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Is it hard to get your site listed in DMOZ?

Discussion in 'ODP / DMOZ' started by Simply101, Jan 23, 2008.

  1. #1
    Hello I have been hearing all about DMOZ and people have been saying that it's really hard to get your site into it. Also if you don't submit it properly you can't ever submit it again...!?
     
    Simply101, Jan 23, 2008 IP
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  2. Alucard

    Alucard Peon

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    #2
    There are two ways to answer your question.

    Is it hard in terms of the amount of effort you have to put in? No, not really. Take the time to find a category that you feel best matches your site. A good way to do that is to find out where your competitors are listed. that might give you a starting point. Then hit the Suggest a URL link and fill out the form. Once you have done that you are done, there is no more effort you can put in to help things. Costs you nothing, other than that amount of effort.

    Is it hard in the sense of the odds of getting listed? That depends very much on the "niche" that you are in - sites in the ODP are reviewed by a team of volunteer editors - they get to choose when and where they want to work, based on time available and interests. Examples would be, if you are a web designer or developer, yes it's hard. If you run a small store in a city, and have a website and submit to the category in Regional, your chances are much much better. There are all sorts of places between those two extremes.

    Not true at all. This is a myth that seems to float up to the surface every so often. If you mess up, resubmit it. What the ODp does not like are people that submit their sites once a month, every month to a bunch of different categories, hoping to randomly hit one... THAT will penalise your site in the ODP's eyes.

    Hope this has answered your questions.
     
    Alucard, Jan 23, 2008 IP
  3. winifred gray

    winifred gray Peon

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    #3
    Yes you can resubmit it, but it will overwrite your previous submission. If I did it wrong I would resubmit again right away because if the editor saw the error and fixed it but left it in unreviewed you would overwrite their work.

    I'd also like to say that if your site is good enough it's likely to be able to get thousands of links, dmoz is just one, and it's probably not going to be a very valuable link. Most likely you will be in a pr 3 category or lower along with 20 - 100 other sites. You will not receive any traffic from this link and you have to split the pr with all of the other sites that are listed.

    So just submit once and move on. Then you can go around saying "I submitted five years ago and I'm still waiting..."
     
    winifred gray, Jan 23, 2008 IP
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  4. pcoptimized

    pcoptimized Peon

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    #4
    Also, another question to ask is "How well is my site developed?" Do you have enough quality content on there. As already mentioned, the directory is edited by volunteers (unpaid) people. If you don't get in after some time, you could resubmit and maybe somebody else will review your site and like it to add it.
    If your site is new, with little content to offer, you might want to wait until you have it to submit.

    Is it hard to get the site in? I'd say yes. Not hard to submit it, however. That's easy. Acceptance, that's another story. Make your site good and you're likely to have an easier time getting accepted.
     
    pcoptimized, Jan 23, 2008 IP
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  5. lxguy

    lxguy Well-Known Member

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    #5
    Tks for so many suggestions about DMOZ listing.
     
    lxguy, Jan 24, 2008 IP
  6. shadow575

    shadow575 Peon

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    #6
    shadow575, Jan 24, 2008 IP
  7. cdpm

    cdpm Banned

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    #7
    yeah, the editor is a human being that need rest too plus they are volunteer to do the job..take your time mate..
     
    cdpm, Jan 24, 2008 IP
  8. ecctao

    ecctao Peon

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    #8
    Yeah.It's take me half of a year to add in.
    But wish it's value.
     
    ecctao, Jan 30, 2008 IP
  9. mygolfbuddy

    mygolfbuddy Peon

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    #9
    I havent had any success getting my site listed in a very small niche category. I don't think the editor of this section is doing their job, and because its a small category they get away with it. Or possibly a person with an interest in keeping other sites in that category unlisted is the editor. In my opinion DMOZ has been broken for years, and I've adapted and built my traffic without a DMOZ listing
     
    mygolfbuddy, Feb 6, 2008 IP
  10. Anonymously

    Anonymously Notable Member

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    #10
    Glad you managed without the directory, the directory had to manage without you. Do remember all editors give their spare time to this project, that we are not a listing service for webmasters and don't complain about the editor unless you are willing to join and help.
     
    Anonymously, Feb 6, 2008 IP
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  11. Qryztufre

    Qryztufre Prominent Member

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    #11
    Why would someone offer to help when the directory has done nothing for them? If someone lists their own site (and are not a founder) then they run the risk of being called a rule breaker. Whereas, if their site is already listed, then they don't have to worry about such things. Look at some of the conversations editors have had with me. I listed my own site (that was on my app, and affiliations list!) and was told I was giving it preferred treatment. The editor that first brought it up had their site listed before they became an editor.

