Search engine traffic still accounts for a plurality of most brands’ traffic, making it an invaluable consideration in most brands’ content and SEO strategies. There are many reasons why search engines deliver so much traffic, with the biggest being that search engines are well-equipped to help users find specific types of content they desire. Search engines like Google and Bing have many different ways of evaluating websites – both technical and aesthetic – but one of the most important elements to search engines is the “trust factor”. Below, we’ll discuss how you can ensure that your website is a trustworthy entity in the eyes of search engines.

Carefully Select the Domain Name

All too many brands and businesses make mistakes from Day One with respect to building their websites. One of these initial mistakes is the selection of a domain name. Search engines continue to view domain names with scepticism depending on age: a previously-used domain name may have more influence and trust built into it than a brand-new domain name. Because of this, many people decide to purchase expired domain names that are relevant to their topics and businesses. It is also important to not be pinging search engines with unnecessary characters in your domain name; avoid excessive hyphens and other characters that search engines do not like to see.

Feature Contact Details/Options

Search engines understand that some websites are fly-by-night operations. In order to ensure that your website is viewed as a legitimate brand or business, you must feature contact information in a prominent capacity. If you have a physical store-front, then be sure to include your address, phone number and any other relevant contact information in both the header and footer of each page. If you do not have a physical location, then elements such as email addresses, names and phone numbers may still be included to help achieve a more trustworthy presence. The general rule of thumb is that the more contact and personal information featured, the more trustworthy your website will be considered by search engines.

Establish Reputable Links

The final piece of the puzzle when it comes to establishing a trustworthy website is the development of links from websites that already are trusted by Google. Search engines are known to seek out patterns and connections: pinging search engines with links back to your website from reputable brands will further increase the likelihood that trust is established. It can be difficult to build links as a new brand, but a comprehensive effort combined with quality content creation, marketing and influencer outreach can slowly ensure that these links are generated. Likewise, low quality links from websites that are not viewed favourably by search engines can harm your overall trust rankings; be sure to disavow any links that fit this criteria through the Disavow Tool.

Trust isn’t earned overnight – in real life or from search engines. You can speed up the process and improve your chances by building reputable links from other websites, using contact information to establish that you’re a real brand, and picking a relevant and properly-aged domain name.