Best Leisure Web site of 2008 to be Named by Web Marketing Association in Annual WebAward Competition

The Web Marketing Association announces the call for entries for its 12th annual international WebAward Competition for Web site development at http://www.webaward08.org. The Web Marketing Association will once again name the Best Leisure Web site of 2008.

West Simsbury, CT (PRWEB) April 19, 2008

The Web Marketing Association announces the call for entries for its 12th annual international WebAward Competition for Web site development at Web Award Web site. The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition that sets benchmarks for 96 industries, including leisure web sites, based on the seven criteria of a successful Web site. The deadline for leisure web sites to enter to be judged is May 31, 2008.

"As the standard of excellence for websites continues to increase, consumers (and WebAward judges) are increasingly picky about what they consider to be an effective website," said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association, Inc. "Leisure Web sites take many forms, but the best ones all have the ability to transport the user from the mundane day to day to an enjoyable lifestyle experience - if only for a short time."

Web sites are judged on seven criteria including design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copy writing and ease of use. Each WebAward entry is judged against other entries in its industry category and then against an overall standard of excellence.

All entrants benefit from receiving valuable feedback in terms of their specific scores compared against the average scores for their industry. They also may receive specific comments from the WebAward's professional judging panel on their Web site development efforts.

Winners of a WebAward in the leisure category will also receive:

•     Image plaque or certificate of achievement
•     Increased visibility for their company
•     Marketing opportunity to promote the company website to the media
•     Links to your site from the highly ranked WebAward site to help SEO
•     Admiration of peers, friends and co-workers

Each year the Web Marketing Association names the Best Leisure Website based on the scores submitted by the competition judges. Recent winners of the Best Leisure Web site include:

2007 Aristotle Interactive for Arkansas Hot Deals & Packages
2006 IconNicholson for San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino
2005 Euro RSCG 4D for Intel Digital Home
2004 BGTpartners - Miami for Living the Seabourn Experience
2003 Aristotle for Earth River's Futaleufu Interactive Gallery
2002 Ripple Effects Interactive for Experience PA Web Site

A complete list of past winners and the entry form for companies who wish to compete for 2008 honors can be found at the [Best Leisure Web site page

Using the quantifiable data collected from more than 15,000 Web site evaluations over the past decade, the WebAwards has defined and recognized industry-specific benchmarks for successful Web sites in each of the seven judging criteria and released an Internet Standards Assessment Report to detail the findings of the study. A copy of the 2009 Internet Standards Assessment Report, including details regarding the leisure industry, will be provided to all participants.

Judging for the 2008 WebAwards will take place in June through August and winners will be announced in September. Judges will consist of a select group of Internet professionals who have direct experience designing and managing Web sites,-including members of the media, interactive creative directors, site designers, content providers and webmasters - with an in-depth understanding of the current state-of-the-art in Web site development and technology. Past judges have included top executives from leading organizations such as A&E Television Networks, Agency.com, Blattner Brunner, Bridge Worldwide, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Comedy Central, Disney, Euro RSCG, Ion Global, J. Walter Thompson, John Deere Company, New York Post Interactive, Organic, Inc., Refinery, R/GA, Saatchi & Saatchi, SAP, Starwood Hotels, Sun Microsystems, Warner Bros. Online, Xerox and Zugara.

The 2008 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: Burst Media, PRWeb, AllBusiness, Misukanis & Odden, Small Army, ExactTarget, ad:tech conferences, NewsUSA, MediaPost's OMMA conference, TopRank Online Marketing, Creative Chocolate Printing Company, PhizzPop, Internet World UK, Search Engine Strategies, Webmaster Radio, Rovion's InPerson, Snap Shots and Website Magazine.

About the WebAwards
Now in its 12th year, the annual international WebAwards competition sets the standard of excellence in 96 industry categories by evaluating Web sites and defining benchmarks based on the seven essential criteria of successful Web site development. The goal of the Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the WebAwards, is to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today. Entrants benefit from a Web site assessment by a professional judging panel and the marketing opportunities presented to an award-winning Web site. For more information, visit http://www.webaward08.org.

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