How to Find Trusted and Credible Websites

Research is a necessary step in most writing endeavors. If you are a copywriter, article or book author, publisher, publisher and the list goes on. The number of websites available is mind-boggling. Websites on the Internet are increasing daily, as is the number of search engine results.

It turns out that research is the most important and time-consuming part of any writing project you undertake. You need to collect information on the Internet, but finding information that is credible and trustworthy can be a daunting task.

As you browse through all the web results provided by search engines, it is very easy to get overwhelmed. If you search for a single word “Pets”, for example, there are 657,000,000 results. Narrow down the results by expanding the search word to Pet Food, which brings it down to 567,000,000 results. By being as specific as possible in your search words, you will receive fewer results, which will limit the number of websites available to you. For example, what type of pet food are you looking for: dog, cat, bird / canned, dry, organic, homemade. This will focus your research directly on your goal.

Make your results credible

You can also further limit your research by looking for those websites that are most likely to provide you with credible and trustworthy information. The length of the websites will differentiate the type of information that is provided. Below is a list of URL extensions and tips to help you determine potential credible websites by their extension.

URL extension – Websites that are more likely to contain credible and trustworthy information.

• .gov-government sites. The information on these sites is evaluated before being published and is therefore believed to be credible.
• educational sites .edu. Information is generally written by the facility’s professors and teachers and would be considered credible. Some educational facilities also allow students to post articles and should be investigated further.
• .mil-military. The information on these sites is evaluated before it is published and is therefore believed to be credible.
• Organization sites .org. About half of these sites are credible and the other half questionable. Additional investigation will be required on your part to decide.
• Network sites .net. This extension can also be half credible and half questionable. Additional investigation will be required on your part to verify.
• .com-commercial sites: Most of these sites contain credible information. Consider whether it is a business that sells products or services. Your information may be biased so that you buy their products or services.

• Is the article or information attributed to an author? The author will usually mention his qualifications in his field of knowledge, either in the article or on the website. You can further verify the author’s name with an association he belongs to or from other credible articles he has written.
• Does the article or information have a list of resources? This information can verify that the author researched your project and will also allow you to verify whether your source is credible.
• Article date-Item / information that is more current dated will likely be more credible than outdated information.
• See the About page-Is there an email address, phone number or postal address so I can request more information?

You can also check commercial business sites (.com) with the Better Business Bureau online. BBB posts user complaints for your review. Other options available are to check if the website has a security certificate; an Extended Validation (EM) certificate; If a company is publicly traded, quotes can be found on Dun & Bradstreet.

While your time constraints may not allow you to use all of these options, they are available if required. The more credible information you can gather will not only keep your readers interested, it will entice them to learn more.

Just remember, the quality of your writing depends on your knowledge of the subject. Deciding to enlist the help of a research specialist will save time and free you up for more writing projects.