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The ultimate guide to DMOZ

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by iNET SEO, Oct 23, 2009.

  1. #1
    I picked this up from one of the SEO category editors websites - these are the guys that ultimately get you listed - or not! You can read more about him here: www.seomike.com


    Be very careful choosing the category where you will submit your website. Unless your site is extraordinary, or there is an editor oversight, you will usually only get one, or maybe two listings. Get it right the first time.

    Choose a category that is relevant to the OVERALL theme of your website. Don't submit to every category related to every service your company offers.

    Choose a category that is has been edited recently. Many categories are kind of "stale." That is due to either low traffic, or low editor participation. There are almost 82,000 of us, I'm sure someone out there SOMEwhere is a little lazy and doesn't check their categories... ever. If the category you need to be listed in hasn't been edited in a LONG time, try contacting an editor a level or two up from it.

    Choose the correct regional category for your website. If your site is in Dutch submit it to the Dutch version of your category, even if the English category has more pagerank. Editors will often miscategorize websites submitted in a foreign language and then it's not likely to ever get listed. To most of the world, Dutch looks just like German. (Deutsch) Also, if you submit a site in an Asian language to an English category, you can pretty much forget it. Better to submit it to the correct category.

    Master English or hire a translator. If English is not your first language it really shows. Spend extra time formatting your submission request AND the English on your site. If your site is hard to read, it's not likely to be listed. Why should I recommend a company to my English speaking visitors that doesn’t show mastery of the English language?

    A link from DMOZ gets picked up by directories and sites all over the world. Google will often visit your site within just a few days of being listed.

    Don't submit your book. It's not going to get listed in my categories.

    Don't submit your get-rich-quick scheme. It's not going to get listed in my categories.

    Don't submit your "how to make money on the internet" blog or site. It's not going to get listed in my categories.

    Don't submit a URL that redirects.

    Finish your site. A site under construction won't get listed.

    Pop-ups annoy editors. They make them cranky. Especially those "floaters."

    Submit your site once to a category. If you haven't seen it show up, ask politely for status. Be prepared for a response of "There’s nothing you can do short of changing your business model to get listed in my category."

    Do NOT attempt to bribe an editor. I get those emails all the time. They tell me they'll link to my personal site, send $1,500 to my paypal account, etc. etc. I give those sites extra scrutiny.

    Don't submit your affiliate site. You may get lucky and sneak one through, but we try hard to keep them out.

    If you choose to contact the editor through the online form, don’t "CC the staff." The DMOZ staff doesn't care about your status update request email. Only CC the staff your email if you think there is something majorly wrong that requires their attention.

    Yes, the form to contact an editor gives an error sometimes. That doesn't mean that we didn't get your email. Don't send the same thing twenty times. THAT'S annoying!

    If you collect sensitive personal information from people (SSN etc.) you must use SSL when collecting that information. This isn't an official DMOZ guideline, but it is best practice and I won't list sites that don’t use a cert.

    If your company has multiple locations around the country / world, don't submit them all to the same category. You won't get them all listed and you'll just make the editor mad. I get submissions from a company, WSI something or other, from all over the world. The guy from the company harassed me for a while asking why I wasn't listing all his sites. One listing is all your company gets from my category buddy.

    The title of your listing must be the title of your site / company. (If you're forming a new company try using your target keyword in the business name so you can include the keyword in a DMOZ title.)

    Your description must not be "salesy." No "best", "most affordable," "trusted," etc. We don’t allow promotional text in your descriptions. Besides, everyone thinks they are the best.

    Don't Capitalize Every Word In Your Description And Title.

    Don't tell the editor that you've placed a link to their category / DMOZ on your site. That doesn’t help get you listed. Thanks for the link. We'll see it when we review your site.

    There is no "auto approve" function in DMOZ. Your site will not accidentally slip through and get approved. Don't spam the directory in hopes that your listing will appear everywhere one day.

    Check your site's browser compatibility.

    Check your site's functionality. If you have pages that 404 or self-targeted links, I won't list your site.

    DMOZ editors are generally pretty grumpy. They get frustrated with people not reading the submission guidelines and spamming their directories. When / if you contact them, be uber-polite. Remember, they have something you want, not the other way around.

    Don't email the editor the day after you submit your site to see why it's not listed. We'll get around to it. We won't email you if you're listed. We won't email you if you are denied. Be patient. Check the category. Give it a month or two and then politely ask for an update. Be patient. DMOZ editors not only have their own work to do, but they also have to review hundreds of submissions every week.

