Online Creditability--Is It Important?

When people first build a website, online creditability is, well, not an immediate thought. But it really should be. The creative side of building the website is fun and adventuresome for most, because it is their creation.

However, once the website is up, that is when the real works begin. Getting people to your site, and keeping them coming back is important. Which means in part, that along with building your business -- you need to keep a close eye on your online creditability as well. My article "Online Creditability - What is It?" gives you an insight to what online creditability is, what you can do to make yourself known.

And for a small business wanting to come onboard or people who want to get into the affiliate marketing side of the business, I've included a section on Affiliate Brokers-- companies that bring the Merchant and the Affiliate together.

There is one area -- Customer Service -- which is always important. When a small business is online, quality customer service should extend to both the customer and their affiliates. Why the affiliate? Without the affiliate -- your extension and exposure on the web could become very limited, and if treated unfairly -- well, let's say forum talk travels fast.

Your website is your initial seed to creditability, what you do in the succeeding months will determine if your creditability will grow or fall. It's up to you.




Online Creditability – What is It?
By Vickie Scanlon


Getting a website online is the beginning of your online presence. But what some people forget is, just like a brick and mortar business, your online business must present you and your business in the best light possible. Your online creditability – how do you establish it.

Let me begin by saying, that most people that surf the net are savvy in its ways and what it has to offer. So, when they first hit your site, they may bulk at buying from you if they are not sure if you are the real thing. Simply translated, they are wondering about your “online creditability”. But the big question you are probably asking yourself is, “How Do I Build My Online Creditability?”

How to Build Your Online Creditability

Here are some tips that you can utilize to pump up your online creditability. Some of these suggestions may be obvious, but you would be surprised how many companies/people ignore the obvious, when they first come online.

1) Whether you are a brick and mortar company or sole proprietor -- you should create an about page.

You can give a little history about your company, how long you have been in business, your mission statement and what your company offers, then include your physical location, and company phone (preferably an 800 number) and/or an email address.

Will they trust you yet? If you’re a new site, they may be hesitate, especially if they have been burned a couple of times. If they want to buy from you, they are going to check you out in "Whois/Domain Tools", "Urltrends", and/or the Better Business Bureau, just to name a few. If they don't, they're braver than I would be.

2) A photo –You can place a photo of your company or yourself. It will let them know you are real. I realize that you are peeling the onion, so to speak, and bearing your look online – but they want to know you are real.

3) Have quality customer service. Now, I'm an affiliate marketer – before I decide whether a service or product stays on my site, I’ll give their customer service a call. If the call goes well, they stay, if not – I’ll give them one more call on a different day before deciding whether it stays or goes from my site.

Customer care is important not only for the company but also to the person who sells your service or product. If you have poor customer service, it will reflect in your sales and the affiliate’s sales. And may I add, on the Internet news travels quickly – so make sure all your ducks are in a roll, because word-of-mouth can kill you if it’s not positive. And as to affiliates, they talk too. If they find their selling experience with you to be less than ideal, well, you can guess what they will do.

4) Autoresponders -- for an ecommerce site, it should be a given. When someone buys your product or service, send him or her an email stating that the sale went through, with all the specifics, for their records.

5) Testimonials – Testimonials from people who have used your service or product, is a major plus.

6) Links -- Be careful who you link too. Do not blindly link to a site without checking it out. A bad link can hurt you in the search engines and cost you traffic and customers.

7) Proofread -- Have several people read the copy when the copy is off-line and again, when it first goes online. Sometimes you're in the glow of your own creation, or have worked on it for so long that you don't see the spelling or grammar errors.


Use Affiliates To Help Promote Your Service or Product

If you are selling a product or service you may want to give your sales an additional boost by seeking out affiliates to promote your product or service. The mix goes like this: Affiliate + Merchant=Affiliate Marketing.

Affiliate marketing is simply the promotion of a company's product or service by another individual (the affiliate). If the said individual makes a sale – that individual will receive a commission from the company.

Affiliate marketing is good for two reasons: 1) more people selling, means more exposure and sales for your product; and 2) it’s a great way to get one-way links to your site.

To kick-start the affiliate marketing side of your business, there are, what I call “Advertising Brokers”, that bring the merchant and the affiliate together under one roof. Here, affiliates can find merchants that fit their niche, and merchants can find affiliates to promote their service or product. It’s a win-win situation.

Here are examples of three Advertising Brokers that you can look into:

LinkShare
Commission Junction
ClixGalore
Clickbank (Digital)


You will find that an affiliate program is a cost-effective way of advertising because you only pay the affiliate a commission when the affiliate refers an actual sale. As I said above, you will achieve two things: 1) more exposure, and 2) more sales.

As you can see, there are many facets to getting any business online, but doable. So, if you are sitting on the fence, push back your fears and take the challenge, because the future of the Internet is still in its growth and definition stage. Stated metaphorically, the oyster is for the taking, it’s only up to you to push back your fears and take up the challenge of the new future


About the Author:
Vickie J. Scanlon: Visit her site at: My Affiliate Place for tools, the "How Tos" of Internet Marketing/Affiliate Marketing, ebooks, where to find affiliate programs to join, computers, software utilities and more.