Author: Bill Rice

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Award Winning Website designers use PCs.

Using data from the participants of the 2007 WebAward competition, the Web Marketing Association has determined that 58% of websites which won a WebAward were designed on a Windows-based PC compared to 42% of award-winning sites which used a Macintosh-based computer.

When you look at which computer was used in the programming of the award-winning Websites, PC were used in 81% of the winning entries verses only 19% that used Macs.

The Web Marketing Association is accepting entries into the 2008 WebAward competition until May 31st, so we will soon see if this trend of Microsoft supremacy in Web design will hold true for another year.

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Who has the Meatballs?

Congratulations to Valerie Neuschwander of Web Associates, Gail E. Hageman of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP and Kimberly Brookes of Wyndham Hotel Group for being selected to win a copy of Seth Godins book from last month’s Web Marketing Association Interactive Briefing newsletter. In addition, Margaret Lahey of Mailer Mailer responded to our blog posting about a drawing and she was selected to receive a copy as well.

We hope they do as well in the 2008 WebAward competition!

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5 Tips to Impress the WebAward Judges

With less than one month to go until the deadline for entering the 12th annual international WebAward competition, we hope to provide a series of hints on how to increase your changes of winning this prestigious Website award. Be sure to check our WMA blog regularly or subscribe to its RSS feed for greater insight into putting your best foot forward and winning a WebAward.

5 Tips to Impress the WebAward Judges

1) Provide a Direct URL to the entry – One mistake agencies that submit multiple entries make is to create a page that shows all of the entries and uses the same URL for all of the entries. It is much better to provide a direct URL for each entry, the judges do not need a landing page to be impressed with your entry, they just want to review the site and multiple sites on the same page increases the chances that they might review the wrong site.

2) Make sure the URL works – The last thing you want is to find out that your entry was not judged because the URL was invalid or the changed before the site was reviewed. If the judges can’t see the site, they can’t score it and it will be disqualified. One thing that causes a URL to fail is nominators that include instructions in the URL like “www.webaward.org – click on the big button”. Instructions belong in the instructions field, not the URL.

3) Be brief and to the point – The Audience and mission statement helps the judges understand the goals of the site before the review. Their advice is to keep the narrative short and sweet. Who is the site’s audience? What are you trying to accomplish with the site – direct sales, branding, information, etc? What are some of the features that might not be apparent? These are what the judges are looking for.

4) List the requirements necessary to view the site – Some sites using the latest technologies require specific versions of products (Shockwave 11.0 or Adobe Flash version 9.0 for example) or the download of plug ins or executable programs to review an entry. They will be more willing to comply if they know what is expected when they review the entry form. Also, let the judges know if your site only works on Internet Explorer because they may be using other browsers.

5) Make sure the password works – If the site is password protected, please make sure the user name and password are active until August 15th. This point mirrors Tip #2 – . If the judges can’t see the site, they can’t score it and it will be disqualified. Passwords that change during the competition can be updated by email

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WebAward Update

The Web Marketing Association’s 2008 WebAward competition Call for Entries deadline is less than one month away. Now is the time to enter! All entries received after the deadline of May 31, 2008 are subject to a late fee.

The WebAwards are the premier internet award competition that judges website development against an ever increasing Internet standard of excellence and against peer sites within an industry.

A Best of Industry WebAward, a handsome plaque with the image of the winning site embossed, will be given in each of the 96 industry categories, including financial services, blog, medical, small business, travel, advertising, transportation, and government.

It’s easy to enter and you can’t win if your not entered, so go to the WebAward Website and create a nominator account and submit your entry today.

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Clickz Online Video Advertising Forum

Clickz Online Video Advertising Forum – July 22, 2008 – Millennium Broadway, New York City

Interactive video advertising is one of the fastest-growing interactive sectors. What are the implications for marketers? Digital and traditional ad agencies are changing their notions of formats and strategies and are learning to work with interactive video technologies to produce and distribute compelling, effective content.

Join ClickZ and its experts in this immersive, one-day forum when we uncover the strategies, innovations, tools, formats, strategy, metrics, and creative to building an effective online video campaign. This immersive, one-day forum is for senior advertisers, marketers, publishers, and content providers who are using or considering this very fast-moving medium. Its aim is to educate, inform and provide a comprehensive overview of online video advertising innovations, tools, formats, strategy, metrics, and creative.

Early Bird Registration: SAVE $300 now through May 23rd Web Marketing Association members SAVE and additional 10% with CZ10WMA.

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Ten reasons why you should enter your website into the 2008 WebAwards

With only one month to go until the entrty deadline, we though we would give you our 10 reasons you should enter the Web Marketing Association’s 12th annual WebAward Competition for Website development.

10) If you wait until after the May 31st deadline, 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 12-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 2008 WebAward Competition for Website development. Winning accolades in the 2008 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 12th Annual WebAward competition deadline for entry is May 31st, only a month 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.

Enter the 2008 WebAwards today and receive the recognition you deserve!

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The Best Of Digital Marketing

1st July 2008
The Grange City Hotel, London

Monetise Your Digital Channels And Inspire Consumer Engagement By Capitalising on the Future of Digital Marketing.