    Why would anyone reading this forum even ever want to try to be an editor with the way they see others treated around here?
     
    Qryztufre, Feb 7, 2008 IP
  12. robjones

    robjones Notable Member

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    #12
    Clarification:
    Editor adding their own site... ok.
    Editor doing so then quitting a handful of edits later... not really ok.
    Dressing it all up in righteous outrage... Priceless ;)
     
    robjones, Feb 7, 2008 IP
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  13. attick

    attick Peon

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    #13
    1. How many DMOZ editors are there?
    2. Do the editors have a quota of sites to review?
    3. Do editors have a problem reviewing sites with subjects they have zero interest in?
    Does an editors personal preferrance in site design influence their review of a site.

    I would hope that site owners undrstand that ODP is a volunteer organization with unpaid editors.
    I would also hope that the editors understand that the hard part for the site owners in the "not knowing the status" of their submission. I can understand that I may draw an editor that doesn't like my site, my product, my design. I would like to know when it is acceptable to resubmit and maybe make it the next go around.
    Personally, I think a little communication AFTER the submission and before rejection or approval would take some of the heat off of the editors.
     
    attick, Feb 7, 2008 IP
  14. shadow575

    shadow575 Peon

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    #14
    Rough guestimate would be somewhere around 6000 editors, plus or minus a few hundred.

    Editors are required to 1) follow the guidelines and 2) make at least one physical edit every four months to maintain an active account. Not all the actions that editors make qualify as a 'real' edit.
    Interesting question. The answer is probably two-fold. On one hand yes editors may have a problem reviewing sites in subjects that they have no interest. They are all volunteers and can choose to only edit in areas that they find interesting. On the other hand, editors with permissions in a category (whether from a higher category within the branch or from higher permissions such as cateditall, editall, catmod, meta) can edit in any of the categories their permissions include whether its a category of interest or not.

    No. The only thing that matters is significant unique content. The only part that a sites design would play in a review for inclusion would be in the case where the design is so poor that it rendered the site unnavigable.


    It is something that has been beaten around both internally and externally over and over. The question would be what benefit to the directory and its editors would providing status reports bring? That answer is usually "none". The problem is the directory is not a listing service. It accepts suggestions and strives hard to review each of them as soon as possible, but they are not the only source used and in a lot of cases public suggestions are not even the best resource.

    The mindset is this, if the suggestion has been reviewed and accepted, the suggester (which is not always the site owner/designer, it can and often is just a visitor that found the site useful to them) will know because it will show up in the category.

    If the suggestion hasn't been reviewed, what possible benefit could reporting "still awaiting a volunteer editor to review it" bring? The answer again is 'none', there is no way to predict when a review will occur or even which of the active editors will review it. "Still waiting" could mean another hour, day, month, or year to be reviewed.

    If the site has been rejected, what happens after that is reported? resource-zone.com found that out first hand. One or more of the following is likely to occur:
    1. The site owner/designer starts immediately screaming about a competitor controlling the category. - Which contrary to what is sometimes said, never happens as no editor owns any category.
    2. The spammers now know what trick didn't get through the defenses and are free to start trying the next one. - Obviously not something anyone wants to do.
    3. The editors become engaged in an endless argument as to why the owner/designers "most wonderful site on the topic" is not acceptable for a DMOZ listing. - A fruitless waste of valuable editor time and resources that does not serve to benefit anyone involved.
    The bottom line is the recommended course of action for a site owner/designer is the same no matter which of the status reports (waiting, accepted, rejected) is available. Simply keep building the site to serve the sites customers/visitors, keep adding new and unique content not found on every other site on the topic, and keep promoting the site using whatever other means available.
     
    shadow575, Feb 8, 2008 IP
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  15. attick

    attick Peon

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    #15
    1. Can you give a guesstamate as to how many sites are suggested peryear...on the average?

    2. On the average, how much time is spent by an editor reviewing a site?


    "The spammers now know what trick didn't get through the defenses and are free to start trying the next one."

    That's not a good argument. I hate to day it but I would bet that the spammers are going to come at you from different angles ayway.

    Should we close all the backs so they won'yt get robbed? Better yet, lets not tell anyone that the banks are open.

    Shadow...lets say you ere standing in line to purchase concert tickets, and you couldn;t see the end of the line. Wouldn;t you appreciate someone coming and telling you that the concert was sold out or would you prefer to stand in line not knowing.

