When someone lands on your website for the first time, they have no reason to trust you. You could be amazing, or you could be terrible. They have no way of knowing.
Social proof is anything that shows other people have used your product and had a good experience. This includes customer logos, testimonials, reviews, case studies, and usage numbers. The idea is simple: if other people trust you, maybe I can too.
The problem is that most websites do social proof badly. They slap on some fake-looking testimonials or logos nobody recognizes and wonder why it does not help.
Why bad social proof hurts more than it helps
Generic testimonials like "Great product! Would recommend!" make you look desperate. Nobody talks like that, and everyone knows it. When visitors see obviously fake or cherry-picked quotes, they trust you less than if you had no testimonials at all.
Logos from companies nobody has heard of have a similar effect. If your "trusted by" section shows five random startups, it signals that you could not get anyone impressive to use your product.
The same goes for inflated numbers. "Trusted by 10,000+ users" sounds great until someone realizes that includes everyone who ever created a free account and never came back.
What actually works
The most effective social proof is specific and believable. Instead of "Great product!" you want something like: "We switched from Asana and cut our weekly planning meetings from 2 hours to 30 minutes. The GitHub integration alone saved us 5 hours a week."
This works because it mentions a specific alternative (Asana), gives concrete numbers (2 hours to 30 minutes, 5 hours a week), and points to a specific feature (GitHub integration). It sounds like something a real person would actually say.
Logos work when people recognize them. One recognizable company is worth more than ten unknown ones. If you have a big customer, lead with them even if they only represent a small percentage of your revenue.
Numbers work when they are believable and meaningful. "500 teams use us for their daily standups" is better than "10,000 users" because it is specific about what those teams actually do with your product.
Where to put social proof
The most important placement is near your call-to-action. When someone is about to click "Start free trial," they are making a decision. A testimonial or customer count right there can push them over the edge.
Logos work well near the top of the page, after your headline. This immediately establishes credibility before people invest time reading the rest.
Detailed testimonials and case studies work better further down the page or on separate pages. Someone who is seriously considering you will seek these out.
How to get good testimonials
The best testimonials come from direct conversations with happy customers. After someone tells you they love your product, ask if you can quote them. Most people say yes.
Ask specific questions rather than "can you give us a testimonial?" Questions like "What were you using before? What changed after you switched? Can you give me any specific numbers?" lead to much better quotes.
If you are just starting out and have no customers yet, you can use testimonials about you or your team's previous work. Investors, advisors, or people who have worked with you before can vouch for your credibility until you have customer stories.
Video testimonials
Video testimonials are more convincing than text because they are harder to fake. Even a simple 30-second phone recording of a customer explaining why they like your product can be powerful.
You do not need professional production quality. In fact, overly polished videos can seem less authentic. A casual Zoom recording often works better than a scripted production.
Case studies for bigger deals
If you sell to larger companies or have a longer sales cycle, detailed case studies become important. These are longer stories that walk through the customer's problem, how they found you, what the implementation was like, and what results they got.
Case studies work because they help prospects imagine themselves in the story. If someone sees a company similar to theirs achieve good results with your product, they can picture the same thing happening for them.
The key is specificity. Vague case studies that just say "Company X achieved success with our product" are not helpful. Detailed stories with specific numbers, timelines, and quotes from real people are much more convincing.