Trust signals are evidence points that appear online to help customers feel more secure in their decision to purchase from a business or buy a product or service.
Trust signals were described in an article published in the March 2000 edition of the "Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication" as trust badges or seals from organizations such as the Better Business Bureau and TrustArc on e-commerce websites. At that time, consumers were more skeptical of providing their credit card information and other personal details to a website; trust signals helped visitors overcome their fears. A 2022 book, "Trust Signals" by Scott Baradell, was published on the subject.
In current internet marketing parlance, trust signals fall into three major categories:
A 2019 neuroimaging study in the "Journal of Interactive Marketing" studied 29 subjects who participated in an experiment simulating an online purchase. The analysis revealed that seals of approval from third-party organizations were most trusted, whereas rating systems were less trusted because they elicited feelings of ambiguity and risk.
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