Is it worth signing up for UserTrust?

[Guest]

[8daysaweek.co.uk]

We have been considering signing up for an independent rating system for some time and UserTrust looks interesting.

However, I've found it very difficult to find sites that are actually using it.  Even looking at http://www.usertrust.com/ doesn't provide very much information.  The last post in this forum is from 5 months ago, and even here there aren't many posts.

So, is this service still live/supported?  If so, is there a list somewhere of sites that are signed up and using it?  Where can I find more information?

TIA,
James

[mark-support]

Hi,

The usertrust service is still live and supported. There are so many sites using the usertrust service so I give you the name of two sites below for your reference.

http://worldairportnews.com/
http://112degrees.com/

Thanks.

[8daysaweek.co.uk]

The usertrust service is still live and supported. There are so many sites using the usertrust service so I give you the name of two sites below for your reference.

http://worldairportnews.com/
http://112degrees.com/

Hi Mark,

thanks for replying.  If you are choosing 2 good examples of people using UserTrust (which I would expect) then these are not reassuring.

• The first site has only 4 (possibly) genuine reviews (6 in total but 2 appear to be site owner trials).  All the "reviews" were made within a 10 day period 9 months ago.
• The second site, for an "All Natural Sexual Health Supplement for Men"  has only 5 reviews.  Again the first 3 at least are from the same person, the first 4 posted on the same day, and all the reviews posted 8 months ago.

What these referenced sites suggest to me is that even if these reviews are genuine, either the sites aren't very popular or successful, or the UserTrust logo isn't encouraging people to go on and leave reviews.  Recent/current reviews or feedback are essential for user confidence or "trust".

Another small technical point is that the logo doesn't show up on those sites if JavaScript isn't enabled.  Of course we could find a way around this, but other rating/assurance systems seem to work without JavaScript.

I'm sorry to say we will not be signing up on the basis of these references.  If however, Comodo decide to take this seriously at some point, it does look like a good idea.

BFN,

[Alex K]

Hi James,

I'm the Product Manager of e-commerce products here at Comodo. Firstly let me reassure you UserTrust is alive and well. As with any trust product it's all in how you use it. We get many signups for the product simply because it is free, but honestly we can do a better job educating users on how to get more reviews.

It's one thing to have it as a logo on your homepage above or below the fold, but often what merchants miss is the opportunity to capture reviews and feedback on other pages throughout the buying process and post-purchase.

If you think about UserTrust as a free way to get testimonials you will see you can get much more out of it. Show the logo after a user has checked out and ask for feedback. In your order confirmation emails or future communications include a link to your UserTrust (copy the url when you click on the logo, it's unique to your UserTrust). Keep in mind people need a reason to write just like you wouldn't feel comfortable leaving a review until you have had some interaction with the website. Post purchase can be the difference between a small amount of reviews and a lot of useful reviews.

Here are some good references. The first one has a good amount of reviews and the second one is a great example how a combination of Comodo products can greatly improve conversion and revenue.

www.mostlydead.com
www.excaliburcutlery.com
Press release: http://www.comodo.com/news/press_releases/04_12_08.html

[8daysaweek.co.uk]

Hi Alex,

Thanks for your post.  I won't discount UserTrust.  I do though wonder why even the references you have provided, which are better, don't have any more recent reviews than October last year?

ISTR reading in a post in this forum that reviews are auto-approved after 30 days, so even if the website owners aren't actively monitoring UserTrust, reviews would only be 1 month old.

We would certainly be looking for ways to encourage the use of any system we adopt, and the suggestions you have made are valid points.  I wonder if there are other features that could be introduced that would also promote your system.

James 

[LaserWraith]

Hi James,

I'm the Product Manager of e-commerce products here at Comodo. Firstly let me reassure you UserTrust is alive and well. As with any trust product it's all in how you use it. We get many signups for the product simply because it is free, but honestly we can do a better job educating users on how to get more reviews.

It's one thing to have it as a logo on your homepage above or below the fold, but often what merchants miss is the opportunity to capture reviews and feedback on other pages throughout the buying process and post-purchase.

If you think about UserTrust as a free way to get testimonials you will see you can get much more out of it. Show the logo after a user has checked out and ask for feedback. In your order confirmation emails or future communications include a link to your UserTrust (copy the url when you click on the logo, it's unique to your UserTrust). Keep in mind people need a reason to write just like you wouldn't feel comfortable leaving a review until you have had some interaction with the website. Post purchase can be the difference between a small amount of reviews and a lot of useful reviews.

Here are some good references. The first one has a good amount of reviews and the second one is a great example how a combination of Comodo products can greatly improve conversion and revenue.

www.mostlydead.com
www.excaliburcutlery.com
Press release: http://www.comodo.com/news/press_releases/04_12_08.html

Do you have any more "well-known" sites?   

[Alex K]

Here's a pretty good example of how you can benefit from utilizing the tool using some incentive. It also shows how you can use this as a feedback tool not just a logo. You can see they have good number of reviews. When it comes to user generated content like this anything over 10 reviews will give a great confidence boost to visitors.: http://www.auctionknowhow.com/fbckoffer.shtml

To your point there are features we are looking to add to help merchants solicit feedback. We have some great plans for UserTrust and fully developing our concept of Social Authentication (I'll spare you my idealistic speech about it   ). Right now the largest challenge is how we can educate our users to fully utilize the tool.  

[Eric Cryptid]

I'll definately be addid it when my site is up and running along with Comodo SiteMon. 

[Tags:]