Here's a riddle for you:What do you have in common with a small-town sheriff, a decorated war hero, and your website?They should all wear a badge.That's Right. If your website does not use trust badges or secure payment badges to offer confidence to new visitors in your business, then you will be losing out in a big way.In today's episode, we'll discuss why your website needs to use trust badges. We'll then look at a few examples of the most popular types of trust icons that you can place on your site today.But first, let's make sure we are clear on the badges of trust.Let’s dive in1. SSL Badges2. Site Security Badges3. Money-Back Guarantee Trust Seal4. Free Shipping Trust Badge5. Secure Payment Icon6. Accepted Payments Logos7. Industry Awards Badge8. Total Satisfaction BadgeWhat Are Trust Badges?Trust badges are small icons or symbols (also known as trust badge icons ) that show your audience that your website is totally trustworthy and that their personal information is 100% secure.While you may not be familiar with the term, you’ve definitely seen these symbols on your favorite company websites:And they're not there by mistake. Many reputable ecommerce websites feature ecommerce trust badges proudly as a way to create trust with new visitors. It's very easy, how it works.New Visitors to your website have never connected with your brand. You may simply be another ecommerce scammer (or spammer) site offering a quick buck to them.But when you use trust badges such as the one in the picture above, you are essentially borrowing authority from places people widely use and trust. This is one of the slightest aspects of using social proof to improve your company.And believe it or not, these little trust icons can be the difference between gaining or losing a new customer, which makes sense.In fact, most of us rely on the trust badge in the real world, too. Imagine this scenario:🙎🏻♂️You’re at home watching your favorite rerun of Friends on Netflix. The doorbell rings, and you look out the window.You see a car in the driveway that you don't know, and a guy in jeans, and a t-shirt in your entrance:Do you open the door or pretend like you aren’t home?Ok, how about this one:You’re (again) at home watching Friends. The doorbell rings, and this time you see a police car in your driveway with a uniformed officer standing in the entrance. Everything looks 100% official and, more than anything, a bright shiny badge catches your eye as you peek through the blinds:Do you open the door this time, or do you hide under the covers and catch up on the drama that was Ross and Rachel?Since you've not done something wrong, chances are you're more likely to open the police officer's door than you're to the person you don't recognize. That's because you quickly get a few visual signs from the police officer that this is someone you can trust.The car, the uniform, and, of course, the badge.The Trust badge works exactly the same way on your website. When you don't have them on your page, certainly you can always get people to open the door for you.But you are way more likely to inspire confidence in your audience by proudly displaying the best trust badge for ecommerce on your site.👮🏻Why online shoppers are skeptical of your siteIf you are an owner of a company or work for an ecommerce site, you need to make sure that you are using the best trust badge for ecommerce or secure payment badges. This is because when shopping online, online customers find themselves in a special situation:They are more vulnerable to fraud and, therefore, more skeptical about websites. And for a good reason. To overcome this skepticism and build trust with your customers, it's essential to enhance their user experience with social proof and credible trust badges. As an app or ecommerce site owner, ensuring that you have the best trust badge for ecommerce or secure payment badges available is crucial to instilling confidence in your customers.The ecommerce world is the only situation where a customer is asked to pass on their credit card details for a product they haven't previously purchased, checked, or even seen.Besides, if you don't have an online service, the customers will have to pay and wait until they can access their order.That feeling of super insecurity makes ecommerce customers more vulnerable to fraud. It's no wonder that when they're asked for personal information, they treat websites with a good amount of suspicion.It’s your job to minimize that skepticism by enhancing their user experience with social proof. One effective way to establish trust is by featuring positive reviews and testimonials from satisfied customers on your site. These reviews can significantly impact the perception of your business and can lead to increased sales and conversions.Why does that burden fall on you? Because your new visitors don't know you, online fraud is a huge deal.That's some serious scamming going on. When viewed in that light, it's understandable that your online consumers approach your site with caution.But how can you conquer those fears to help your visitors learn to trust you?Yeah, there are lots of forms. You will get testimonials from your customers, and you can also go online and spend time improving your digital image. You may need to sit down and respond to those negative reviews you overlooked.The last is super relevant, given how many consumers make buying decisions using online reviews.But you can also go straight to the source by using trust badges to build confidence in your new users.How Trust Badges increase your site’s conversions?Trust badges in Shopify go a long way to ease the troubled minds of your customers. They allow you to borrow some authority from other well-known and highly respected brands. As an ecommerce business. you should consider integrating trust badges into your design, especially if your platform is compatible with Shopify. Doing so will help you build trust and credibility with your online customers, reassuring