    If a site is accepted...fantastic and thank you very much. If the site is rejected, what changes should I make to better my chances when I do resubmit? If a site is still waiting review, should I assume after a given period of time that it has been rejected and that I should resubmit?

    I really don't think all site owners/developers are unreasonable or that all would blame DMOZ if their site were rejected. Some of us are stilll learning, sone trying to interpert guidelines and rules.

    Do you agree with all DMOZ editors? I've witnessed you gouys going after eachother. Personally I think it's pretty cool. I wouldn't group all DMOZ editors are one. I also wouldn't appreciate being lumped in with all site owners/developers/ Is it fair to keep everyone in the dark, just to prevent a potential disagreement?

    By the way...I'm the service manager at your local car dealer. The next time you bring in your car for service I am not going to tell you what's wrong with it because I don't want you to be mad at me.
    Shadow...I am not bashing editors in any way. I think you guys do a good job. Smooch
     
    attick, Feb 8, 2008 IP
  16. Anonymously

    Anonymously Notable Member

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    #16
    Attick you are still viewing this as a listing service, ask yourself if a site adds value to the surfer ie some unique content, if so it is more than likely to be listed. The sites that get rejected are rejected because they are spam, not unique content, affiliate sites, get rich quick schemes etc. Almost every other site it is listed, but it may be in a long Q. We also cannot tell you how long it will take, the Q may not be long in the size, but in the time it may take for an editor to work in that category. I have a category that I have not edited in for almost a year, I have just caught up a category that has had some, but little attention, for several months. I have not decided where I will edit next week.

    Sometimes sites which might be rejected because they fall foul of some technicality, like not listing a location for a shop, often get emailed by the editor to tell them and see if the site changes. So in some cases the site does get chance to change, now I understand that for these very small percentage of cases a reject notice would be helpful to the site owner and I can understand that problem, but it is a small percentage, most rejects don't bother reading the rules or have no intention of keeping the rules. As shadow said we try not to give information regarding rejects because it is a good tool for spammers and we would sooner lose a few sites than open the floodgates. Yes many site owners are reasonable, but believe me there are very many that are not and would try and exploit any loophole or try and cast ODP into the corrupt organisation that should be closed, just read on here, things like "Why would anyone reading this forum even ever want to try to be an editor with the way they see others treated around here?" and that is a modest example.

    Your illustration of the car service station falls because you are paying for the service they are in business to repair your car. We undertake neither, we are free but focussed on the surfer so we don't offer to list people's sites, we do offer to accept suggestions of sites we might or might not choose to list.

    You ask about quotas for editors, editors remain as editors so long as they do more than one edit per 4 months. But there is nothing that says that edit or any other has to be on a submitted site, indeed in some categories we hope the skills of the editor finds and brings the best sites to that category because it normally has junk and spam sites piling up every day. The task of an editor is to build the category in which they are editing in the way they think best for the surfer, using submitted or self found sites, that's a great part of editing skills.

    You ask if we, as editors, agree, well I think we might argue about what ODP should become and what changes should be made, we might argue about how things are conducted at times, but we do agree the basis of an editor's task and what sort of site can be listed because we all operate on the same guidelines that has been hammered out with staff and the editing community.
     
    Anonymously, Feb 8, 2008 IP
  17. mojtata

    mojtata Well-Known Member

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    #17
    Dmoz suck.
    Its better to have 10 other directories than dmoz...
     
    mojtata, Feb 8, 2008 IP
  18. Anonymously

    Anonymously Notable Member

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    #18
    That's not bad odds to say that 10 other directory listings would be better than one ODP listing. Why do you say they suck, did they not list your site? List it quickly enough or is it just one of those remarks designed to try and tarnish ODP, which is still the largest human edited directory on the web. And all that done on a few paid staff and all the rest volunteers. Takes my breath away.
     
    Anonymously, Feb 8, 2008 IP
  19. attick

    attick Peon

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    #19
    Anon...I'm not here to pick apart what you're saying but in numerous posts "unique" haas been mentioned by editors. When referring as to the uniqueness of a site, what do you mean?
     
    attick, Feb 8, 2008 IP
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  20. jimnoble

    jimnoble Well-Known Member

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    #20
    Unique content is that which isn't available anywhere else.

    A blog describing ones bee keeping experiences has unique content.
    An MFA site ripping off Wikipedia or the CIA Fact Book hasn't.
    A business selling it's own products has unique content.
    A web site selling drop-ship stuff probably hasn't.

    Also,

    A world-wide B&B directory with 100 entries isn't ready for prime time.
    A single city focused B&B directory with 100 entries probably is.

    Did that help?
     
    jimnoble, Feb 9, 2008 IP