Category: WebAward

The extended deadline for the 2010 WebAward competition for Website Development has passed and no additional entries can now be submitted. Editing of existing entries has also been closed off.

We wish the best of luck to all of this year’s participants.

Tomorrow, June 15th, is the final day to enter the 2010 WebAwards. It’s now or never if you have not yet entered your best work. It’s time to win the recognition you deserve. Learn more at
http://www.webaward.org/bestwebsites.asp

The original deadline for entering the Web Marketing Association’s 14th annual WebAward competition is today, May 25, 2010.

We will be extending the deadline to enter the 2010 WebAward competition without a late fee until this Friday, May 28th. Any sites submitted after this date will be subject to a late fee.

The final deadline to enter will be June 15th, right before the judges receive the sites. No sites will be accepted after this date.

For complete information on how to enter, go to www.webaward.org.

The Web Marketing Association is offer tips to improve your chances at winning a 2010 WebAward on the WMA Facebook Fan Page every weekday for until the May 25th entry deadline.

Here are 10 more Tips:

WebAward Tip #6 – Selecting the Most Appropriate category. The best way to pick the category your site will compete in is by saying to yourself “What would be best for my marketing program if I win?”. Many categories overlap because over the years people complained that they were one and not the other. The other thing to consider is how competitive the category might be. The “Mutual Fund” category is narrower than the “Financial Services” category and might be easier to take the top prize. However, Best Financial Services Website might have more cache for your marketing efforts. Sometimes the best idea is to enter both categories and double your chances to win.

WebAward Tip #7 – Tell Your Other Offices. One of the most prestigious awards given out each year is the Top Agency award, given to the agency which wins the most awards in a given year. If your agency has multiple offices or international offices, make sure they submit their entries also. We will combine all offices of the same company to count for that award.

WebAward Tip #8 – Non-English sites Are Welcome! The international WebAwards accepts sites in 10 languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Greek and Turkish) and assigns these sites to judges who are fluent in that language. However, if an English version of the site is available, please submit that site as we have many more English speaking judges that other languages.

WebAward Tip #9 – Don’t Forget Microsites. It’s not just major enterprise websites that win awards. Sometimes it is the microsite, a site dedicated to a single product or concept, that does very well. It all starts with the URL you submit on the entry form.

WebAward Tip #10 – It’s Not Just The Big Names That Win. We pride ourselves for having a fair competition where it’s not only big brands that win. Judges are assigned sites to review without knowing who else might be in the category. Other website award programs have a history of sending only “big name” sites judges as nominated sites. At the WebAwards, the judges review all of the sites and the one with the highest scores wins.

WebAward Tip #11 – Enter The Same Site Every Year. Your site does not have to be new to enter the WebAwards each year. As Internet standards change, judges view sites differently and criteria scores can be different year over year. It’s a great way to benchmark your site and know what areas need to be improved over time.

WebAward Tip #12 – The URL You Enter Is Our Starting Point. Judges start their review based on the URL provided on the entry form, so you can submit sections of an overall website, not just the homepage. This is helpful when one division or product line has great content and wants to promote itself, but the site is part of a larger organization.

WebAward Tip #13 – Blog About The WebAwards. The more people know about the WebAwards, the more impressed they will be when they hear you have won one. Please help us by blogging about the WebAwards and sending people to www.webaward.org to learn more.

WebAward Tip #14 – Don’t Enter A Banner Ad. Each year several banner ad campaigns are entered the WebAwards and the nominators are always disappointed that they do not win because they don’t have meet the requirements of a website. Banner ads belong in the annual IAC Awards, not the WebAwards.

WebAward Tip #15 – Don’t Enter A Landing Page. Each year landing pages are entered the WebAwards and rarely do they win awards. Landing pages usually are missing several key elements of a complete website and they are better suited to the annual IAC Awards, not the WebAwards. Micro sites however, tend to do very well because of their narrow focus.

Click here to enter the 14th annual Web Marketing Association WebAwards.

The Web Marketing Association is offer tips to improve your chances at winning a 2010 WebAward on the WMA Facebook Fan Page every weekday for until the May 25th entry deadline.

Here are the first 5 Tips:

WebAward Tip #1 – Pay Attention to the Audience and Mission Statement The judges use the audience and mission statement to get a sense of what you are trying to accomplish. It puts things into perspective for them. If you are too vague or worst too long winded, the judges will go on what that think the goal of the site should be and it may not be what you expect.

WebAward Tip #2 – Enter Early If You Pay By Check: Entries cannot be sent to the judges until the entry fee is paid. Some nominators wait until the final deadline to submit their site and then have to submit a check request! If your company requires you to pay by check, use May 1st as your deadline and get the site su…bmitted and the check request processed to give your entry viewed by the judges in the first round.

