Let's face it: most customers will arrive on your website with little to no knowledge of who you are or what you offer. Naturally, you won't turn your prospective customers into buyers unless you adequately address a need and seek to fill it. So, how can you turn complete strangers into enthusiastic, invested customers?

You need to build your credibility with them.

Warning: How Not to Build Credibility

If you are part of a start-up SEO or inbound marketing company, you should steer clear of the following:

1. Randomly spamming contact forms offering your SEO services

2. Sending direct messages via LinkedIn offering your SEO services

While both of these methods may appear to be direct ways of getting yourself in front of the right people, both tactics can actually backfire and damage your reputation.

So, if your shotgun approach isn't working, it's time to start building credibility with your audience.

How to establish credibility

Most experts believe that customers base their purchase decisions on two core credibility qualities:

1. Trustworthiness: you will develop trust with your customers as you deliver on your promises and follow through on your commitments.

2. Expertise: you can build your expertise by providing useful information to your potential customers.

Credibility will take time to build. Diligent, consistent effort will be required.

Why is credibility so important?

Many of us have heard horror stories about some unsuspecting 'mom and pop' business being taken for a ride by SEO Snake Oil salesman. We also have to battle against preconceived notions about the industry and stand apart from the constant stream of junk mail promising dodgy 'first place Google' type results.

Some brands are keen to avoid the negative associations of SEO. Increasingly the conversation is moving away from the 'SEO' stigma and towards the (as yet) untarnished term, 'inbound marketing.'

If you're new to the market, it can seem an impossible challenge to win new clients who demand a proven track record. Without some key credibility indicators, it will be hard to close leads and find new opportunities.

How to demonstrate credibility in your digital marketing business

Here are twelve ways to begin building your credibility online:

1. Showing your expertise

Ranking isn't everything. However, to the lay person, seeing your site at the top of the natural search results can be an indicator of trustworthiness.

To truly BE an expert you need to keep up on the latest news, trends, and innovations in your field. In Tim Ferriss' famous book, The Four Hour Work Week, he recommends:

“It doesn't matter if you're an expert and no one knows it, and it doesn't matter if you are the top expert in your industry or not, if the media is coming to you for expert advice. If you know more than most people about a particular niche, you can be an expert.” (Paraphrased) fourhourworkweek.com

Clearly, it pays to stay up-to-date with the latest information and use any opportunity to prove your level of knowledge. By creating an air of authority, you'll stand out among your competition – by assuring clients that you know more.

2. Creating a good impression

Ensure that your new website looks professional and reads well. Typos and poor grammar can be a huge turnoff for customers (and no, the 'I'm so busy doing great work for my clients' argument doesn't work).

Check out The World's Worst Website – a great tongue in cheek site that aims to break every single design and copy rule imaginable.

If you'd like to see an example of company that is using effective copywriting to their advantage, check out Dropbox. They've taken the guesswork out of their file sharing service by describing it with short, punchy, playful copy. Just look at their current tagline: "Your stuff, anywhere."

Also, make sure that your site suits what you're selling. Zeke Camusio makes a great point in his article 7 ways to boost your credibility online: "If your site is selling novelty items, but looks like a corporate consulting recruiter, you lose credibility."

A well-designed, uncluttered site with clear messaging supports your brand goals of being straightforward, clear, organised, and easy to work with.

3. Using a human face

Humans want to interact with other humans, and many people feel more comfortable if they can 'see' you before they buy.

Human warmth and connection play a large part in customer relationship building. If you can't meet face-to-face, try to make sure your digital images are the best they can be. Get some professional photographs of yourself that show you in the best possible light. Look directly at the camera and smile with your big, lovely human face.

Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income is famous for using a picture of himself with his son on his website. What better way to let people in on your human-ness?

4. Encouraging positive feedback

Positive feedback from previous clients can be hugely influential when building credibility, so try to include testimonials throughout your website and in your email correspondence.

Don't just stick client logos on your home page. Dateless, nameless, pictureless quotes tend to look fake. Instead, make sure your testimonials do the hard work for you by:

Requesting a profile shot of your client and using it next to their testimonial. Images convince people to buy. Highrise boosted its conversion rate by 102.5% by showing an image of a happy customer on its home page.

• Including their job title and a date on each quote.
• Keeping the testimonial short – just a few lines – and possibly bolding key phrases.
• Including a link back to the client's website.
• Including a link back to the client's profile on LinkedIn or similar site.

Quick Sprout does something similar.

This transparency shows you have nothing to hide. It also makes it clear that you'd be happy for the potential client to contact your previous clients to confirm the details of their testimonial.

5. Write clear case studies

Client case studies are much richer than testimonials and are therefore an even better way of showing you know your stuff. If you're just starting out and don't have any high profile clients to discuss, how about volunteering your services to a local charity in return for featuring them on your site.

You can also offer your services for free to larger, well-known companies so that you can feature them on your site. You'll earn both experience and credibility points by association as the customer thinks: “Well if <Big Company> used them, surely they can help us.”

Once you've improved their ranking and started earning them money, remember to showcase it on your website. But remember, be as specific as possible and provide actual figures for improvement, such as:

• Upped donations by $XX in X months.
• Increased conversions by XX%.
• Improved ranking for keyword phrase “XXX” from position 17 to position 3.
• Grew email database by 22,000 addresses.

A great way to create engaging Case Studies can be to present them in a different format, such as a podcast, explainer video, or infographic.

