This is the fourth post of Testing Trust, a blog series where website security trustmarks are put to the test in real-world experiments conducted by top marketing agencies. We hope the results of these tests will help ecommerce websites discover new ways to optimize visitor trust.

As a leading provider of optical care products, LensDirect.com knows how to make things clear for customers. But in their highly competitive industry, it’s crucial to continually find new ways to make shoppers see their website as the clear choice to purchase contacts and eyewear.

Though they saw positive results by displaying the McAfee SECURE trustmark across their site, the LensDirect marketing team wondered if expanding to the full TrustedSite system of trustmarks would help to build visitor trust and increase sales even further.

They decided to create a test using in-house split testing technology and Google Analytics. During the testing period, half of all visitors on LensDirect.com saw just the McAfee trustmark, and the other half saw a variety of TrustedSite trustmarks placed in strategic locations throughout the customer journey.

Here’s how the TrustedSite trustmarks looked on LensDirect.com.

Security in plain sight

To help establish site authenticity immediately upon arrival to LensDirect.com, the floating trustmark was added to every page in the lower-left corner. When a visitor hovers over the trustmark, it expands to say “Certified Secure,” and when they click it a pop-up window appears with information about the site’s security and business verification. Whether visitors arrived through search results, emails, or advertising, the floating trustmark makes it clear they’ve come to the site they were expecting, and not a phishing scam.

The full scope of trust

When visitors are trying to get a quick picture of who a company is, what they do, and where they operate, the footer is a great place to look. That’s why it was an important place to add the certified secure trustmark. By placing the trustmark underneath their accepted forms of payment, along with the “Secure Payment” heading and their impressive A+ rating from the Better Business Bereau, visitors can see that LensDirect.com is actively working to protect customers’ personal information.

Crystal clear cart protection

Visitor trust really starts to be tested on the cart page. In order to proceed to checkout, visitors need to be sure that they’re making a smart purchase. LensDirect.com helped visitors gain confidence at this stage in two ways.

Prior to the test, LensDirect.com showcased customer reviews with TrustPilot’s TrustBox widget, placed underneath the checkout button. This widget allows shoppers to make informed purchases by reading about previous customers’ experiences with LensDirect.com.

During the test, the Shopper Identity Protection trustmark was added above the widget. This trustmark lets visitors know that in case their information is somehow compromised (the number 1 fear of online shoppers) within 90 days of their purchase, they are eligible to receive $100k Identity Protection. The TrustedSite system also includes a Secure Checkout banner trustmark, which we now recommend to be used in this location.

By placing the TrustedSite banner along with the Trustpilot widget on the cart page, the two services work hand in hand to encourage visitors to confidently move on to checkout.

The right frame of mind at checkout

The last step of the purchase funnel is usually the scariest for shoppers, so it’s important to ensure they are in the right frame of mind to hand over credit card information. LensDirect.com found several ways to ease common concerns on the checkout page.

Directly to the right of the credit card information fields, they placed a Secure Checkout trustmark. This helps to reassure shoppers that their payment information will not be stolen from this transaction.

When a customer is ready to complete their purchase, they click a button that displays a lock icon and reads “Submit Secure Order.” Underneath this button, the Shopper Identity Protection trustmark was used again. These final additions work together to remind the customer that their purchase is protected.

The Results

• Conversion Increase

  +2.6%

  All Devices

• Cart Bounce Rate

  -24%

  Desktop

• Revenue Generated

  +7%

  Mobile

For LensDirect.com, the full suite of TrustedSite trustmarks generated 2.6% more conversions than the McAfee SECURE trustmark on its own. Additional key findings include a 24% decrease in cart abandonment for shoppers on desktop, and a 7% increase in revenue generated by mobile shoppers. These results prove that increased visitor trust throughout the customer journey can have a significant impact.

The LensDirect team learned the importance of addressing trust concerns beyond those related to site security, and fully implemented TrustedSite certification on their site.

"We saw an immediate lift in multiple areas. TrustedSite has proven itself to be a powerful partner in all facets of our operation—from customer experience to customer acquisition, and even customer retention."

- Dale Kim, Digital Marketing Manager

See the trustmarks in action at LensDirect.com, and check out results from similar A/B tests in previous posts from our Testing Trust series.