Hi everyone. I listed my site in DMOZ a little more than a year ago. Unfortunately nothing happened until now. I neither know the status of the whole situation nor is my site listed. I know they must be extremely busy there but I just would like to know should I relist my site again or that would be a mistake? DMOZ editor's opinions are especially welcomed, but all other view will be appreciated. Thanks. Laszlo The printer supply guide.
Laszlo, with the information you provided, I can only tell you that an editor has not reviewed your site yet. I don't know what category you submitted to, so I can't tell if it's waiting, it wouldn't hurt to resubmit one time.
Hi Lazlo My first thoughts when I looked at the site were that it is an affiliate. That was triggered by the popularmerchandiser name at the foot of the page. But looks can be deceptive and it appears genuine. Your problem, I think, is that the market you are in is highly competitive, full of affiliate junk spam, and that is what you are competing with when it comes to a review. Your site, if it was submitted to the correct category, is probably sat in amongst all that junk with few editors interested enough in ink cartridges to clean it up. So whilst I wish you all the best with the site - it isn't that common to come across a genuine independent inkjet cartridge site - I wouldn't be holding my breath for a listing. Assuming it is waiting somewhere, which a current serving editor like Annie might be able to answer if you give her more information, this is likely to be a submit and forget case.
Thank you very much for the helpful comments. I submitted my site only once but be honest at that time I had affiliate links on my site. But since I removed all the affiliate links and sell only the products of my company. The Popularmerchandiser.LLC name stands for my LLC that I incorporated in Delaware. I did not think that it might suggest that it is an affiliate site. So I think I will resubmit the site once more with the suggestions that I got from you guys. Thank you very much. Laszlo The printer supply guide.
Hi evryone. I just resubmitted my site to DMOZ a minute ago. The Category: Computers: Hardware: Peripherals: Printers: Supplies: Inkjet Title of Site; Cartridge Bargains Description: Sells inkjet refill kits, compatible cartridges, printer papers and supports two charities. I cross my fingers and wait for the best. I already been accepted to yahoo directory I hope there is not gonna be a problem with DMOZ. Thanks laszlo. The inkjet cartridge guide.
Any special reason for mentioning these two charities in your description? Are they getting free cartriges?
Laszlo, since you have your office location on your contact page, you should also submit the site to that location in the Regional branch.
That isn't the title of your site or of your company. Hint! See http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/describing.html#titles In an area full of spam a discrepancy between the site title and the copyright owner is a possible indicator, certainly worth investigation. If an editor is scanning for sites they can add quickly, something needing investigation might be put aside for another day with more time. Good luck!
Brizzie makes an excellent point - for both new submissions and update requests. If we get a submission (or update) with a title like: "Learn how to save on printers, printer supply and printing services at xxx.com" and a description like: "At xxx.com you can find inkjet printer and laser printer articles, printer reviews and comprehensive buying advice on a great range of printers,printing services and Printer supplies." we may either: a. assume it is spam b. assume that the submitter did not read the submission guidelines (obvious) c. assume that this site may not even be worth listing Regardless of the assumptions, the title and the description would have to be completely re-written to meet our guidelines. An editor that is skimming through a category to clean up problems and possibly list new sites will see this submission and may just pass it by. If the submission is something like: "XXX Supply Company, LLC - Supplies inkjet, laser, and toner cartridges for a variety of printers and fax machines. Includes product information, manufacturer specifications, and price lists." it would fair a much better chance of catching the editor's attention and possibly getting a quicker listing. I am not saying that the 1st example would not get listed. It could possibly delay a listing (if one is warranted). Update requests fall into this same category. If a site is already properly listed and an update is received which contains keyword stuffing and hype, the editor may not even waste their time with it. It is not the job of the ODP to use hyped up keywords to get a site better page ranking. In the case of Business updates, I can estimate that more then half of the update requests are discarded because they are attempting to circumvent our listing requirements.
