Category: WebAward

The Call for Entries for the Web Marketing Association’s 2007 WebAward competition for Web site development is now officially closed and judging will being on Monday.

Good luck to all who entered and winners will be announced in Mid-September.

I guess the title says it all.

If you have entered the WebAwards this year, please check your nominator account before Friday to see if your entry fees have been paid and all of your edits are complete. After Friday, the sites are off to the judges and editing will be turned off.

If you did not enter yet, what are you waiting for? You only have a few more days submit your web site to be recognized and earn itself a great marketing opportunity (it won’t hurt your reputation either!). To create a nominator account and enter for the first time, go to our new account form.

Ten reasons why you should enter your website into the 2007 WebAwards

10) If you wait until after the May 31st deadline (next week), you’ll have to pay a late fee.

9) Your mom would be proud of you.

8) You will receive important benchmark data for your entire industry and where your site ranks in each of the seven judging criteria.

7) Think of the PR opportunities – industry publications, blogs, websites, by-lined articles, podcasts, press releases, interviews – the sky is the limit.

6) A best of industry plaque containing your award winning site will look great in your office.

5) The WebAward logo on your site is like receiving the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” for Web development.

4) Your clients and customers will be impressed at your industry recognition and so will your potential clients.

3) A link to webaward.org will help your site’s search engine rankings because you will be linked to an 11-year old .org authoritative site with a high Google PageRank.

2) A Best of Industry award means you’re the best and you can prove it!

1) If you don’t win, we won’t tell anyone – and you still get the feedback.

Recognition and feedback, that is what you will receive when you enter the 2007 WebAward Competition for Website development. Winning accolades in the 2007 WebAwards – the Internet’s premier award recognition program, is a great way to stand out from others in your industry. You will also receive valuable feedback from our judges and benchmarks for your industry. But you won’t get anything if you don’t enter!

The 11th Annual WebAward competition deadline for entry is May 31st, only on week away, and you can submit your site for review at www.webaward.org. Avoid a late fee by completing your Web site entries before the deadline.

Even the most amazing sites are all but invisible without the proper recognition. Enter the 2007 WebAwards and receive the recognition you deserve!

We all tend to wait until the last minute to enter award programs – well the clock is ticking and only two weeks remain for you to ensure you receive accolades in the 2007 WebAwards – the Internet’s premier award recognition program.

The 11th Annual WebAward competition deadline for entry is May 31st, only two weeks from Thursday, and you can submit your site for review at www.webaward.org. Avoid a late fee by completing your Web sites entries before the deadline.

Everyone knows the winning a WebAward is a great marketing opportunity. Did you know that all participants will receive a updated copy of the Internet Standards Assessment Report and your website’s judges scores for each of the seven criteria of an effective Web site compared to your industry and the overall web development standard. No other award program give provides you this level of comprehensive feedback for your Web development efforts.

WebAward – The award that makes an award-winning Web site.

At the recent Search Engine Strategies conference in New York, I discussed one of the hidden benefits of participating in Web site award programs – search engine optimization or SEO.

Most people recognize award programs, such as the Web Marketing Association WebAwards, are a great way to receive third party credibility for your Web development efforts and demonstrate to clients and senior management your high level of expertise. Participants also receive valuable feedback in the form of judges comments and benchmark data comparing their site to their industry average.

However, some overlook the real benefits winning awards can have on search engine rankings. Much of successful SEO focuses on gaining links from authoritive sites in “good neighborhoods”. Search engines believe that if a site is linked to from trusted Web sites, then it is more likely to have valuable contact and deserves a higher ranking.

WebAward.org has a Google PageRank of 8 out of 10, recognizing that it is a very authorative site. And talk about a good neighborhood, the only way for a site to receive a link from WebAward.org is to have been recognized as an award winning Web site!

Another important SEO tactic that award winners can use is the press release. Winning a Web site award, such as a WebAward, is a newsworthy event. Many award winners will distribute press releases over Internet-savvy wire services, such as PR Web, in order to have the releases picked up in the search engines. These releases provide additional links to the site as well as are indexed by the search engines and show up in search results.

Releases are also popular fodder for social media sites such as Digg, Technorati and many industry bloggers and poscasters. But as Lee Odden from Top Rank Marketing reminds me, never just post the release – It’s the kiss of death in social media. Instead, write a blog post with the information and link to the release for more information.

If you would like to have your Web site considered for the best web site award in one of the 96 industries covered by the 2007 WebAwards, you have until May 31st to enter your site at www.webaward.org. Remember – you can’t win if you don’t enter and even the most amazing Web sites remain invisible without the proper recognition.

We are often asked how the winners are selected for the Web Marketing Association’s WebAward program. So here is an overview of how it works.

First all of the sites that have nominated (2007 Nomination deadline is May 31st at www.WebAward.org) are randomly assigned to multiple expert WebAward judges. The judges review the sites and score them on seven criteria critical for a successful Web site. Each criteria is scores on a maximum 10 points for a total possible score of 70 points.

The average of the highest two scores are used as the final score. This score is compaired to other sites entered within the industry and the highest score wins Best of Industry for that category. If the remaining entries received a score of 60 or greater, they received the Outstanding Website award. If the site score is below 60, but equal to or higher than the average score for the industry, then that entry will receive the Standard of Excellence WebAward.

Winning a WebAward is truly an honor, as a large number of sites do not win any award. More importantly, the WebAwards sets the standard for Web development and provides helpful feedback to all of the participants.

The Web marketing Association would also like to thank the media who have helped promote our WebAward Call for Entry by publishing articles in print or on line. Here are some of the recent trade media coverage:

Yahoo News – Best Shopping Website Trends Detailed in New Report from the Web Marketing Association

UKBusiness – E-Commerce Business Website Trends, Released by Web Marketing Association

AdWeek – Site Development Lags Expectations

Create Magazine – WebAwards to Honor World’s Best Websites

1to1 Magazine – Is Web Innovation Dead?

Domains Magazine – Web Hosting Design, Featured in Web Marketing Association Trends Report

All CU News – Best Bank & Credit Union Websites Detailed in ISAR

Small Business Informer – Best Small Business Web Site of 2007 to be named by Web Marketing Association in Annual WebAward competition

ebusiness News – Online Retailers follow Airlines in Best Web Sites, New Study Says

Internet Marketing NewsWatch – WMA Releases ‘Internet Standards Assessment Report

Bulldog Reporter – Web Standards Report Shows Overall Decline in Standards of Development