    You made it to the last tip and it's a good one; If you want to let an editor know something special about your site, put it at the end of your description. Write something like ** Dear [editor], I have done my best to follow your submission guidelines. I feel we are particularly relevant to this category because of all the accolades my company received which you can review here: If you have any questions, please ...escription box. Hope that helps people! :)
     
    iNET SEO, Oct 23, 2009 IP
  2. hi3w

    hi3w Peon

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    #2
    very very difficult to understand to me...
     
    hi3w, Oct 23, 2009 IP
  3. Mr. Gill

    Mr. Gill Active Member

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    #3
    Very good read.
    But
    You didn't mentioned about re-submitting.
    I had submitted my site 5-6 months ago and no response till now. Should i submit it again.
     
    Mr. Gill, Oct 23, 2009 IP
  4. iNET SEO

    iNET SEO Active Member

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    #4
    Look at the last point - that tells you to mail the editor if after a while your site has not been added. There will have been a reason why so it is better to ask than to just submit the same again.

    "Give it a month or two and then politely ask for an update. Be patient. DMOZ editors not only have their own work to do, but they also have to review hundreds of submissions every week."
     
    iNET SEO, Oct 23, 2009 IP
  5. TheCrabb

    TheCrabb Peon

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    #5
    iNET SEO - Nice one! It's so seldom any posts anything here that is actually useful! I haven't bothered much with DMOZ for a while now - the process is just too long and painful. Gonna try submit a few sites now with your advice.

    hi3w - This site just isn't for you.....
     
    TheCrabb, Oct 23, 2009 IP
    iNET SEO likes this.
  6. iNET SEO

    iNET SEO Active Member

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    #6
    No probs and good luck dude :) I am going to try a few of my customers later on as well - can't hurt to follow their guidelines!
     
    iNET SEO, Oct 23, 2009 IP
  7. simpseo

    simpseo Active Member

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    #7
    Whatever you do, DO NOT resubmit your site to DMOZ, unless you are absolutely sure that your previous submission contains errors which means that it will never get submitted. Submit once and forget about it.
     
    simpseo, Oct 23, 2009 IP
  8. mousee

    mousee Active Member

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    #8
    I followed all that advices but no luck. My company site is still not listed after 3 years. Sometimes I think that editors are sleeping...
     
    mousee, Oct 23, 2009 IP
  9. Mr. Gill

    Mr. Gill Active Member

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    #9
    But the category i submitted to had no editor, that why it went unnoticed ?
    Should i contact any editor or keep contacting till someone gives a response.

    Forget is not an option. I even applied to become a editor. First time i was refused withing 24 hrs (because of wrong category selected) and this 2nd time no response till now (it's been 1 week)

    Why are they sleeping !
     
    Mr. Gill, Oct 23, 2009 IP
  10. Rapid_SEO

    Rapid_SEO Peon

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    #10
    Dmoz is not realy hard to understand.
     
    Rapid_SEO, Oct 23, 2009 IP
  11. iNET SEO

    iNET SEO Active Member

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    #11
    Then share your wisdom for others!
     
    iNET SEO, Oct 24, 2009 IP
  12. nandalinnaung

    nandalinnaung Peon

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    #12
    this is probably one of the best read about DMOZ.. awesome read..

    would have been a lot better if you number the steps.. fantastic job....

    hope to see more people to get listed in DMOZ with this post...

    thumbs up.. :)
     
    nandalinnaung, Oct 24, 2009 IP
  13. GameFriends.com

    GameFriends.com Peon

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    #13
    I think listing in dmoz is subjective, when it needs to be objective to be a true directory. The fact that I see quality sites not get listed routinely makes dmoz a joke in my eyes, and other webmasters. How quality can a directory be when it's extremely incomplete and ruled by an oligarchy of inside editors that determine your fate of being listed.

    Conclusion: F dmoz unless you pay off someone to get you listed; you're probably going to be in for a long wait. Probably will pay for that soon, since it's been 2 years since my last submission.
     
    GameFriends.com, Oct 24, 2009 IP
  14. patco

    patco Well-Known Member

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    #14
    I prefer adding my site and waiting more, but not having trouble with dmoz. It is very hard to place a website there...
     
    patco, Oct 25, 2009 IP
  15. basin glass

    basin glass Peon

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    #15
    I have submitted to DMOZ several times over the last couple years and have followed the guidelines with no success. I have noticed that the category to which I'm submitting is pretty stale though so I guess I'm out of luck there. It's just frustrating that my competitors made it through before I came along and now they are enjoying the free link juice from DMOZ :(
     
    basin glass, Oct 25, 2009 IP
  16. willybfriendly

    willybfriendly Peon

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    #16
    The only problem with this is that any number of "good" DMOZ editors openly admit that they seldom, if ever, look at submitted sites. They just assume they are all spam.

    We all know what the corrupt editors do - and Lord knows there are a lot of corrupt editors.

    This, of course, assumes that there even is an editor, a growing problem in the nether regions of DMOZ.

    Frankly, I think it is time for DMOZ to either change their model, or simply to die and take us all of of their misery...
     
    willybfriendly, Oct 26, 2009 IP