| Where's The Beef? What to expect from an Internet Award | ||||||||
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Internet Awards - Boom or Bust?
If handled properly a high quality Website can realize great benefits from Internet Awards. On the other kind, if handled in a haphazard way, a Website can actually do more damage than good. The key is to do some research before applying for any awards. Certain facts must be established and a focus on which awards to try and receive is important. Define and Assess Your Site - Why do you want awards?
This may seem ridiculously silly, but I can assure you that I see dozens of Websites on a weekly basis that seem to have an aversion to their own identity and purpose. Award reviewers, and much more importantly, site visitors, are not interested in dramatics and playing the 'guessing game'. I surf into sites on a regular basis that use flash or rollovers with no text to be seen. We are supposed to figure out which one of the graphics opens the door to the site. Who has time? Any site that hopes to sell anything or create any interest using that approach is playing to a small audience indeed. Most times I just leave. Cute is nice, but not very effective. Let people know what your site is about with a short contextual presentation that is clear and to the point. This will make it far easier for people and reviewers alike to stay at your site. Unless there are awards for sites that present mysterious navigation systems (and yes, I bet there's one out there) and a total lack of regard for usability, then I would highly recommend a more common sense approach. Is your site ready to receive an award based on its content and design? It's never easy to assess something we created ourselves, but it is essential to be honest about it. Whether a site has been developed by a complete design team or just one person, it must pass a few litmus tests before a credible Internet Award can be earned. A site needs highly useful content to be award worthy. A business site that is little more than a advertising brochure just is not enough. The site must contain useful information such as articles, examples, an 'about us' page and more. Non-commercial sites (research, humor, politics, etc) must present their content intelligently in a well written and interesting style. Navigation systems and graphics must be of the best possible quality, but great content is always the key. Assess your site honestly. Is it top-notch? Compare it to other sites of the same ilk. Is it as good or better? Tune it up and get it in shape before you submit for awards. There are enough sites that give out awards, that I think finding sites without awards is far more difficult than finding those without at least one posted. That may seem like an exaggeration, but I can assure you it is far from it. Why do you want an award? Certainly the personal pride and esteem that comes with receiving recognition is valuable on its own. Awarding individuals and groups is innate within our society and has been for many years. Receiving that recognition from known sources can also be a major boon to the success of a product, service or other works. We need go no further that the Academy Awards, Pulitzer Prize, Grammy or any other high-profile award. We know first hand the prolific results that earning these trophies can produce. On the Internet award sites post applications forms and that is the method used to get a site reviewed. Answering the question - "Why do I want an award" - is significant. Purpose is extremely important as it is the map that will guide you to the right award sites. Furthermore, you must know by comparison and by understanding the standards, whether you site is truly ready to receive an award. Where to Find The Right Award Sites for You Assuming that you have a site that has that special something that would perk the attention of award reviewers, the next step is to determine for which awards to apply. I am very strongly opinionated regarding this aspect of awards. It is not a numbers game! I remember a few years back (1999) being interviewed by Evan Ratliff of Wired Magazine for an article they had planned about Internet Awards. Although I do not recall his exact words, I do remember a comment he made that has stuck with me ever since. Something like this: "It sure looks ridiculous when you surf into a site, click on their awards and kudos page, and see 20 pages of award graphics. Makes it look far too easy to get one of these things. It's a little wishy-washy if you ask me" Frankly I feel similarly about this aspect of our subject matter. It is not the quantity but the quality of the award received. Those serious about receiving true value from an award should heed this advice. People that surf into a site really do pay attention to the awards posted and many actually visit those award sites. Imagine visiting an Awards Site and seeing something similar to this posted: "All you need to do to receive my award is to post a link back to my site. Please e-mail with where I can find my link and I'll send you the award."I see this and similar comments on far too many award sites. Would you post such a meaningless award on the walls of your site? Hopefully, this is something you find as disgusting as I do. Where to find credible awards or award sites
