How to get your site listed in DMOZ

[wayne h.]

By Wayne Hurlbert

Everyone talks about getting their site listed in the Open Directory Project, better known as DMOZ, but not everyone knows what to do about it.

Here's some help.

The Open Directory Project is probably the single most important internet directory. Its listings are used by Google, and by many other search engines and directories, all over the internet.

http://www.dmoz.org

DMOZ is an entirely volunteer edited directory, where every site is examined by an editor for suitability. To get a listing in DMOZ, is to have several legs up, in the race to the top of the search results.

The first step to a listing, is to check the various directory categories, and find the appropriate one for your site. Be very thorough here, as submitting your site to the wrong category can result in very long waits, and possibly even rejection.

When you have narrowed your target to the most appropriate category, go to it, and click on "add URL". Be absolutely certain to read the instructions very carefully. They are not merely a suggestion. They are an absolute requirement. Be sure to submit just your home page to only one category. Multiple page or category submissions will likely be treated as spam, and your site rejected.

You will be asked to write a brief description of your website. This is not the place to be flowery and biased. Be as objective as possible. If the editors think your description is too promotional, they will certainly change it on you. Your site may even be rejected entirely.

Your site has finally been submitted. Now what?

Since the website submissions are accepted on a first come, first served basis, you wait. The waiting period can last anywhere from one week to six long agonizing months. Whatever you do, don't decide to resubmit your site. At best, your submission will be moved to the back of the line again. At worst, your site may be rejected.

In the meantime, you won't hear from DMOZ one way or the other. Keep checking their site each week for results. Keep updating and adding content to your website. The editors will like your site a lot better, and your chances of approval go way up.

Be sure you have no pages "under construction", as the editors will reject any sites that aren't ready for prime time.

If you have an "affiliate sales" site, be absolutely certain your site contains several pages of useful articles for your visitors. A site simply consisting of links and banners will almost always be rejected. Good relevant content is a must.

If you can't stand the wait, you can contact the category editor about your site's status, directly through their Feedback link. A better route, however, is to ask a polite question on the DMOZ public forum.

http://www.resource-zone.com

You don't have to be registered to read the forum, but you must register (free) to post a question. As always, be sure to read and follow the posting guidelines.

Happy submitting.

It's well worth the effort!

***This article originally appeared in Search Engine Journal http://www.searchenginejournal.com/ where I wrote it as a guest columnist. The column has also been reprinted in the Blog Search Engine - Blog http://www.blogsearchengine.com/blog/. It most recently appeared on my own site Blog Business World. http://www.blogbusinessworld.blogspot.com/ ***

[chovy]

great wayne, thanks for posting this

[wayne h.]

For those of you who just simply can't get enough of my DMOZ words of wisdom, I have just had a DMOZ article published on SEO Chat, found here:

http://www.seochat.com

The article will disappear at the end of a week or two from the home page, but will still be archived with my SEO Chat articles found here:

Wayne Hurlbert's SEO Chat Article Archives

I hope you find it helpful for getting your sites listed in the Open Directory Project (DMOZ).

Wayne Hurlbert

[raven]

Cool, Wayne! Good writeup

raven

[wayne h.]

Thanks Raven.

I'm glad you liked my article.

In case you are wondering, I am not now, nor ever have been a DMOZ volunteer editor. I don't play one on TV either.

Wayne Hurlbert

[raven]

hehe

I have been an ODP editor for a few months now and although I don't have a lot of time to spend on it, I do what I can.

raven

[chovy]

I tried applying awhile back to be a dmoz editor, they rejected me.
Not sure what the reason was.

[wayne h.]

Blog Business World is now in DMOZ.

So what, you say. It's not your site, so why should you care?

Well...

I followed my own advice, from my article at SEO Chat called "The DMOZ Directory: Get Your Site Listed"

I got into the correct category and my description, written entirely objectively, was accepted with almost no alteration.

Follow the advice I provide, and your DMOZ submission will be approved too.

Wayne Hurlbert

[tpw]

I will be reading more on this topic later.

I have applied to be an editor several times and have always been rejected.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I have submitted my site to their directory a dozen times and still have yet to be listed there. With more than 400 content pages on my domain, you would think that my site measures up to their high standards. Guess not...

[piyushrawat]

Hello,
is there any site where we can see the waiting site which are to be listed in the opd.

[Cheater]

Hello,
is there any site where we can see the waiting site which are to be listed in the opd.

Nope. Just sit back and relax until that e-mail comes in.

[piyushrawat]

hello,
thanks for replying but is there any way to write the description which will be very effictively and our site sumbit easily. means any tips for that[/u]

[raven]

Hello, is there any site where we can see the waiting site which are to be listed in the opd.

piyushrawat,

No, you can't see a list of unreviewed sites but you can ask about your sites at the DMOZ forum http://resource-zone.com

[Cheater]

hello,
thanks for replying but is there any way to write the description which will be very effictively and our site sumbit easily. means any tips for that

It is possible to request a change to your listing. The editor can decide whether to put your change in or not though.

[chovy]

Hello,
is there any site where we can see the waiting site which are to be listed in the opd.

Nope. Just sit back and relax until that e-mail comes in.

actually, there is: http://www.resource-zone.com

Follow the posting guidelines after a month from submitting your site to ODP/Dmoz. Someone will check and get back to you.

EDIT: after re-reading, i think you mean all sites in the queue to be reviewed? You could still try these forums to see who's been submitting, but it won't be exhaustive