Small Business, Trust and SSL

Did you know that over half of Internet users today avoid buying online because they are afraid their financial information might be stolen? You need more than an SSL Certificate to win their business. You need to earn their trust.

The Challenge for Small Businesses Online

Growing concerns about fake sites, viruses and identity theft have made customers reluctant to click links on Web sites they don't know. In fact, 73% of consumers want more assurance that their information is secure.* As a result, small businesses struggle to attract prospects to their sites and suffer from abandoned transactions once they get there.

If you are hoping to attract more prospects to your site and turn wary shoppers into buyers, VeriSign® SSL Certificates can help you build your business. Our premium SSL Certificate solutions include the extra features you need to help assure your customers that your site is safe from search to browse to buy.

Stand Out from Competitors: VeriSign® Seal-in-Search™

The VeriSign seal is the No. 1 symbol of trust on the Internet. More than any other trust mark, 86% of US online shoppers are familiar with it (VeriSign Brand Tracking Research, 2009). Our trust mark is not just visible from your home page or your buy page. VeriSign Seal-in-Search technology automatically displays the VeriSign Trust Seal next to your link in search results, helping prospects trust your site enough to click. (Seal-in-Search is seen by consumers who use browsers enabled with a free plug-in, as well as on partner shopping sites and product review pages. VeriSign Seal-in-Search: How It Works)

Reduce Risk of Attack: Web Site Malware Scanning

Because of the potential damage caused by malicious code, Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines exclude any site found with malicious code from search results. No matter how much advertising or optimisation you do, if your site is blacklisted, it will not be displayed in search results and access may be blocked at the desktop by anti-virus plug-ins. All VeriSign SSL Certificate solutions include free daily Web site malware scanning to provide an early alert for quick response to a malware attack. FAQ: Web Site Malware Scanning

Proof of Trust: VeriSign Trust Seal

If you are a small company without a big brand name or a big advertising budget, VeriSign can help you convince prospects you are trustworthy. The VeriSign Trust Seal shows your prospects that:

• Your company and Web site are legitimate.
• Your transactions are safe and protected by high-quality security.
• Your site has passed a daily scan for malicious code.
• Your business cares about the safety of its customers and has taken extra steps to ensure it.

Display the VeriSign Trust Seal on your home page, in your footer, or next to any button that requires customer confidence in your site. Case studies show a 10-34% increase in online transactions when a VeriSign seal is displayed.

More Trust = More Transactions: Extended Validation SSL

You can maximise customer trust even further with an Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate. Web site visitors know that your company and Web site are legitimate when they see the green address bar in high-security browsers. VeriSign EV customers have experienced significant increases in completed Web site transactions with a big impact on the bottom line, an average increase of 17.8% (from 32 case studies).

Maximise Click-Through to Your Shopping Basket

Many small businesses use 3rd party shopping basket software and do not need an SSL Certificate. To maximise click-through to your secure 3rd party shopping basket, show customers that they can trust your site with the VeriSign Trust Seal.

*Javelin Strategy and Research, March 2009