WebAward Tip #3 – Don’t Have A Single Landing Page for All Entries. Some agencies like to have a single landing page for all entries submitted to an awards show. This might make things easy for them, but it can be a nightmare for the judges. Creating a landing page is acceptable as long as it is only for the entry under consideration.

WebAward Tip #4 – Don’t Include Instructions In The URL Field. When we ask for a URL, we want only a URL. Typing “www.webaward.org (go to the bottom of the page first)”, will result in the judges getting an error message. If you have something you want the judges to know, add a “NOTE TO JUDGES” at the beginning of your audience and mission statement.

WebAward Tip #5 – Check your URL and Passwords. Every year sites are disqualified because the nominator had a typo in the URL or the server moved or the username expired. Don’t let this happen to you! If the URL changes, email us and we will update it. Make sure the user name and password (if necessary) are valid until… August 15th to be sure the judges can access the site.

For more information on the 14th annual WebAward Competition for Website development, please go to www.WebAward.org.

Bill Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association, appeared on WebMasterRadio.FM’s InBoxed Show during the recent ad:tech conference in San Francisco.

Bill Spent almost 20 minutes talking to Jon Fondy about the 2010 WebAwards and even had to interview himself as Jon was dropped from the call for several minutes due to technical difficulties.

You can listen to the interview here.

What is the best way to win a WebAward from the Web Marketing Association? To enter of course! However there are ways to improve your chances when the judging starts. Each weekday for the next month, we will post a Webaward Tip on our Facebook Fan Page to help you position your entry in the best possible light. So be sure to become a Fan of our WMA Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WebMarketingAssoc and watch your newsfeed or visit the page to get a step ahead of the competition.

The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the call for entries for its 14th annual international WebAward competition. The WebAwards are the standards-defining competition that sets industry benchmarks based on the seven criteria of a successful Web site. It recognizes the individual and team achievements of Web professionals who create and maintain outstanding Web sites. The deadline for entry in the 2010 WebAwards is May 25, 2010. A complete list of past winners and this year’s entry form can be found at www.webawards.org.

“The goal of the WebAwards is to not only recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today, but also provide valuable feedback to entrants on how their sites stack up against their peers and industry standards of excellence,” said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. “The WebAwards is different from other Web site award programs because we’re not just a beauty pageant focused on name recognition and design. For that reason, we see ourselves more like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval than the Academy Awards.”

Web sites are judged on seven criteria, including design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copy writing and ease of use and receive a numeric score. Each WebAward entry is judged against other entries in its industry category and then against an overall standard of excellence. Entrants also benefit from receiving valuable feedback from the WebAwards professional judging panel on their Web site development efforts.

This year’s top awards will include:

• A Best of Industry WebAward will be given in each of the 96 industry categories, including financial services, medical, small business, travel, advertising, transportation and government.

• The competition’s highest honor, the 2010 WebAward “Best of Show,” will be given to the one site that the judges believe represents the pinnacle of outstanding achievement in Web development. Last year’s Best of Show winner was Organic, Inc. for its outstanding work on “Bank of America – Morris on Campus” web site at http://www.bankofamerica.com/oncampus, which also won Best Bank Website.

• The Web Marketing Association will also recognize the interactive agency winning the most awards in the competition with the “Top Interactive Agency” WebAward. The 2009 Top Agency award was Extractable (http://www.extractable.com/) taking home 25 WebAwards. This Bay Area interactive agency specializing in web strategy, web design, custom technology, was recognized with five Outstanding Website WebAwards and 20 Standard of Excellence WebAwards.

Judging for the 2010 WebAwards will take place in June through August and winners will be announced in September. Judges will consist of a select group of Internet professionals who have direct experience designing and managing Web sites,–including members of the media, interactive creative directors, site designers, content providers and webmasters – with an in-depth understanding of the current state-of-the-art in Web site development and technology. Past judges have included top executives from leading organizations such as A&E Television Networks, Agency.com, BGT Partners, Blattner Brunner, Bridge Worldwide, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Comedy Central, Disney, Euro RSCG, Ion Global, J. Walter Thompson, John Deere Company, New York Post Interactive, Organic, Inc., Refinery, R/GA, Saatchi & Saatchi, SAP, Starwood Hotels, Sun Microsystems, Warner Bros. Online, Xerox and Zugara.

The 2010 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: BGT Partners, PR Newswire, Burst Media, AllBusiness.com, ExactTarget, ad:tech conferences, Internet World UK, Search Engine Strategies, Webmaster Radio, and Website Magazine. The Web Marketing Association thanks these companies for their commitment to the entire online marketing community.