As 2007 is quickly coming to a close, we start to think about the New Year; new customers, new business opportunities and a “fresh start” to renew our drive and determination to resolve some of the failed resolutions that we set a year ago.  Thinking about the New Year and all of the hopes we have for it, we need to really sit down and take a look at the credibility of our online business.

In what seems like only a few years ago, a man’s word was his bond; a simple handshake and a word of affirmation was all that was needed to solidify an agreement where the outcome was clear and the provisions set-in-stone like the binding multi-page contracts of today.  However, as men have become more greedy and untrustworthy, with lawsuits and scams perpetrating the very fiber of our society, trustworthiness is a much needed, but sorely lacking trait in both our brick and mortar establishments and online worlds.

Credibility is especially important in today’s online marketplace where any 15 year old with a stolen credit card number can setup a corporate identity; website text alone doesn’t cut it when you’re looking to obtain the trust of your potential customers.

As is outlined within this post on Webmaster World, “Trust Seals” and the like are purported to boost conversions, which would at least attest to the fact that they have the ability to lend credibility to your online establishment.  However, at the end of the day, earning trustworthiness and credibility extend well-beyond obtaining an official looking stamp of approval from some unknown website; credibility and trustworthiness are earmarks of a person, business or entity that live up to the adage “a man’s word is his deed”.

We, as internet business owners, can go to great lengths to portray the semblance of credibility, whether it is through adding “trust seals”, employing external verification services to our websites or adding video to our online establishments. But, when hindsight kicks in and it’s all said and done – the one factor that truly determines our credibility is our ability, or inability, to live up to what we’ve promised.

Today’s internet consumers are getting smarter, and if you hope to grab your share of the internet market, building credibility for your online establishment should be your number one New Year’s resolution for 2008.