23 min read

Is Your Website Building Trust or Repelling Buyers? with Vin Gaeta

Picture of George B. Thomas George B. Thomas Sep 13, 2025 4:56:40 PM

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Let’s get real for a second. Your website is either your hardest working salesperson or the biggest piece of buyer repellent you own. I know, that sounds dramatic, but think about it. A good website can attract, educate, and convert prospects into paying customers. A bad website can send them running to your competitors before you even know they were interested.

So the question you need to wrestle with is this: is your website building trust, or is it pushing people away?

I sat down with Vin Gayda, Head of Web Strategy at IMPACT, to unpack what it really takes to build a trust-centered website. Vin has been helping businesses craft revenue-driving websites since the early days, and he dropped some serious wisdom about six core areas you cannot ignore if you want your website to win buyers instead of repel them.

Why Is Trust So Important in Today’s Digital World?

Here’s the simple truth: no one will hand over their hard-earned money without trust. If your website doesn’t help people feel confident in you, it doesn’t matter how slick the design looks or how many cool animations you throw in. Without trust, it’s just another fancy brochure.

And brochures don’t close deals.

Trust is the new currency online. When prospects land on your site, they’re silently asking: “Do I believe you can solve my problem? Do I trust you enough to take the next step?” If the answer is no, you’ve lost before the conversation even starts.

Why Do Most Websites Fail to Build Trust?

One of the biggest pitfalls Vin sees? Businesses make their websites all about themselves.

Harsh but true: your visitors don’t care about your company history, your shiny awards, or even your mission statement. At least, not at first. They care about their pain points. They care about their goals. They care about how you can guide them to success.

If your website feels like it’s “we, we, we” all the way down, you’re missing the point. A trust-building website is buyer-focused. It answers their questions, speaks their language, and makes them feel understood.

Step 1: Get Team Buy-In and Alignment

Your website isn’t just a marketing tool. It’s your best salesperson. That means the whole team—marketing, sales, leadership—needs to align on what “success” looks like.

Is it leads? Meetings? Revenue? Whatever it is, you can’t treat your website as a one-and-done project. It has to be a living, breathing tool that gets tested, optimized, and refined over time. Alignment on goals, expectations, and ongoing commitment is the foundation for everything else.

Step 2: Nail Your Content and Messaging

Content is where trust either flourishes or dies. If your messaging is me-focused, people tune out. If it’s you-focused, people lean in.

Vin suggests two proven frameworks for creating user-focused content:

  • They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan: Aligns sales and marketing around answering real buyer questions.

  • Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller: Helps you position your business as the guide, not the hero.

Together, they create a one-two punch that transforms your content into a trust-building machine. And here’s a quick test: hit Control + F on your website and search for the words “we” and “us” versus “you” and “your.” If the balance is off, your content needs a rethink.

Step 3: Create a Trust-Centered User Experience

User experience isn’t just about making your site pretty. It’s about making it easy for visitors to get what they need, when they need it.

That means testing how people interact with your site using tools like Hotjar, Lucky Orange, or Crazy Egg. Where do they click? Where do they stop scrolling? What gets ignored? The answers tell you where trust is breaking down.

From there, design touchpoints that guide users to the next logical step. Maybe it’s a helpful guide. Maybe it’s a pricing calculator. Maybe it’s a simple, well-labeled “Talk to Sales” button with a clear video explaining what happens next.

Trust grows when people feel you’ve anticipated their needs and given them control of the journey.

Step 4: Optimize Your Key Trust Pages

Not all pages are created equal. According to Vin, three areas are mission-critical for building trust:

  1. Learning Center: A filterable hub of educational content—videos, articles, guides—that walks prospects through their entire journey. This is not a blog dump. It’s a resource center designed for buyers.

  2. Pricing Page: Hiding pricing kills trust. Even if your pricing is complex, explain the ranges and variables. Buyers crave transparency.

  3. Conversion Pages: Replace generic “Contact Us” forms with expectation-setting pages. Use video to show exactly what happens next when they reach out.

Step 5: Use Data and Analytics to Prove What Works

Here’s the deal: if you’re not measuring, you’re guessing. And guesses don’t build trust.

You need someone—whether it’s a content manager, HubSpot admin, or a data-savvy unicorn who can do both—to track what’s working and what’s not. Pair behavioral data tools with platforms like HubSpot and GA4 to get a clear picture.

When leadership sees ROI, when sales sees which content closes deals, and when marketing sees what’s resonating, everyone wins.

Step 6: Simplify SEO and Keep It Helpful

SEO often feels overwhelming, but Vin boils it down to one principle: be helpful.

Yes, you need proper titles, meta descriptions, and internal linking. But if your content genuinely answers questions and helps people take the next step, Google will reward you. Think less about keyword stuffing and more about searcher expectation optimization. Are you giving people what they actually expect when they click?

If the answer is yes, trust and rankings follow.

Bonus: Let Buyers Self-Select

Modern buyers love control. They don’t always want to talk to a salesperson right away. That’s where self-selection tools come in—pricing calculators, quizzes, or guides that let people explore on their own terms.

When you empower buyers to self-select, you show them you’re not hiding anything. That transparency builds massive trust.

The Big Takeaway: Your Website Must Serve Buyers First

If your website isn’t actively building trust, you’re leaving revenue and opportunity on the table. It’s not about looking good. It’s about helping your visitors feel confident, understood, and ready to take the next step with you.

So ask yourself: is your website serving your buyers, or is it serving your ego?

If it’s the latter, now’s the time to rethink. Because a trust-building website doesn’t just generate leads. It creates relationships, starts conversations, and becomes the best salesperson your company has ever had.

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