What makes a blog great? What makes it deserving to reach the top? What are award-winning blogs made of?

We here at The Chrysalis Books, Reviews, and Everything Written (BREW) Project are undaunted in our search for the best of the best in the written content world to benefit both creators and audiences alike. Here are the results of our attempts so far.

What great blogs are made of

The answer to this question should be a no-brainer – great content! Of course, what’s a blog without its content? How can a blog be great when it doesn’t have great content? Right?

A site’s appearance, ease of use, page loading speed, and functionality are universal factors that may also affect a site user’s overall experience. Visuals could entice or detract site visitors. Even tech sites have user-friendly interfaces. Who wants to wait the whole day just to see a page? Who’s happy not finding a way through a site’s pages?

Yet to confirm the above assumptions, we’ve scoured the net. As a result, we found several sterling lists of the best blogs on our planet. Lists are based on individual sites’ respective predetermined parameters. The most common factors considered are the following:

1. Number of Mentions – Blogs are ranked according to the number of searchable mentions of the brand on social media sites. Detailed.com, for example, boasts a powerful site crawler and the capacity to log Twitter mentions as the basis for its list of the best book blogs.
2. Number of social media followers – Some would state that this is not the sole gauge of a blog’s quality. Although we’ve found some stark exceptions to the rule, there is an ample amount of significant correlation between the number of followers that a blog has vis-a-vis its position on a site ranker’s list.
3. Domain authority (DA), page authority (PA), domain rating (DR), and Alexa Rank – These are terms that could resonate with those with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) work. Basically, these are algorithm-determined grading systems crafted by SEO companies to appraise, monitor, as well as upgrade a website’s likelihood to appear in web search results, among others. DA and PA are created by Moz while DR is used by Ahrefs. A higher DA, PA, or DR of a site means it’s trusted more by search engines. Meanwhile, Alexa Ranking is crafted by Amazon where a smaller number means a site’s higher spot on the list. There are other numerical algorithm-processed data sources currently available that include Trust Flow, Citation Flow, Spam Score, among others.
4. A combination of data sources – Feedspot is the most comprehensive list of top blogs we’ve found so far. It has records of more than 250,000 active content creators and influencers in more than 1,500 niches. When ranking blogs, the site uses a combination of parameters – frequency of posting, number of social media followers, as well as domain age and rating. The lists also get updated frequently with listed blogs’ latest posts.
5. Writer’s personal perspective – Individual bloggers also create their own Top Blog lists. As expected, bloggers may choose to write objectively based on data or statistics; subjectively using their heart, mind, or individual preferences as the basis; or a combination thereof. To each, one’s own – this is what is more relevant in this case. It’s not far-fetched but even normal to have personal viewpoints expressed in personal blogs.
6. Judge or jury feedback – Blog awards normally use predetermined parameters in selecting winners. Normally, these are based on the decisions of a judging panel or a voting system. The Webby’s and the (now retired) Bloggies use this method. Where SEO rankings are algorithm-driven, awards take a look at factors and nuances more normally seen by the human mind. The BREW International Blog Awards – our very own blog awards – use the same system and take it further by adopting aggregate data, too.

Top book blogs of the world

Now, let’s look at the best blogs in our blogosphere based on Feedspot’s list as of this post.

1. Book Riot
2. Kirkus Reviews
3. Book Room Reviews
4. Book Page
5. Caffeinated Book Reviewer
6. NewInBooks
7. Maryse’s Book Blog
8. TotallyBookedBlog
9. Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
10. Lisa’s Reading
11. My Sentimental Library
12. Three Nice Mice Book Blog
13. Right Writing Words
14. The Introverted Reader
15. SKAVANSIEUR
16. The New Your Review of Books
17. The Bibliofile – Book Reviews, Books, Bestsellers, Literary Fiction
18. Modern Mrs. Darcy
19. Indie Reader
20. Booklist Queen
21. Wildblue Press
22. BookTrib
23. Fictionophile
24. Books Tell You Why
25. Becky’s Book Blog
26. Reading Group Guides
27. Portobello Book Blog by Joanne

Australia’s Best Blogs

Yes. We know that all blogs can reach every nook and cranny of our interconnected, wide web world – with pun intended. As BREW is Australia-based and delivers useful content to our entire planet, we’d like to mention notable Aussie blogs, too. Here are the top ones so far as of this post:

1. Booklover Book Reviews | Find your next great read today
2. Kids Book Review
3. The Book Muse
4. AustCrimeFiction
5. Whispering Gums
6. Happy Indulgence
7. Ragamuffin Books
8. book’d out
9. Sydney Review of Books
10. ANZ LitLovers Lit
11. Lost in a Good Book
12. Educate.Empower.
13. Tinted Edges
14. Dusk Angel Reads
15. The Burgeoning Bookshelf
16. Readability Australia
17. Just Kids’ Lit
18. Newtown Review of Books
19. Kathryn’s Inbox
20. The Never Ending Bookshelf
21. ALPHA reader | my solo book club
22. Reactions to Reading
23. The Mostly Books Blog
24. Barbara’s Booknalysis
25. A Book Escape
26. Upside-Down Books
27. The Chrysalis BREW Project

Yes. You read it right! We are on Feedspot’s Top Blog List as well! Here’s the link to the proof: https://blog.feedspot.com/australian_book_blogs/. Below is the screenshot, too.

Here’s where the sounds of applause should come in. LOL!

This post would have been totally about our latest BREW accomplishment on a normal day of excitement, but we’d like to go the extra mile for everyone’s sake. Also, we are truly thankful for becoming part of the list. Although the site had been existing since 2019, it was only in November 2021 that we’ve considered expanding from a mere personal hobby blog into a full-fledged multi-author blog. Thus, this accolade is not just icing on the cake but also a cherry on top!

Nominate a Deserving Blog

Do you have an awesome blog? Or do you love a blog so much that you think it deserves an award?

If your answer is yes to either of the above questions, then nominate the blog for the BREW International Blog Awards.

Plus, if you’d nominate someone else’s great blog, you’d also get the chance to win 1 of 3 cash prizes every quarterly nomination period.

Here’s the link to more information for your convenience: https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/the-brew-international-blog-awards/.