Google Opens Trusted Stores Program to All U.S. Merchants

Anne Garcia - June 13, 2012

Google has opened its Trusted Stores program to all U.S. merchants; previously, merchants had to apply through their Beta program. By participating in Google Trusted Stores, ecommerce sites can tell online shoppers that their site is a safe and secure place to shop.  Participants with a track record of fast shipping and excellent customer service are awarded a Google Trusted Store badge. Below is what the Google Trusted Store badge looks like.

Visitors of a site with a Google Trusted Store badge can hover over the badge to see the web site’s report card with respect to shipping and customer service.

Google said that retailers who have participated in their Beta launch have observed increases in website conversion rate measured by A/B testing with and with and without the Google Trusted Stores badge appearing on the site.

In addition, if you are a Google Trusted Store as well as an AdWords advertiser, the Google Trusted Stores logo will appear within your ad on google.com.  Below is a screen shot of an AdWords ad with the Google Trusted Store logo.

With the upcoming migration from Google Merchant to Shopping, ecommerce sites can leverage this new feature from Google to show online shoppers that they have a legitimate and reputable website. Merchants can apply for the Google Trusted Stores program here.