The security industry is very competitive, and everyone is trying to get attention from potential customers. The most effective way to do this is by showcasing your awards and recognition.
72% of information security companies have an "Awards and Recognition" section on their website.
We analyzed how should an award section look like in order to make an impression on prospects. Here are the 6 principles you should follow when redesigning your website's award section.
1. Be relevant
You should only showcase awards that are relevant to your target audience. For example, if you are a B2B company, then you should only showcase awards that are relevant to other businesses.
2. Be up to date
You should only showcase awards that you have won recently. This will show that you are an active and up-to-date company. Specifically, you should hide award badges that are 4 years or older. Aim at having at least 5 badges from each recent year so your site visitors won't reach the old awards too fast when browsing around.
3. Be trustworthy
You should look to emphasize awards that are from credible sources. This will show that you are a company that is trusted by others. You can follow the order below as a general guideline for which source is considered more credible:
Analyst firms such as Gartner, Forrester, Frost & Sullivan and IDC as well as Review sites like G2, Capterra, Gartner Peer Insights
Know publications like Forbes, CRN, Inc., and Fast Company As well as industry Competitions and Challenges like the MITRE Evaluations.
Any other award programs that you have won like Cybersecurity Awards, American Security Today, National Cyber Awards
Fully sponsored award programs - it's lame, we know. BUT sometimes they come in handy. In any case, if you decide to have them up on your site, they should be modestly placed in the end of the row.
4. Be aesthetic
Unify the colors, sizes, dimensions, and captions of your badges. While some badges look decent an assembly of different ones can be an eyesore. Keep a unified style!
5. Don't be pathetic
"Something" is not better than nothing. Make sure you have enough awards to fill the space. A general good badge-to-space ratio is:
Footer - 3 minimum badges
Single row strip - 5 minimum badges
Dedicated webpage - 20 minimum badges
6. Be diverse
Showcase different awards from different programs. 5 badges from the same award in the same year is not very diverse.
Going beyond your website's strip, there are several things to keep in mind when you look to promote your awards:
1. Use visuals
When you are showcasing your awards, you should use visuals to help your customers understand what you have won. For example, you can use images, videos, or infographics. Images are the most common type of visual that companies use. This is because they are easy to create and they can be easily shared on social media.
Videos are also a great way to showcase your awards. This is because they can show your customers what it is like to work with you and they can also be easily shared on social media.
Infographics are a great way to showcase your awards because they can show your customers a lot of information in a visually appealing way.
2. Use testimonials
When you are showcasing your awards, you should also use testimonials to help your customers understand what others think of your company. Testimonials are great because they can show your customers that you are a trusted and credible company.
3. Use Social Media
When you are showcasing your awards, you should also use social media to help your customers understand what others think of your company. Social media is great because it can show your customers that you are an active and up-to-date company.
4. Use SEO
When you are showcasing your awards, you should also use SEO to help your customers find your awards section. SEO is great because it can help your customers find your awards section when they are searching for it.