Check out this example from Kissmetrics:

6. Go the HARO

HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is a great way to boost your media mentions and, in turn, build credibility. Put simply, HARO sites are used by journalists as a quick way to find quotes, sources, and people, just like you, to feature in magazine and press articles. Journalists from publications like The New York Times and The Sydney Morning Herald also use this service.

HARO is the most well-known service of this kind, but there are many others including Source Bottle, My Local Reporter, and the Media Bag. Check out a great list here: 10 HARO-like Tools To Score Great Media Mentions for your Business.

If you're lucky, you'll get a direct link back to your website from a well-respected media source; if not, you'll still score a heap of social media mentions. Here's a great HARO success story that proves how useful it is for building your online profile.

7. Write beautiful blogs

Establishing yourself as a thought leader is obviously a great way to encourage a positive perception of you and your company. We tell our clients that 'content is king,' but all too often the blogs on our own site are thin, poorly written rehashes of content found elsewhere. Invest the time needed to create truly awesome content, including considering using a professional copywriter.

Follow your own advice and use mixed media in your posts. Provide 'to do' lists, tutorials, opinion pieces, social commentary, news, step-by-step instructions, reviews, and discussion articles.

As Neil Patel puts it – it's important to, 'Give away the farm.' "Go so deep… that you are giving away your secrets and letting people know exactly what you did."

By giving out your ideas and experience so freely and openly, you'll often find that potential customers who may have thought they could 'do it themselves' choose instead to come to the expert – You!

Also try, when appropriate, to make it personal. Tell your story and give your blog some heart and soul. This excellent piece by Jon Morrow combines heartfelt emotion with great advice.

8. Listen to the discussion

In his article "How to make your brand image more credible, believable, and profitable," Phillip Davis discusses how a mattress company, Tempur-Pedic, directs potential customers to Facebook to hear and read what consumers are saying.

“It's a bold move, but one that underscores their conviction in their product quality and customer support. These proactive brands have learned a valuable lesson. It's not about controlling the conversation and presented a false front of perfection. It's about listening and responding in a timely fashion.”

Encouraging people to speak openly about your brand backs up the feeling that you're open and that there are no skeletons in your closet. It also gives you great insights into ways you can improve your business.

9. Handle negatively with positivity

Of course, the way you respond to negative feedback says a huge amount about who you are as a person and as a brand. These days, it's all too easy for underhand competitors or disgruntled ex-customers to dish out nasty comments in the form of 'reviews.' Always respond graciously and handle the comments, in an open, honest, and transparent manner.

If you're at fault, own up to it and offer to discuss the issue further with the customer on the phone or in person. Check out this hilarious post from Matthew Woodward on how to effectively destroy your business through handling negativity the wrong way.

If you're not at fault, still take the time to reply: offer what form of apology you deem necessary and, above all, don't incite further discussion (or feed the trolls). This applies to negative feedback on all social media and blog posts too.

Alternatively, if you're brave, you can take the James Blunt approach to negative comments. Oh and if you have five minutes, here's a fun and helpful video on how to deal with the 'haters':

10. Feed the blogs

Of course, having other people write about your business is even better. If you have a particular service or product to promote, try to think of a newsworthy angle and get it out there. Ryan Holiday takes an ingenious approach in his book, Trust me I'm lying: Confessions of a media manipulator.

His 'trading up the chain' strategy is a great way to get your start-up SEO business noticed. It involves seeding content into small blogs that then get picked up and developed by bigger blogs, eventually hitting the front pages of major newspapers.

11. Bring on the awards

Who doesn't love an award? Not only is it something shiny to show off in your business meeting room, but the stamp of approval on your website or email footer helps establish more trust. Ask yourself this: wouldn't you rather work with an award-winning SEO consultant?

Check out Mathew Woodward's blog, which is a great example of using awards to showcase credibility.

12. The five six Ps of personal credibility

It sounds obvious, but so many business people fail to follow basic rules of business (and social etiquette) when meeting face-to-face. When dealing with clients, or suppliers and contractors for that matter, always ensure you're:

1. Punctual: Lateness suggests the client's time isn't as important as your own. Consider using Google Calendar to keep track of your schedule.

2. Polite: 'Please,' 'thank you,' and 'sorry' go a long way.

3. Presentable: This isn't just about wearing clean underwear, but is more about dressing appropriately for the client you're working with. The ripped jeans and geek t-shirt is fine for the home office, but if you're going into a bank, wear a suit.

4. Personable: Pay attention to your customers, listen to their questions, and answer them carefully and correctly!

5. Prepared: Come ready to talk, with everything you need (including a pen), and allow yourself a few minutes before the client arrives to get organised.

Another important P is to always keep your Promises. If you're in any doubt about whether you can meet a deadline or deliver an objective, don't make false promises. Be honest and open. This will improve rather than detract from your credibility.

Of course, it takes time to build credibility using these tactics, and it's impossible to do all of these things straight away.

The point is – don't be just another start-up SEO company automating direct messages through LinkedIn and random website contact forms. Instead, take the time to build and demonstrate your credibility so that you can turn your shotgun approach at client acquisition into a more targeted, purposeful outreach that will give you a much higher chance of signing up new clients.

Doing great work for clients shouts your credibility from the rooftops. Hard work, enthusiasm, and great customer service matter as much as every single one of the points above.

Doing great work will require great effort on your part. If you want to establish credibility, there is no going around it. You will have deliver on your promises and build trust with your clients.

Over to you

What problems have you faced as a start-up SEO or inbound marketing company? How did you build your credibility with customers?