i believe that a DMOZ link is priceless regardless of what people say ok - so maybe Google has not updated its directory for a while. but what about all the other sites that also rely upon the DMOZ directory????? there is AOL for starters, Excite, the list is endless a link from DMOZ (if you can get it) in my opinion is one link (that will multiply into many) well worth having
Could you find me the link on AOL for DMOZ please? I've had my site listed in DMOZ for a few month. I've NEVER seen a hit from Excite. And you are right, it is a link that will multiply. It'll get into nearly 300 clones, and thats when you are welcomed to the wonderful world of Duplicate Content. The only value I can really think of would possibly be Alexa...as at least a few webmasters use that.
WRONG. Google doesn't want the influence of the ODP to pollute its SERPs with stale, pre-2002 websites, parked domains and 404's. Therefore, it has had to find a way to devalue DMOZ clonal links - and perhaps DMOZ links themselves. (1) The clonal links are not counted by Google for your PR. Pages that are mere DMOZ clones rank in the deepest recesses of the SERP purgatory. In fact, DMOZ categories themselves have taken a big hit in the SERPs two years ago, they hardly rank anymore, further reducing DMOZ's traffic and visibility. You can take that to the bank. This is a certainty. The clonal links are not counted. (2) The DMOZ link itself might actually have LESS value than a link on a page with equivalent PR. To verify this, you need to find websites that (a) have been listed for over two years in the the Directory and thus can still be found in Google's version and (b) only have a single link, that is, a link from DMOZ. Such sites rank only with the help of (a) internal-navigation/on-page factors and (b) the DMOZ link. It's easy to separate the effect of internal-navigation/on-page factors from the effect of the DMOZ link. You simply need to find the lowest PR that it's possible to have with only a DMOZ link. Why does that work? It works because you know two things about this site with the lowest possible PR. You know it must have very poor, near-zero, internal-navigation/on-page factors, so that the only thing carrying its PR has to be the DMOZ link. You know it has at least the DMOZ link, and that effect should benefit all sites on the DMOZ category equally. Finding the lowest PR website in the category gives you a very close approximation of the the PR you will earn from your DMOZ link. We have documented, on this forum, websites that have been listed for over two years, in DMOZ categories of PR5-6, and still have PR0. In other words, a DMOZ link from a PR5-6 page does not transfer enough PR power to make your website's PR from 0 to 1. That's unnaturally poor PR transfer performance from a page that appears to rank so high. I cannot be certain that Google actually downgrades the value of DMOZ links, I cannot think of a rationale for it, but when I look at the evidence I have to ponder the possibility.
It is fascinating that so many people seem to think DMOZ is the holy grail or at least worth wasting time over. Including those of us who seem to post nothing but the realities of the situation. Why is there so much interest in DMOZ? Well I reckon the main reason is historical in that in a bygone age a DMOZ listing, and clone listings, did appear to have an impact on PR. That has gone and evidence exists to prove conclusively that it has no impact. The second reason is that there are a lot of SEO operatives out there who are still trapped in the past and send misguided messages to clients and others about the value of a DMOZ listing. The third is that because DMOZ is designed, quite properly, to be weighted against highly commercially minded webmasters, there tends to be a lot of complaints about commercial sites not being listed. To a DMOZ editor the more such complaints the better they are doing. Finally, the DMOZ concept is uniquely consumer orientated not supplier orientated which makes it very difficult to understand for those used to more or less every other directory in existence. Some well-maintained sections of DMOZ are far from worthless. For surfers looking for quality unique information. None of the categories have any worth to a webmaster's marketing effort. And because a DMOZ listing is never guaranteed and even a highly listable site, the ultimate on its topic, may take years to even get reviewed, it should never feature on a competent webmaster's marketing plan. Unexpected minor bonus if it happens, nothing more.
I believe helleborine has comprehensively described the evidence several times of late in various threads. Check her recent posts. The easiest demonstration is, however, to go to the Google version of the directory where listed sites are shown with their PR next to them. Note that many listed sites have PR0. Second, do a random Google search and note that many of the top results do not, and never have had, a DMOZ listing.
I don't have faith in PR predicting tools, but it's worth noting that the PR for DMOZ is predicted to fall from 8 to 7. Will report back once update cycle is complete. http://www.dmoz.org Current PR = 8 Predicted PR = 7 (6.7) Backlinks = 137,281 http://dmoz.org Current PR = 8 Predicted PR = 7 Backlinks = 969,616
After years of trying - I was FINALLY was listed recently. A kind soul here at DP gave me some sound advice and it worked. Today I received two orders from my site (which I don't know if there's a connection, but since I've been listed there I've noticed a bump in my Alexa rating and # of hits.) DMOZ does have value IMO.
If nothing else a DMOZ listing indicates a site has some "age" to it as most people know it takes forever to get listed there. I hope it helps! At least we know it won't hurt.
Curious. I don't know if there's a connection but my Alexa ranking shot into the high 200,000 after being listed in DMOZ. Not very impressive, but considering my site's narrow scope and focus (scientific illustrations of wildlife) I'm pretty psyched.
That's as may be. But as a commerical website that sells to a very small niche (and hardly high demand) after watching Alexa for about a year IMO there is a correlation between the ranking and my sales. When it drops, my sales drop. When I get into the 300k range I get sales. Go figure.