AALBC Score

The AALBC Score, which ranges from 0 to 100, is a proprietary system used to rank the relative quality and strength of a website. The information used to compute the AALBC Score is purely quantitative; there are no subjective inputs used to calculate a site’s score.

Our scoring considers a variety of factors including the age of the website’s domain, how long the site has been active, the number of other websites linking to the site, and more. We are unaware of a more objective approach to ranking websites. Most of the statistical data were obtained from SEMrush.

Our mission includes uplifting and supporting websites created for, and by, Black people. We believe as the World Wide Web becomes increasingly controlled by a handful of extremely powerful corporations, content related to Black culture, and how we are depicted, suffers. All of us, regardless of background, are adversely impacted as a result.

Over 400 websites have been considered for inclusion on our Top 50 Black Owned Websites list.

How to Submit a Website

Anyone may submit a website for consideration. The only requirements are; (1) The website must have an Semrush “Organic Search Traffic Rank,” and (2) The website must be Black-owned.

To have a site added, simply enter the website’s address (URL) in the comments section below. It will be added to our list of websites and monitored over time for potential including on out Top 50 List. The list is an excellent way for visitors to discover a wide variety of Black-owned websites.

The Top 50 Black-Owned Websites represent the strongest 50 sites we have evaluated. The Top 50 list is fluid and will evolve over time as we become aware of additional websites, as websites change over time, and as we continue to enhance our rating system.

Visitors may find that they are completely unaware of many of the hundreds of websites we track — even those in our Top 50. This is not by accident. Massive corporations have used various tactics to prevent the discovery of other websites and to keep you engaged solely on their properties.

Google, for example, works very hard to discourage visitors from leaving their search engine; more than 60% of those using Google’s search engine do not go to another site. Ninety percent of websites do not receive traffic from Google. Many of our websites are undiscoverable. As a result, we have fewer Black-owned websites and most of those that remain do not have a significant reach. In many categories, like books, not only are there fewer book sites, the ones which remain are struggling more than ever.

This also means that fewer Black people are sharing in the tremendous wealth being generated on the World Wide Web.

Worse, many of the most popular websites covering Black culture are not Black-owned. Some of the “Black” websites that you might find most familiar are not listed for this reason. Black people control very little on the web today.

The solution is very simple; Patronize Black owned websites:

• Identify one or two websites that you like and visit them regularly,
• Leave comments on their articles and engage on their discussion forums,
• Subscribe to their publications,
• Send them feedback,
• Buy their products, and
• Share their content with others

There is still a wealth of interesting content on the web. Indeed we hope AALBC.com is contributing to that wealth, but it can not continue if the current trends persist unabated.

The solution is not more engagement on social media or government intervention — they are part of the problem. The power to increase Black ownership and control on the World Wide Web is in our hands.

Peace and Love
Troy Johnson,
Founder & Webmaster, AALBC.com

More Detail Behind the Creation of our Top 50 List