What is DMOZ?
Dmoz.org is a directory edited by humans that has been around since 1998. It was created as a cooperative environment that would allow volunteer editors to keep up with the Internet explosion. Once upon a time Yahoo used to be a directory – not a search engine – and dmoz was an alternative to this. Nowadays there is of course one crucial difference: We are now well into the Google era of information at your fingertips. Dmoz.org on the other hand is pretty much where it started.
The full title of dmoz is Open Directory Project. Dmoz is made up from the first letters of Directory Mozilla. The acronym reflects a loose association with the Mozilla project, an Open Source browser initiative by former owner Netscape. Originally called 'Gnuhoo' by founder Rich Skrenta, it was renamed Open Directory Project in the fall of 1998 when it was taken over by Netscape. Netscape itself was acquired by AOL shortly after, and dmoz ws one of the assets included in the acquisition.
In order to get your blog or website lísted in the dmoz directory, you have to submit it. The site you submitted will then be reviewed by individuals (known as Editors) who are assigned to various categories within the dmoz directory.
Is a DMOZ Link Worth the Effort?
It is only fair to say that dmoz is no longer what it used to be. You may notice that whenever you make an online search these days a Wikipedia entry is often on the first page. This used to be the case for dmoz, meaning it was a good referrer of traffic to websites. The key words here are 'used to be'. The category pages of dmoz do not rank well at all anymore, so traffic referral is next to nothing.
It is not all bad though. Google, for instance, has its own directory which is pretty much just a re-branded version of dmoz. This shows that it is still recognized as an authoritative website, a fact that is demonstrated by the high PageRank of some of its pages. Furthermore, many websites use dmoz's data which means if you get in dmoz you may inherit far more backlinks than you expected.
One of the reasons why dmoz is still considered authoritative is that you cannot pay to get listed, as is the case with many other directories. Providing a reciprocal link is not an option either, so dmoz seems more or less incorruptible. That is the good news. Unfortunately, with many thousands of websites being submitted every week, there are simply too many for the Editors to handle. This means wesites are not reviewed very often and so the content of dmoz is out of date - especially compared to all modern search engines.
Dmoz may no longer be the “holy grail of directories”, but there is no reason to get too negative. It only takes a few minutes to submit, so there is no harm in trying!
How to Submit to DMOZ
Make sure you give your website a thorough health check before submitting it. Have you checked it for broken links, bad spelling and missing graphics? These are some of the things your website can be rejected for - so do not kick yourself in the balls!
In order to submit, you must visit the category you wish to submit to and click on 'Suggest Url'. It is important to follow the guidelines, because if you miss just one element you will be rejected. For the full steps to submitting, visit:
http://www.dmoz.org/add.html
Ensure you do not spam your submission with keywords or be “creative” with the title. You may get away with things like that in other directories, but not with dmoz. If you are reading this article you should already be aware of the basic techniques of Search Engine Optimization, so the description you give dmoz should be related to your website as well as the keywords for which you want to rank.
For help in writing the best entry simply take a look at entries already within the category you are aiming for. If they are in, they must have done something right! This is also a good time to ensure the category is the right one for your website. Take a look at the websites within the category and make sure they are similar to yours. If they are not, it is best to find a more suitable category.
How Long Does It Take to be Accepted?
Dmoz is well known as an authoritative directory website. Needless to say, it is very popular and thousands of websites have been submitted. Despite having a large number of editors, the fact that each entry is reviewed by a human means the process takes quite some time and the backlog builds up. Considering dmoz has been running since 1998, that backlog has grown year on year. Therefore, you should not be surprised to hear that you may have to wait up to year for entry.
After submitting your website to dmoz it is worthwhile looking at your web analytics program and searching for the telltale sign of your website being reviewed. The address to check in your logs for is 'editors.dmoz.org'.
Is There Any Way of Speeding Up the Process?
Not really. The biggest mistake you can make is to get impatient and assume that you have been forgotten about, and then re-submitting. You could easily be rejected for this. Likewise, even though deep links and multiple categories are not banned from dmoz, it is probably best to avoid the potential downfall of doing this.
However, there is one way to get into dmoz relatively quickly. Naturally, people are drawn by the high PageRank of the main categories. Thing is, these are the sort of categories that take literally years to get into. It can be as little as a few weeks to get into a sub-category with a lower PageRank. The reason being that fewer people submit their website so the backlog of submissions is much shorter. Choose your category wisely!
I Think DMOZ Rejected My Website, But Why?
Often websites are not actually rejected, they are just taking a long while to be reviewed. If you submitted your blog or website to one of the busier categories you will have to wait months before having your website reviewed. This is why it is so important that you take care to write the best entry for getting in, not the best entry for your Search Engine Optimization campaign!
Another common occurrence is that your website may be listed in a different category from the one you actually submitted to. It is quite common to see a website moved to a more local category, if you have a .co.uk. or .de domain for example. Make sure you use the dmoz search tool before presuming your site did not get in.
If you are sure your site has been rejected and it is not down to a) a bad description, or b) your website being littered with broken links, you can contact the editor of the category. Simply visit the category you submitted to and scroll to the bottom to the editors' names. Sometimes you will see a “volunteer to be an editor” link, in which case you need to go up a level to see the editor for the parent category instead.
When you click on an editor's name, you will have an option to email them. You can also see their dmoz activity under their “Bookmarks”. This will help you find the best editor to contact (if there happens to be more than one). It goes without saying that you should be polite and professional when contacting them.
There are myths and legendsfloating around forums and chat-rooms about “corrupt” editors who only accept websites after receiving a “gift”, but chances are that a minority of editors may be managing categories that are related to their professional background. Unfortunately, that may mean some direct competitors of theirs might get rejected, no matter what the rules are.
Tell me about your experiences with dmoz.org.
Good luck!
1 Comentário:
Read the siticky at the top.
It can take from a few days to a few years for a review for a possible listing, we are not a listing service.
No you will not be told if your site is still in the suggestions pool, used or not used.
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