Web Awards - Credibility By: Dan Anderson
I recently looked into applying for web awards. I saw them as a
way to convey credibility to my customers and prospective
buyers. After looking through many sites, it turns out there are
an extremely large amount of award sites to choose from, but how
many actually run a quality system of rating? Anyone can rate a
site and hand out awards so what makes one site more credible
than the other? There are a few things to consider before you
apply for an award or put an award on your site.
Criteria- Do you meet it? If your looking for a focused
assessment of your site look for criteria that is limited to a
specialized category of sites. Criteria that any Joe can meet
doesn’t mean the award is not credible, but wouldn’t you rather
judges grading you against people in a similar field?
Scoring-Every award site implements a scoring system. It is
usually easy to find and you should look this over. Then with
this score sheet rate the web award site! If they can’t stand up
to their own scoring they aren’t one to choose. Another thing to
look for on a score sheet is what is being rated and how. If
this award site is rating based on only a few items on a scale
from one to three, there will be little accuracy in the
assessment.
Judges-Look around a site for information on who is/are judging
these sites. Read their bio(s), look at their site(s), and check
their credentials. If you cannot locate the judges’ information
who(m) are you really dealing with? It could be a robot for all
you know, that just hands out awards left and right.
The Award- Look at the award itself. Is it more of an ad for
their site or a certificate of achievement for you? Look for the
latter. Also is the graphic of high quality? If the award is not
appealing or looks unprofessional that will reflect on your
site. One thing, that is an indication of a good awarder, is a
site that sends a real certificate to your house or place of
business as well as a graphic for your site. Now a days some
award sites are just a disguised form of link exchange.
Past Winners- Review sites that have previously won the award
you are interested in applying for. If these sites are all of a
high standard and quality, pick one and contact the webmaster.
Inquire on the response from his users, the award service, and
anything else you would like to know. Usually you’ll get an
informative reply.
Amount of Awards- No one appreciates going to a website an as
soon as it loads they are bombarded with about twenty awards in
a row. This is just plain bragging and obtrusive to the users
experience. I suggest choosing one or two reputable awards and
having them on a separate page or on the bottom of the site
where all your other information is.
Free Applications Versus Paid- This is affected by your budget,
preference, and needs. If you have the cash to apply for a paid
award site do it. When your paying for the service your site
will be reviewed more diligently, scored harder, and the rating
will be more honest and accurate. With a paid application your
site will be in the running with other quality sites because no
ones going to dish out anywhere from ten to a few hundred
dollars to have their poorly made site rejected.
In conclusion, there are many award sites to choose from.
Choosing the right one can boost credibility, traffic, and page
rank. Choosing a low quality, hand out, award could loose you
customers for life and make your site look unprofessional. Do
not rely on awards to make you an instant expert or “the guys to
go to”, but the right one will show users that your work is
appreciated and recognized as a quality site and that will
reflect on your products, staff, and content.
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