PR Websites Suck: This will come as no surprise to anyone who visits PR agency sites regularly, but public relations sites ranked bottom of a 10-year Web Marketing Association study of trends across 80 industries. Gaming and music websites were rated the highest, followed by automotive and sports sites.

The survey evaluated sites on seven criteria: design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use.

“While advertising sites excelled in design and innovation, public relations sites ranked low across all categories,” said the report. “Notably, public relations scored lowest for copywriting, even though it is an industry known for effective communication.”

According to William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association: “It’s likely that PR practitioners focus more on developing their clients’ sites, while their own sites suffer from typical ‘brochure-ware.’ Another possibility is that the low scores reflect the informal nature of the Internet and the backlash over over-edited, corporate speak.”