Stop thinking about luring in Google. Consider the standards of another site, one that focuses on finding great content. How would your site stack up to their guidelines?
What is findingDulcinea‘s site selection process?
We evaluate Web sites on many criteria including credibility, usability, and design.Credibility is a fundamental criterion of any site we recommend. When considering a source, we review who has prepared the content, what the site’s editorial policy is, when the page was last updated, and whether undisclosed biases or conflicts of interest may exist.
Usability is assessed by asking ourselves the following questions: Does the site communicate its purposes quickly and concisely? Is the site’s navigation conducive to finding information and returning to where you came from? Does obstructive advertising hinder navigation, or does the site make it difficult to differentiate between content and advertising? If a site has a wealth of information but it is difficult to find, the information may be less valuable to our readers.
Design We always note whether or not a site’s design and layout, particularly the presence of advertising, will distract our users from the editorial content, and more importantly, whether or not ads are labeled as such. Some otherwise useful sites unfortunately are rife with advertising or distracting design elements, and when this is the case, we want you to know about it.
Other important factors:
Cost: We don’t shy away from recommending outstanding subscription-based sites, but we do evaluate the pros and cons of such sites by signing up for them ourselves. More often than not, we find comparable sites in many categories that do not charge a fee for use.
Accessibility: Does the site itself load easily and get updated frequently? Do the links the site provides access to function correctly? How quickly do page loads take on average? Does the site require plug-ins like Adobe FlashPlayer, JavaScript, or other add-ons that might hinder usability? Does the site make its customer service team, authors, or editors available for contact? Where applicable, is the “Help” section well indicated and useful to readers?
via FAQ / findingDulcinea.