A trust badge is any emblem, seal, symbol or icon intended to quickly establish trust with prospective customers and other audiences online. It's a shorthand way to communicate credibility to those who visit your website or come across your brand on social media.

For e-commerce businesses, research shows that trust badges can cut cart abandonment in half. And trust badges aren't just for online merchants these days; any brand can benefit from the instant social proof that trust badges can provide.

Trust badges come in three primary categories:

1. E-commerce trust badges that reassure online shoppers with promises of transaction security, money-back guarantees and more;

2. Endorsement trust badges that provide third-party validation, ranging from a Better Business Bureau seal to professional certifications and the logos of well-known customers; and
3. Social media trust badges that verify your brand, typically with a blue checkmark badge, on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

Following is a list of 15 trust badges across these three categories. Some are free trust badges and others require fees. Please note: the links in this list are to blog posts that describe specific badges in greater depth. Be sure to watch our video, "How Many Trust Badges Are Too Many," at the end of this post; then, visit our guide to trust badges for Shopify to learn more about earning trust for your Shopify store.

E-Commerce Trust Badges

In e-commerce, trust  badges are most visible during the checkout process, but many sites today use them on their homepage, product pages and About Us pages as well.

Here are the four main types of e-commerce trust badges:

• Security Trust Badges
• Payment Trust Badges
• Guarantee Trust Badges
• Shipping Trust Badges

The Idea Grove creative team has designed 72 free trust badges to boost e-commerce trust that I encourage you to download. But first, let's explore each type of e-commerce trust badge in more detail.

Security Trust Badges

A “safe checkout” badge indicates that an ecommerce site’s checkout process is secure and that customer financial data is protected. The Norton seal is among the most popular trustmarks on the Internet, viewed approximately 100 million times per day by consumers in 170 countries. PayPal and Shopify seals also communicate trust and security. The TRUSTe badge, which has been around since the early days of the Internet, validates that your website protects visitor privacy. Display these trust badges near your “Add To Cart” link for maximum impact.

Payment Trust Badges

Consumers are more likely to trust your ecommerce website if you accept widely used forms of payment such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal. Merchant programs such as Visa Secure also protect consumers against fraud, making these trust badges even more reassuring to visitors.

Guarantee Trust Badges

Adding a “30-Day Money-Back Guarantee” or “Free 1-Year Warranty” badge to your website can significantly increase sales by reducing your customer’s perceived risk. Standing by your product with a guarantee or warranty also communicates your belief in the product’s quality. Be sure to display this badge prominently on your site, such as near your checkout button.

Shipping Trust Badges

Offering free shipping and hassle-free returns is another effective way to earn buyer trust. Amazon Prime made free shipping something that many consumers now take for granted. Following suit can greatly reduce shopping cart abandonment.

Endorsement Trust Badges

People trust what other people say about you more than what you say about yourself. That is the power of third-party validation for brands.

Brands can showcase third-party endorsements in myriad ways, including through customer testimonials, case studies, online reviews and news coverage. But endorsement trust badges are a great visual shortcut to quickly convey your strengths, competencies and achievements.

• Customer Logos
• Employee Certifications
• "As Seen In" Badges
• Partnership and Co-Branded Logos
• Business and Industry Award Badges
• Industry Association Logos
• BBB Accreditation Badge

Let's take a look at each of these six endorsement badges:

Customer Logos

For B2B companies, one of the most valuable trust badges is a customer logo; it's why salespeople are always looking for more "logos" to add to their presentations. Displaying  well-known logos on your site will attract more of the same.

Employee Certifications

Add certification badges to leadership and team bios to communicate instant credibility to visitors. 

"As Seen In" Badges

These highlight media outlets where your brand has been featured. Your prospects are more likely to take interest in your company if it has attracted the attention of industry publications,  local TV news or other media.

Partnership and Co-Branded Logos

Earn trust with badges that highlight your status as an official partner with high-authority brands. For tech companies, the partner networks of Microsoft, Oracle and Cisco confer credibility on member companies.

Business and Industry Award Badges

Display business and industry award badges prominently on your home page, "About Us" page and product pages.

Industry Association Logos

Being part of respected industry associations can carry a lot of weight. Display these badges to borrow the authority of the groups your customers know and respect.

Better Business Bureau Accreditation Badge

Adding a BBB trust badge to your site touting that you are an accredited business with an A+ rating is a powerful endorsement.

Social Media Trust Badges

One of the most valuable trust badges is not found on your own website; it's the verification badge awarded to top brands and noted individuals on social media platforms. And they are important.

Consider, for example, that while Twitter boasts more than 330 million monthly active users, only 5 percent of Americans follow even one brand on the platform. That's why earning a verified account -- the famous blue checkmark next to your handle -- is a valuable competitive advantage.

Verified accounts receive preference in Twitter search results, earning your brand additional visibility. And when visitors do come across your account, they are much more likely to follow you or give your content a closer look.

Verification on other top social media sites has similar benefits. Here's the breakdown on how brands can earn verification on five top social media sites:

Twitter

To qualify for Twitter's verification badge, brands must meet two of the following three criteria:

1. Presence in a public index such as Google Trends, a public stock exchange or Wikipedia;
2. Three or more recent featured placements in media outlets that meet Twitter's criteria for news organizations, such as outlets that adhere to the standards of the Society of Professional Journalists;
3. Follower count in the top 0.1 percent of active accounts in the same geographic region.

Facebook

Facebook is not as transparent in describing its verified badge criteria as Twitter, simply saying that a brand must be "well-known," "often searched" and "featured in multiple news sources."  

Instagram

Instagram cites the same criteria as parent company Facebook, although the application process is separate.

YouTube

YouTube provides a verified badge to channels with more than 100,000 subscribers.  

TikTok

In awarding its trust badge, TikTok looks at a number of criteria, including daily follower growth, growth in views and watch time, news media coverage, viral content, and having badges on other platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Trust badges are among the 77 trust signals you can use to increase website visitors and conversions.

How Many Trust Badges Are Too Many? (Video)