E-commerce Insights: How to Secure Your Web Site Against Hackers

He believes reassuring customers about security boosts Web-conversion rates. ScanAlert claims catalogers displaying its proprietary “Hacker Safe” certification badge enjoy a 14 percent average increase in Web orders. A few catalogers, such as 4 Wheel Drive Hardware, go so far as to emphasize their “Hacker Safe” Web certification in their print catalogs.

Other experts take a more measured approach to publicizing security processes. AlertSite’s Godskind notes some online merchants choose to downplay the security scan certification to their customers, worried that raising the topic could increase customer anxiety. Other marketers express concerns that hackers might read a Web security badge as a challenge, potentially goading them to attack.

The decision to broadcast your security scanning badge is both a brand and a conversion decision, and the right answer can vary by cataloger. Regardless of whether you raise the issue with your customers, regular scans from a certified provider are a wise investment.

Questions to ask yourself:
• How should we describe our security processes to our shoppers?
• Have we tested the conversion impact of displaying a security scanning badge?

Conclusion

Many catalogers have not yet put sufficient resources into securing their Web sites. It’s possible your site isn’t secure today, and you’re not complying with credit industry regulations. Both situations expose you to real and significant business risk.

Your tasks? Read more about security best practices. Get your site scanned on a regular basis. Review how you manage credit card data. Charge your IT team to make your site security compliant with applicable regulations and standards. Establish a response plan, should your site be hacked.

Start taking these steps to protect your site today. With hard work and luck, you can avoid being hacked.

Alan Rimm-Kaufman, Ph.D., leads the Rimm-Kaufman Group, a service and consulting firm providing search marketing management and Web usability services to leading direct marketers. He can be reached online via his site: www.rimmkaufman.com.