A comprehensive and in-depth characterization procedure for obtaining very accurate measurements on silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detectors is described here. A large amount of electro-optical tests are systematically carried out in terms of the most significant SiPM performance parameters; in particular, an accurate estimation of the photon detection efficiency is achieved, based on the single-photon counting technique, with substraction of the dark noise contribution and avoiding the additional noise sources of crosstalk and after pulsing. Some recently produced detectors are analyzed and their relevant electro-optical parameters are evaluated in order to confirm the effectiveness and efficacy of the adopted characterization procedure in assessing the overall SiPM performance. The repeatibility of measurements is carefully verified. All evaluated parameter trends are proved to be compatible with the physics theory of the SiPM device.