It’s been a labor of love, but the new mini Security Video Seal is now live! And on my birthday no less.

Our newest lineup to Trust Guard seals, the mini seal, was first launched on June 2nd. Now, just two short months later, we’re proud to introduce the mini video seal.

The mini video seal is considerably smaller than the regular video seal, but is still crisp and detailed, and just as captivating as the original size.

And the best part? The mini Security Video Seal is FREE to all our members with an existing Multi-Seal Package!

For members who don’t have the Multi-Seal package, don’t fret.    You  can save 50% on the Video seal by logging into your Trust Guard member control panel and picking the SALE link on the right.

That’s my birthday present to all of you. Enjoy!

It’s already in your control panel ready to add to your site. Just go to the ‘Get Code’ tab and click on the mini seal check box to grab the code. (Note: If you are a TG Member that signed up before Feb ‘08, and you haven’t switched over to our new system, just email support (at) trust-guard.com and we will be happy to move you over.)

Important Video Seal Strategy

When it comes to placing your video seal, there is a very specific strategy to help you boost your conversion and simultaneously lower your shopping cart abandonment.

The very best place to add a TG video seal is on the actual checkout page where the customer enters their credit card information. Why? Because this is the place where people make their final decision as to whether they’re going to actually buy or not.

Video seals are perfect for a ‘one-punch’ confidence boost, which is why they’re so ideal for the final checkout page. Conversely, this also means that they lose their magic after the customer watches it and goes to another page, which is why we don’t recommend adding video seals on multiple pages in your site. The strategy is to save it for the page that counts the most.

A New PCI Security Video Seal Coming Soon???

That’s right. If you’re one of our hundreds of clients that are enjoying the amazing benefits of PCI Security Scanning, we are just about to release another video seal, specifically made for PCI Scanning. It works exactly like the current security video seal, but Jodi explains to your customers the additional security measures that you’ve taken on their behalf.

You can expect these special PCI video seals sometime in the next couple weeks. They’ve already been professionally shot in HD and enhanced by our good friends over at iSpeakVideo, and are being integrated into our system as we speak. And, of course, all our PCI clients get them for free!

(If you want to learn more about iSpeakVideo, and how adding streaming video can enhance your website, make sure to watch the exclusive interview I did with Erik Kretschmar over at iSpeakVideo. And, if you decide that you want more info, click here for a free site consultation and an exclusive deep discount from Erik to all of our clients.)

Keep the Feedback Coming

Here at Trust Guard, we think of all of you as part of our family, and we love to get feedback from you. Whether it’s just a ‘keep up the good work’ or a ‘I think you can make this better’, we appreciate the time you take to let us know how we’re doing.

Remember, we’re here to help you be successful, so let us know how we’re doing by sending an email to support (at) trust-guard.com.

Till next time, I wish you all the best,

Scott Brandley, CEO
Trust Guard

Survey Finds 81% of Consumers Don’t Trust Small Online Businesses

“Alessandro Hatami, managing director of PayPoint.net, says: “Small online businesses lack the resources of their larger competitors but have an even greater interest in ensuring their customers have the safest possible experience on their site.

“This situation has led to a haphazard approach to managing fraud – which is in stark contrast to what larger businesses are able to do.”

In addition, PayPoint found that among 1000 consumers, just 3 percent of online shoppers are likely to trust a small online business with their money, preferring to shop with larger online brands. A further 81 percent say they have doubt about the security credentials of small, unknown companies.”

I am sure most of this sounds familiar in these days of technology and the internet. If you own a business whether online or offline, we are sure you have asked yourself this question before, “Do my customers trust my business?” And if you haven’t asked yourself this question, then now is the time.

Two National Consumer Reports Surveys show that…

The #1 concern visitors have: Is my personal information Safe and Secure? (88% of Internet users surveyed, viewed this as “Very Important”)

The #2 concern visitors have: Can I Trust the site and the information on it? (81% of Internet users surveyed, viewed this as “Very Important”)

The #3 concern visitors have: Does the site have a good Privacy Policy? (76% of Internet users surveyed, viewed this as “Very Important”)

95% of those surveyed want access to a websites email address, street address, and phone number.

