in your parcels are made from sustainable materials and not only that, but also that they come from safely managed forests.
Find out more about this certificate here.
3. The Trusted Shops Trustmark: The Trusted Shops Trustmark is a popular certification with roots in the German market, but has grown in popularity across Europe in recent years. The Trustmark is awarded to shops that pass an audit based on EU regulations and best practices. For an extra element of trustworthiness, social proof is also a requirement for displaying the Trustmark. By collecting reviews through the Trusted Shops platform, shops must maintain a customer rating above 4-stars in order to display the Trustmark. Consumers can opt into a 30-day Buyer Protection which protects them from non-delivery or legal returns.
Find out more about the certificate here.
Conclusion
Your customers are the main asset of your company, and your sales depend on offering them optimal service. This helps you build a reputation and without a doubt, this is very important to build bonds of trust. Being able to protect their data indicates that you care about their security and that you want your business to grow in the right way without putting anyone's privacy at risk.
As mentioned above, many seals and certificates will help you increase the confidence of your customers. The prices depend on the entity, what they cover, what they offer, etc, but there are as well many that are free. It is important that you do some research on which seal or certificate is the best for your company. But one thing is for sure, if you want to keep growing, protecting the security of your customers is a must.