Who's a Surfer to Trust?

Two-thirds of us don't believe "a lot" of what we read on the Internet. And the crux of the problem, according to the researchers who came up with this figure, is that it's hard for surfers to identify the source of what they're seeing.

In fact, four of every five people surveyed say it is important to trust Web site information. But about 60 percent of those surveyed indicate it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between advertising and news and other unpaid content.

Consumers Union reported this week the results of its nationwide telephone survey of 1500 adults. The watchdog group that publishes Consumer Reports magazine finds that less than 30 percent of respondents trust information they see on sites that conduct e-commerce.

"I don't think we expected the overall consumer trust in e-commerce sites to be as low as it is, 29 percent of our survey respondents," says Beau Brendler, director of the survey project and a former online executive at ABC News. "Only 29 percent said they have a level of trust. When 55 percent said they trust the federal government or large corporations, that's pretty bad."

Wanted: Full Disclosure

The survey project, which is called Consumer WebWatch, also notes:

• Ninety-five percent of users say it is very important that all sites disclose all fees.
  
  
• Ninety-three percent say that it is very important that sites disclose how they will protect credit card information.
  
  
• Sixty percent are unaware that some search engines charge placement fees to online advertisers that want their information posted more prominently than competitors'.
  
  
• Most users say they give online news and information sites the same amount of credibility afforded to offline companies.
  
  

"Consumers understand the difference between information content and advertising, and they don't like to be fooled," Brendler says. "I think sometimes there is a perception in the business that folks out there don't understand the difference, but they do, and they want to be told about it."

Incredibility Corroborated

A number of factors can positively influence user perception, suggest researchers at Stanford University, who published a similar study on Web credibility last spring.

Among the clues that users pick up: the "feel" of the site, its trustworthiness, ease of use, and expertise. The two types of elements that most hurt a site's credibility: commercial implications and amateurism, say the Stanford researchers.

"Although most Web sites, especially large Web sites, exist for commercial purposes, our study suggests that users penalize sites that have an aggressively commercial flavor," the Stanford researchers write. "Web pages that mix ads with content to the point of confusing readers will be perceived as not credible."

How to Clean Up

Taking a cue from the newest survey results, Consumers Union has drawn up a set of recommendations to guide online publishers in posting online information. They include:

• Identify the physical location and purpose of the site's publisher and clearly post contact information.
  
  
• Clearly distinguish ads from news and other information.
  
  
• Sites that engage in consumer transactions should post all fees, including shipping fees, and also list relevant financial relationships with other sites.
  
  
• Privacy policies should be clearly stated and conspicuously posted.