You can find these surveys at Consumerwebwatch.org

The Trust Guard Mission:

Here at Trust Guard it is our mission to not only help you answer this question but to take action on the question itself. It is not enough to simply think or worry about your websites security, it is time to do something about it.

If 81% of consumers do not trust online businesses then it is time we as business owners do something about it. It is time to give the consumer what they want, which is Trust and Confidence when ordering online.

Consumers around the world are tightening up these days with the global economic downturn. They also are smarter than ever when it comes to shopping online. Consumers are also becoming more aware and more familiar with third party trust seals and companies such as Truste, Control Scan, BBBOnline, McAfee Secure (formerly HackerSafe), and of course Trust Guard. With this being the case you need to ask yourself, “Do I provide a third party trust seal to show my visitors they can trust me?” If the answer is YES, then you are on the right track. If the answer is NO, then you need to reevaluate your business strategies.

Where’s the Value…

The next question you want to ask yourself is, “Where is the best value of security and third party verification seals?”

At Trust Guard we know from 100’s of tests that More Trust = More Conversions. With this in mind, you want to establish the highest level of trust that you can, by addressing the 3 major concerns your visitors have:

• SECURITY – Is your customers information safe?
  Do you use security technology like SSL to protect their financial and private information?
  Do you have PCI Scanning to protect your website from hackers and vulnerabilities?
• PRIVACY - Do you protect your customers privacy?
  Do you respect their information and will you keep it confidential?
  Is your Privacy Policy accurate and up to date?
• IDENTITY – Who is behind your website?
  Is your company address, phone number, and email displayed on your site?
  Has this information been verified by a 3rd party?

All of this can be accomplished by applying the Trust Guard Multi-Seal package that includes PCI Scanning which is our best value. You can find out more about all the packages at

>> http://www.trust-guard.com/trust-guard-seals-s/1.htm

Here is an example of what you get with this package:

These Trust Guard clients increased their conversion using our Multi-Seal packages:

• SummitCampingGear.com – 33.33% increase
• FaithfulTrends.com – 19.51% increase
• SmartLifeLabs.com – 11.11% increase
• ChargedAudio.com – 13.24% increase
• CookForYourHealth.com – 48.28% increase (Anyone want to add almost 50% to their bottom line? Anyone?)
• SuperSizedCycles.com – 216.67% increase (Yes, this is real and it’s backed with a 95% confidence interval – this customer sells higher priced custom bicycles, and adding our seals made a huge impact to her sales!)

Want more results??? Our first batch of daily and quarterly PCI Security seals are just about to finish their split tests. (We just launched PCI Scanning in January. For more information or to watch our PCI launch video read our previous blog posts.) The preliminary numbers for PCI seals are looking great! So far, the combined increase for all of our clients split testing PCI seals is over 26%! As soon as we have more solid data we’ll add it here to the blog, so be sure to keep an eye out.

Till then, we will keep testing. And if you are on the fence, wondering what to do, why not take our 60 day, risk free Trust Guard Challenge. Go ahead and try our seals completely risk free for 60 days. You have nothing to lose and sales to gain!

We look forward to helping you with your security, privacy, and business verification needs.

Sincerely,

Scott Brandley, CEO
Trust Guard

Trust Guard is pleased to announce PCI Scanning Services for online business owners around the globe. We are proud to be the first company ever to offer both Daily and Quarterly PCI Scanning services, along with the famous website verification seals. The best part about Trust Guard’s PCI scanning services is that the prices will be half of its competitors such as McAfee Secure and Control Scan.

PCI Scanning Pricing

Daily PCI Scanning plus seals – $47/month or $497/year

Quarterly PCI Scanning plus seals – $297/year

(Note: You can also get PCI Scanning services and seals with the website verification seals for a massive discount Click Here to find out more!)

