Hitwise Intelligence - Sandra Hanchard - Asia Pacific

I don't believe that we can use repeat usage of a website as a measurement of trust. However, your post is right on spot. Trust is a big issue, both in social networks and in all web sites.
I think you can only get trust metrics by custom surveys. I had some interesting results. I will try to find and publish them in my blog.

Posted by Mehmet Subasi | September 5, 2008 06:50 PM

Look forward to seeing your results, Mehmet

Sandra

Posted by Sandra Hanchard | September 6, 2008 01:01 AM

Sandra - Working for an airline in the US, I can tell you the answer to your question, "Are we less likely to trust websites where the primary content objective is to sell?," is no. I believe what you are seeing and interpreting as "trust" is purely the nature of the travel industry. We look at repeat visitors on a much larger scale than 30 days. Something closer to one or two years is probably more beneficial. If you purchase a flight today, are you likely to purchase another one within 30 days? Most people travel 1-2 times a year, so visiting and searching on a website more than 3-4 times a year makes almost no sense to expect. Since this is less than 12 (assuming one per month) it isn't "trust" that is lacking, in my opinion, but rather desire for the information provided on travel sites.

Posted by Jordan | September 6, 2008 09:09 AM

Jordan - thanks for your thoughts.

You're right - the time cycle for return visitors and determining how that impacts your business varies across industries.

There is certainly a desire from consumers for "independent" information on travel websites, which has been behind the success of the Trip Advisor model, for example.

Sandra

Posted by Anonymous | September 6, 2008 11:42 AM

Hi Sandra, you are right to mention that "high returning visitor rates don't necessarily prove website data authenticity.". For example, when I use my bank's internet banking service, I do it because it is the easiest and most convenient option available.

To me, online trust = online security... digital certs, SSL, encryption and the works. It could be different for other people. Through the example cited vis-a-vis Charlene Li's post, you raised a pertinent question of whether social networks require the kind of online security that we see on secured sites. I think it's a grey area that needs to be further defined.

Posted by Stan | September 8, 2008 04:38 PM

Stan, thanks for your perspective

re: Ease and convenience of use, in addition to trust, certainly feed into high return visitation rates within a banking context.

re: Social networks and online security - as web develops into a more powerful platform for managing personal identify and lifestyle functions (finances, health, education) we'll see a greater demand by users for security standards, as per your list.

Sandra

Posted by Sandra Hanchard | September 8, 2008 04:57 PM

I'm interested in notions of trust, and doubtless Hitwise should be too (there must be a service offering from you in there somewhere), but I can't see that the number of repeat visits is a primary indicator of levels of trust. It might a contributing factor to building an overall perspective on trust but on its own doesn't tell much. Surely repeat visits are linked more strongly simply to the nature of the service or information being accessed?

Posted by Steve | September 9, 2008 09:32 PM

The thesis is that if a user finds the content on a website useful and trustworthy, they'll return to it more often.

That's all very well, but what about all the people who make masochistically schadenfreudian return visits? I mean, I go back to the websites and blogs of people with whom i vehemently disagree, merely to see what evil and perverse things they are saying now. There's no way I trust them.

Posted by Simon Pleasants | September 11, 2008 09:55 AM

hi Simon,

"schadenfreudian return visits" - perhaps we need a metric for ill-intent :)

But fair point, thanks for stopping by.

Sandra

Posted by Anonymous | September 11, 2008 10:46 AM