them that their information is secure and that they can shop with confidence.Plus, they’ve been proven to increase conversions. HulkApps ran a study where they had one form without a trust badge or secure payment badge, and another with a Verisign Secured trust badge.The result? The form with the trust badge or secure checkout badges led to a 42% increase in conversions.And this isn’t an isolated incident, either. VeriSign released a case study on how their extended validation (EV) certificates increased conversions by 30% for the hotel booking industry.Now, most sites have caught on. Adding trust badges or payment trust badges has become the norm. By showcasing trust badges, featuring positive reviews, and being responsive to customer feedback, you can overcome skepticism and establish a trustworthy reputation in the competitive ecommerce world. Let’s turn our attention to 8 of the most common ecommerce trust badges you’ve likely seen in action.8 types of Trust Badges to start using todayBefore we continue, let's remember the intent of a trust badge very quickly. It's intended to improve your reputation and inspire new visitors to trust.In other words, it's an icon, logo, or badge that gives visitors more confidence in your site. As we'll see, this is accomplished through an offer (like free shipping) or using 3rd party brands to borrow credibility.Why the disclaimer? Because we are about to see other forms of badges of trust beyond what we have covered so far. In reality, you can have a few embedded on your site before you know it!Let’s dive in.1. SSL BadgesThis is one of the most common types of trust badges used to indicate that a website is secure and encrypted for safe data transmission. In Google Chrome, this is the little lock that goes next to your URL:It shows that your site has an SSL certificate and is secure. In fact, Google Chrome is now going a step further. By clicking on the lock icon next to any domain, you can then click on Certificate:2. Site Security BadgesSite security badges are often placed prominently on a website's homepage to instill trust in visitors. Here is an example from TrustLock which, specializes in creating trust seals for other companies:It's a very small, subtle logo in the screen's bottom left-hand corner that reminds visitors that their information is secure.The most recent survey on the topic showed that the most trusted badge is from Norton:3. Money-Back Guarantee Trust SealOffering a money-back guarantee is an effective way to encourage trust in visitors. Assuring customers that they can get a refund within a specific timeframe, such as 14 or 30 days, provides them with peace of mind and increases their confidence in making a purchase.Here’s a visual:It may be a small icon, but it goes a long way in making your users feel safer about handing over their credit card information.4. Guarantee Trust SealSome companies use free shipping as a way to encourage more consumers to go through checkout. This is also another safeguard against shopping cart abandonment, as it reduces the probability that hidden costs may surface at checkout.And while you can always tell your customers that you are giving free shipping, why not show them with a trusted sign? Here's an example of free shipping from an online fashion store with a Shopify Trust badge:You will find that both are hard to miss with their free shipping badge (and money-back guarantee badge). They have bright (yellow) colors and stand out due to their style.This is the trust badge icon you want to show up front as your customers are headed toward the checkout.5. Secure Payment IconWhen customers make online purchases, they entrust their credit card details to the website.The addition of a safe checkout badge will certainly help your customers trust your credit card data. Here’s an example of a secure payment badge.Notice that it’s not overly flashy and isn’t trying too hard to get the user’s attention. It’s a simple, green logo with a tiny checkmark.In most cases, this is all it takes to remind your customers that their shopping experience is safe with you.6. Accepted Payments LogosSome may argue that payments accepted is not a badge of confidence. But when you think about it, it also borrows prestige from other firms using the approved payment logos.Once people see the Visa, Mastercard, or Amex logos, they immediately see a brand they know and trust. Here is an example from the pricing page on SEMrush:Can scammers put these logos on their pages as well? Of course.But showing your audience that you accept widely used and trusted payment methods can give that little added boost of confidence they need to make a purchase.7. Industry Awards BadgeDisplaying industry awards badges serves as a way to showcase the recognition and respect a company has earned from both users and official critics. These badges add an extra layer of confidence for potential customers, indicating that the company's products or services are esteemed and reliable.Check out this example from SEMrush:Even if people haven’t heard of the company designating the awards, these trust badges are still effective at building your site’s credibility.8. Total Satisfaction BadgeSimilar to the money-back guarantee trust badge, some companies offer total satisfaction. These companies are assuring customers that if they make a purchase and aren’t happy with it, they won’t be left to wallow in their regret.In fact, you can go a step further and create a custom trust badge to a Happiness Guarantee or something you like:Final thoughtsTrust badges are a huge asset in retaining new visitors to your site. They’ve also been shown to increase sales and reduce cart abandonment. Moreover, It is useless to over-saturate your site with trust badges or guaranteed safe checkout badges if they are not needed. They should be placed strategically in various pages of your site. Take a walk through my next article on adding the trust badges in your Shopify store.