Trust Guard PCI Scanning Main Features and Benefits

• Daily or Quarterly scans protect your server against 30,000 vulnerabilities
• ASV certified PCI Scanning combined with Trust Guard’s Website Verification adds more credibility
• No software or programs to download or install
• Automated scanning with email notifications so you’re always up-to-date
• Professional PCI support available to help you with your compliance needs
• Daily or Quarterly trust seals to provide trust and confidence to your visitors

With the Trust Guard PCI Scanning services, everything is configured in your control panel. There is nothing for you to install or download. You simply enter the domain name(s) that you need scanned and our system will run automatically, scanning either daily or quarterly depending on the option you choose. You also have the ability to run manual scans whenever you like with just the click of a button. And, if you ever need help, we have seasoned PCI experts standing by to assist you. Whenever a vulnerability is detected, you will receive an email with an explanation of the issue and detailed instructions on how to resolve it.

Protect your server and your systems

• Scan your server, shopping cart, firewalls, routers, and applications for known exploits and vulnerabilities daily or quarterly, depending on your needs.
• Receive additional security validation with integrated 3rd party website verification.

Safe and easy-to-use

• Simply enter your domain name in your control panel, then press start and we do the rest. Your systems will be scanned regularly as needed.
• There are no programs or software to download.
• Your server is scanned during off-hours for minimum impact.

Advanced Member Control Panel

• Your member control panel includes a number of innovative tools and features to give you the best chance for increased conversion, including integrated split testing, multiple seal size and color options, additional seal types (ie. Privacy and Business Verification – depending on the plan you choose), access to our Professional Privacy Policy Creator (a $97 value), and multi-account management options.

Informative reports

• Receive an email report every time a scan is run so you’re always up to date on what is happening.
• Log into your member control panel for instant access to both detailed and executive reports on every scan ever performed on your server.

Up-to-date security

• We continually add new vulnerabilities to our system to ensure that your server is protected.
• Your server is tested against 30,000 known vulnerabilities.

PCI Scanning can be a very difficult service to understand and that is why Trust Guard has put together some user friendly and simple ways to understand what, why, how, and when. A great article by our CEO, Scott Brandley about these very questions you might have can be found at http://www.trust-guard.com/PCI-Scanning-s/65.htm.

Now is the time to start building trust and confidence with your online customers by becoming secure on a daily basis with Trust Guard PCI Scanning services!

Check out the NEW Video Seal – CLICK HERE

This new an innovative way to build trust and increase conversion was created by Trust Guard as part of our mission to build customer trust and maximize conversion. With only 3-5 seconds to engage your customer, video is a extremely powerful way to catch their attention. Add this to our innovative Security Seal and you have yourself an effective, innovative way to show your customer’s that you’re serious about their security.

The Security Verified seal directly below the video is available in four different colors (red, gold, green, and blue) and comes in our popular header size (150×40 pixels). Our simple interface allows you to place the video seal anywhere on your page. All you do is copy and paste the code and you’re done.

The new video seal retails for $247/yr.  However, it’s included in our multi-seal plus package for $47/mo., or if you choose the multi-seal yearly option, you get it for free, which is an amazing offer.

Here are some examples of sites using the video security seal in various ways:

Glownyc.com – This is an example of how you can add it to your checkout pages.

Cyber-savvyshop.com – This is a good example of adding the video seal to your home page.

Mydragonfigures.com – Another great example for you to see the new video seal in action!

Not only is the Security Verified video seal versatile, but you it also works on both secure and non-secure pages, and you can split test it.  Just one more way we’re helping you increase your sales.

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We want to thank you for taking time to vote by offering you a 10% discount on any of our Trust Guard Trust Seals!  Simply enter the discount code ”trustpolls“ when you place your order and you will instantly receive your discount (but hurry this offer ends September 20, 2008).