There are literally thousands of web award programs on the
internet today. Some are credible, some are not. The Award
Givers Community has a name for the one's that are not. They are
called "Market-Me Awards or Give-Away Awards". The Market-Me and
Give-A-Way award programs holds no credibility and often results
in spam letters being sent to you, rather than gaining
credibility to your website. Most Market-Me and Give-Away Award
Programs will also reward sites that are tasteless or may
contain adult content and material. The only thing you will have
to do is paste their award graphic to your web or fill out a
simple form. These types of Award Programs do not actually take
the time to review applicants websites, they simply give you an
award by right clicking your mouse and saving their graphic. I
would highly reccomend Not adding these give-away/market-me
awards on your website, espcially if you are a professional Web
Designer, Web Firm or reputable business.
The credible Award Programs will display the following: A
criteria that has to be met, an awards policy, a judging panel
(that list their credentials, skills, certifications, etc.,) A
code of ethics statement, a privacy statement, a winners list
that can be easily found on the Award Program, a COPPA statement
and requirements of who is eligible to apply and who is not.
Credible Award Programs will have more then just a "submit site"
button. There are only a handful of Award Programs in the world
(such as the American Association Of Webmasters and The World
Wide Web Awards), that has received an "Awards Rating" from an
Awards Rating Service.
There are only about 10 Award Rating Services in the World, that
actually review only Award Program sites. If you see a rating on
an Award Program, you can be sure that the program has undergone
a strict review to receive a rating. Most prestigious Award
Programs will also display an "Affiliates & Memberships" page,
displaying their award ratings, memberships to ethics
organizations and sometimes award listings they belong to.
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