Reserve your place at Revolution’s high-level review of 2008’s digital marketing brand best practice, showcasing handpicked award-winners and pioneers from the hottest brand case studies, spotlighting new digital channels that are about to hit the big-time, and looking across the digital landscape to make sure you can create an integrated cross-channel campaign guaranteed to capture attention and keep ahead of the competition.
Special Feature: To guarantee you leaving the conference with expertise that you can apply directly to your campaign, we’ve dedicated time to allow you to book small group time with our speakers

• Multi-Channel Fluidity Develop cross-platform campaigns for the best multi-channel mix
• Monetise Social Media From the creative to the commercial: make social networks produce real business benefits
• Optimise Your Website Explore new options for attract new traffic and streamline your site to convert visitors into customers
• Navigate The Search-Affiliate Landscape Maximise brand potential as the search environment evolves
• Quantify Creativity In Display Advertising Create captivating campaigns with calculable affect
• Perfect Email Campaigns Inspire with fresh design innovations, personalisation shortcuts and attention-grabbing ideas
• Debate Mobile Marketing Is it ever going to be the year of the mobile? Get involved with our down-to-earth, hype-free debate with cross-channel representation

A 360 degree brand-led showcase for all Marketing, E-Commerce and Digital teams wanting to keep their brands at the cutting-edge.

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Win a Free PPC Summit Conference Pass Contest

Pay Per Click Summit is searching for the most effective Search Marketing strategy, tip or technique that increased your conversions!

We’re calling all internet marketers to submit your proven technique or strategy here on this Search Marketing strategy Contest Form:

All you have to do is answer the following questions (noted on the form at the above link). What Increased Your Search Marketing ROI Last Year? What one thing could you point to and say “THAT made the difference!” Please provide two paragraphs describing your most effective SEM tip, technique or strategy. Only one submission per person and make sure to include your name and email in the spaces provided on the submission form. Stand by to see if your Best Strategy submission is chosen as the winner, and you will win a FREE FULL CONFERENCE PASS TO THE NEXT PPC SUMMIT!

PPC Summit will review all submissions and choose one overall winner on May 9. The winner will be notified by email and posted on all contest blog hosts by May 12. If your submission is chosen as the winner, you will win a FREE two-day conference pass to the PPC Summit of your choice (San Francisco May 19-20 or Los Angeles Sept. 25-26).

The PPC Summits are educational two-day Internet Marketing workshops which connect you with the world’s leading pay per click experts. You won’t want to miss the upcoming PPC Summit to learn from the Microsoft Keynote and other industry leaders during two full days of expert SEM and SEO lead generation and sales producing strategies. Stay tuned! The lucky winner will be announced and notified by May 12. The winner will also be recognized on all participating blog host sites.

Reserve your seat today and SAVE 10%, PLUS $200 off with code WMA10 www.ppcsummit.com/overview.html?blog

We hope to see you in San Francisco May 19-20.

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The WebAwards is the Best Website award competition

When the Web Marketing Association begin the WebAwards back in 1997, there were plenty of advertising award programs, and some even included a category for online media, but none were devoted to recognizing and improving overall Web development. We changed that!

We think we the WebAwards is the Best Website award competition for many reasons:

We have a transparent process. We tell you what the seven criteria for a successful Website are and let the judges determine how to apply them each year.

Our judges are Internet Experts from around the world that volunteer their time because they are leaders in their industry and understand the value of the WebAwards to Internet community.

All of our sites get sent to the judges – not just a handful of “finalists”. In fact, each site is reviewed by 3-6 judges and the final score is an average of the top two scores.

The awards are industry specific with 96 categories that you can enter. You are judged against your peers, not each industry has a different standard of excellence – just like in real life.

The year we are introducing a new award image plaque with a modern look that will look great on your office wall or in your company’s trophy case.

Winning a WebAward is also a great marketing opportunity. Winners can use press releases to drive traffic to your site and will receive links from our site to help with SEO efforts.

Everyone who participates gets feedback. Some will get specific comments from the judges reviewing your site, but everyone will receive their scores on each of the seven criteria and benchmark those scores against your industry averages.

Everyone who participates will also receive a copy of the 2009 Internet Standards Assessment Report which provides more than a decade of benchmarking data for your industry.

It is simple to enter and last years sites can be reentered with a single click from your nominator account.

If you have not entered theWebAwards yet, now is the time to give it a try. It’s effortless to enter. Simply go to the WebAward Website, create a nominator account and enter information about your site. The Web Marketing Association will send their independent expert judges to visit the site using seven criteria for an effective Website. If your Website has the highest score in your industry, you will receive a Best of Industry WebAward and a beautiful plaque for your trophy case. Other sites will be recognized with an Outstanding WebAward or a Standard of Excellence WebAward. All entries will receive their scores in each of the criteria benchmarked against their industry and overall Web development.

But you can’t win if you don’t enter, so don’t delay, enter the 2008 WebAwards today.

The deadline for entry is May 31, 2008. A complete list of past winners and this year’s entry form can be found at www.WebAward.org.