If your site has some real substance and if there are Industry Specific Awards available, then this is an important starting point. Winning an Award from an unbiased source is that is a recognized authority in your field is both personally gratifying and can lead to huge public awareness. Look no further than the Software Industry. Many high-profile awards exist for shareware and software authors. Examples: ** Tucows ** ZdNet Shareware of the Year Awards ** PC Week Rating There is, of course, many more but I think that will suffice to make my point. There are other significant awards available in just about any area of human accomplishment. If you are fortunate enough to have won this type of recognition, then posting on your Website (with appropriate proof in place), will create major benefits for you. There are two prominent services that list and provide ratings for Internet Award Sites. These are: WEBSITE AWARDS Provides a list of World's Best Award Sites and the Awards Worksheet to assist in your journey to apply for awards. AWARD SITES Provides ratings from 1.0 to 5.0 for more than 1800 award sites. Taking the time to visit the above sites and linking to the various listed award sites will provide you with plenty of information to help you focus your efforts. Selecting appropriate awards for your site is something that is entirely your decision, but it is a very important one. If you want to receive the true benefits that an ward can bring, you must be totally true to yourself in this selection process. Internet Awards come in many flavors, from general to specific. Surfers Choice Awards and The Webby Awards are examples of two general award sites. They are well known and will provide recognition, credibility and site presence. Also look at those awards that may be specific to your site's purpose. The International Professional Publishers Association provides the DX Award, which is certainly the one for any serious Web Designer to receive. For shareware authors The Shareware Industry Award is one of many that provides the recognition and credibility that can be derived from earning a recognized award. There are many others that are site specific and these are probably already known to you. If not, then search the Net with our site's keyword and award and you may just find some worthwhile content. Where's the Beef -What to Expect from an Internet Award Winning a credible award can boost your confidence and earn the respect of both peers and the public. The key is that the award is a credible one and has true value. As I said, there are enough awards available out there that just about any Website can get one. However, when awards that suck are posted you can lose credibility quickly. People that visit a site know the difference between token and real. So if you wish to gain all the benefits of a high-profile award you need to have a site that has the right stuff. What can you realistically expect from an Internet Award?
There's is no feeling like being a winner. Although an award isn't necessary, it sure puts a good feeling inside of a person and is a great booster. When our peers see our accomplishments it can help us establish new relationships, whether business or with fellow artisans. Never under estimate the knowledge of the surfing public. People are very cognizant (especially savvy surfers) of awards and know those that are considered meaningful. Most good award sites make efforts to provide special attention to your site. This results in more visitors and these visitors are often very highly qualified and interested in what your site offers. Some sites provide a searchable directory of sites; others list winners in a site review style links page; some do both. Either way the activity (although maybe not as important as Yahoo!©)generated can provide a consistent interest in your site for years to come. When a site receives a major award it can lead to an opportunity to market and brand a product or service. Rather than have an awards section link at your site, why not a "Press and News" section? Here you can post press releases and site news. I think winning a top award is reason to send a press release and to post the news about it. This looks substantially better, especially for commercial sites, than posting 50 awards graphics on one page. People will know why you received the award, what the award is about (they will probably recognize it anyway) and will be able to follow the link to the Awards Site to see the proof. This can be a great boost for your site. As a person who purchases over a thousand dollars of services or products from the Web each and every month, I can assure you I read the press and news section of each site that stirs up my interest. Some Award Sites will provide an inexpensive way for you to reach its opt-in subscriber list. A superb place to market your services to a savvy audience for a small investment. There are award sites that provide discussions forums that can lead directly to new and prolific business relationships or result in new contacts for you from your peer group. Communication is a key ingredient in building your site's Web presence and these type of services can be a major boost. Naturally, one should always exercise a a certain level of caution when making new contacts via the Web. Contest and surveys are also excellent for branding a service or product and many award services offer them. Try to pull the wool over the public's eye and a site can lose credibility quicker than the speed of light. Follow the practices listed above, start with a truly valuable service, product or information and enjoy the results. Wally Gross is the webmaster of Surfers Choice Internet Awards, one of the original award sites on the Internet with it's beginnings on Compuserve in 1995. Today Surfers Choice Awards is one of the most recognized awards on the Internet. They offer a fee based service with excellent presence services for all awarded sites. This article may not be reproduced or used in any part without the prior written consent of the Author. | |||||||