Online competition is fierce. Once you’ve done the hard work of getting visitors to your website, the next step is convincing them that you’re as good as you say you are.
And here’s the reality: they will be checking out your competitors’ websites. The business they choose is the one they trust the most to get the results they want.
One of the most powerful ways to build that trust is with social proof – evidence that real people have used your services and seen results. But in an era of AI deepfakes, scam sites and “too good to be true” marketing, not all testimonials carry equal weight.
Your social proof needs to be bulletproof, so that even the most cynical website visitors trust that you're as good as your website claims you are.
4 ways to make your testimonials bulletproof.
1. Link to independent review platforms
Independent, verified review platforms like Google reviews or Trustpilot are well worth using. Although it’s still possible, it’s a lot harder to fake reviews on these platforms. Your cynical website visitors might be more willing to trust a dozen 5-star reviews from real people on Google, than 100 testimonials you’ve written directly on your website pages.
My advice: If you haven’t started using collecting reviews on a well known review platform, choose one and start now! Once you have a good amount (10 or more), link back to your chosen review platform from your website, underneath every testimonial section.
Suggested wording: “Why not check out our 30+ 5-star reviews on Google” or “Rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot - take a look at our 5-star reviews”
(While we’re talking reviews - take a look Pie Heart Studio’s Google review page 😎)
2. Link testimonials back to a case study
Linking a testimonial to a case study gives it some extra clout. You're backing yourself up by saying, 'This is what one of our recent clients said about us, and here's exactly how we got this great result for them'. You can't do that so easily with a faked testimonial.
Here’s an example of how we do that on the Pie Heart Studio website:
(Read the actual case study here)
This method is similar to our 'Results Snippets' method, where instead of a testimonial, you showcase a specific result you got for a client. The important part is linking back to that case study to back yourself up.
3. Prove that your testimonials are from a real person/business
Now, I know this one isn’t always possible, especially if you sign an NDA for your clients, or you work with sensitive information. It’s often worth double checking to make sure they’re ok with this.
As well as a name, adding a photo or a client logo to a written testimonial gives it that extra credibility factor, especially if that logo or photo leads back to a website or a LinkedIn profile. Not only can website visitors see that it’s more likely to have come from a real person or business, but it also adds a little more relatability to the testimonial.
It stops being just ‘words on a page’ and instead becomes something a real person said about you.
4. Display video testimonials
Video testimonials take it a step further. Not only are they more attention-grabbing and engaging than text alone, they carry an extra layer of authenticity and credibility. Viewers can see and hear a real, happy client of yours, talking in their own words about the results your service helped them achieve. The combination of visual and vocal cues make it much harder to doubt the validity of the testimonial.
Yes, it takes a bit more effort to get clients to agree to give you a video testimonial, but it’s well worth it. If you can’t set up an in-person video interview with the client, you could arrange and record a video call, then edit snippets of it to use as testimonials (with their permission of course). There are also tools like Speaking of Me and Senja which can help you with collecting video testimonials from previous clients.
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When it comes to convincing website visitors that you're a credible business with valuable services, quality social proof is just as important as a high quantity of it. And if you want your website to do the heavy lifting, and to consistently turn browsers into buyers, it's important to spend some time focusing on this.
This is part 2 of my mini-series on how to use your website to build undeniable business credibility. You can also read part 1: The 'Results Snippet' method, and part 3: How to turn your blog into a Knowledge Hub.