First, we had to define the word "great" for b-to-b media sites. Second, we had to select judging criteria that could apply across sites spanning a multitude of industries. Third, we had to pick 10 great Web sites without access to the critical financial data that, at the end of the day, delineate success or failure.

The sites we selected may not necessarily be the 10 greatest b-to-b media sites or the only 10 sites that could be considered great. But we believe that taking the time to view, evaluate and critique them will spark some ideas that will help you make your own Web sites greater.

Richard Mead, managing director of Jordan, Edmiston Group, offered some thoughts on what makes a b-to-b media Web site great. "Functionality is important," he said. "Look and feel is important. Most important of all is content. What is it that compels that industry member to go to the site, not only to visit but to spend time with it?"

Mead said b-to-b audience members must find something of relevance to them, such as market intelligence they won't find elsewhere. "A site must have content that's fresh," he said, "but it's also valuable to have archived data, white papers and other industry information they can access exactly when they need it to do their job."

Jeffrey Dearth, a partner at DeSilva & Phillips, said, "User interface is really important these days. Users want sites to be well laid out, and they want to be able to navigate easily. That usually takes pretty good design."

In b-to-b media, Dearth added, "it's all about connecting the b-to-b customer to the b-to-b resource or vendor. For some verticals, that may require a directory of products that's more interactive than a directory could ever be in print. Along with sources of products and services, a Web site may have user ratings or some other form of user-generated content so that people in the same vertical industry can share their experiences with those products and services."

Toni Nevitt, president of eMedia Advantage, is the former president of e-media and information marketing at VNU Business Media, which was renamed Nielsen Business Media earlier this year. Based on her experience with about 50 b-to-b media Web sites, she said, "B-to-b audiences want meat. They want substance. They want to be informed. They want to be smart, and they want to have the information resources they need to do their jobs better."

Nevitt said users are also starting to look to Web publishers to provide them with tools and software applications that help them do their jobs.

"The community aspect is huge, especially in the b-to-b marketplace," she said. "B-to-b Web sites are beginning to adopt models that mix traditional journalism with the wisdom of the crowds."

How the sites were selected

To put together this special report, we put out a call for nominations in the weekly Media Business e-newsletter and solicited recommendations from analysts and consultants. Screeners also visited the Web sites of American Business Media member companies, excluding trade show and conference sites and vertical search sites.

We selected 10 categories and assigned sites to only one category, even though some qualified for more than one. For example, the Wall Street Journal Online was evaluated as a paid-subscription site, even though it could also have been considered a general business news site. Similarly, Penton Media's Reel-Exchange was assigned to the launch category, even though it also qualified as a site with user-generated content.

In the screening process, sites were judged according to the following standard requirements:

Search engine optimization: Does the site appear near the top of natural search results when its industry name is searched?

Content: Does the site have original content not present in its print companion? Is it refreshed at least daily?

Navigation: Is it intuitive? Are items classified logically? Are category and subcategory names clear and mutually exclusive? Are hyperlinks obvious, and do they work?

Community: If comments can be posted, is there activity (one or more comments on a regular basis) and currency (posted within the past month or less)?

Presentation: Is the text legible in all areas of the site? Is the site relatively clutter-free? Even if there are a lot of elements present, is it clear to the user where to go for one thing or another?

Interface: Does it have a 1,024-pica width? Is there an area where multiple stories automatically scroll (using Ajax or similar technology)? Is there user-generated content, such as article comments, blogs, forums, lists of most-viewed or most-recommended stories, etc.? Does it use media beyond text, such as video, slide shows or audiocasts/podcasts?

Unless otherwise indicated, the average unique monthly visitor counts listed in the fact boxes accompanying the profiles were calculated based on the six-month period ended April 30.