You mean within DMOZ I could for example list my site under Florida or Miami? A site can only be listed in a Regional branch when it provides information about a specific region, and/or when it is directly relevant to a population within a specific geographic area. ? Do you think I could list my site under that category too? Perhaps a later time? And by the way I see now that this so far one year waiting to get listed was partially my fault too because the insufficient site description and the affiliate links on my site. Well the charities doesn’t get free cartridges, they get money. And if the business will be good I will have the opportunity to give even more. Thanks. Laszlo the ink guy.
A few notes about Regional categories: By looking at your website, it appears that you are selling/working out of an apartment. If you do not have a "brick and mortar" operation - where someone could actually come to your location to purchase your products (for sales type companies), your site would not be listable in regional. For example, I live in Skunkcity, New York (yes, it does stink here ). I am interested in finding a supplier of skunk food. I could go to http://dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/New_York/Localities/S/Skunkcity/Business_and_Economy/Shopping to find my local skunk feed store. Because this store has relevance to where I live (I can actually go there to buy skunk food) it could be found in this regional category. If the company had no store front (just sold over the internet, for example) then it would not be listable in Regional. I hope this helps a little.
Yikes - cans of worms warning.... http://dmoz.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/Business_and_Economy/Shopping/desc.html If the site sells by distance ordering, has a single or no physical presence, includes prices, and delivers internationally or to most of the USA, it may be better suggested in the Shopping branch and possibly in the Regional/.../Locality of the premises (requires verifiable location details on the site). Distance selling only sites can be listed in Regional. Many countries (outside the USA) have national level Shopping categories that are well developed in Regional and distance selling sites can be listed there because they have Regional relevance - people prefer to purchase from distance sellers located in their own country. In addition, some distance selling sites can only be listed in Regional - see http://dmoz.org/Shopping/faq.html#4 - though it would not apply in this case. http://dmoz.org/Shopping/faq.html#7 is also relevant. There is a very complex thread - not sure if it was in Regional or Shopping - probably Regional as the basis was a UK based distance seller - where the principles were established by Staff. The guidelines mentioned as above are somewhat ambiguous and IMO need looking at. As it stands lazlo's site is submittable to Shopping, with a physical store or locality relevance might be submittable to the Regional...Locality/Business & Economy/(Shopping) category, and might possibly qualify locally or nationally in the Regional branch as a distance seller based on that description referred to above. Orlady, if she is around, should be able to clarify the position with US distance sellers and perhaps amend the relevant wordings. In any case, whilst lazlo is US based, the statement that a distance seller cannot be listed in Regional is misleading for non-US businesses.
Here and apparently everywhere in the DMOZ organization. I'm not sure who has the responsibility for trying to ensure uniformity in editing practices but it's obvious there is mass confusion about the rules even within DMOZ - no wonder people outside DMOZ can't figure it out. That continues to be a primary problem for DMOZ.
Brizzie is correct -- there are different rules for (1) the US and (2) the rest of the world, and the Shopping rules are confusing. US distance (i.e., online-, phone-, and/or mail-only) retailers that ship nationally or internationally can be listed only in the Shopping branch. Because of the preponderance of US sites in the online shopping world, US sites dominate http://dmoz.org/Shopping. Thus, there would be no value to the user (and a big nuisance for editors) for them to be dual-listed in a US-level Shopping category. There are small exceptions. If a US distance shopping company is big enough that it has a substantial presence in the local community (for example, by employing a lot of people), it can be listed in the city where it has its headquarters. (An example is Amazon in Seattle.) Also, if a distance retailer delivers within a limited geographic area (for example, a farmer who takes online orders for goat cheese and farm produce for delivery within a 100-mile radius of his farm), his site would be listed in the Regional category that best corresponds to the delivery area.
orlady: 1. How do you expect the average non-editor to figure this out? 2. How do expect the average editor to figure this out? 3. What plans or mechanisms are in place or will be put in place to remedy this issue?
Sorry, but sometimes there can be confusion when a Business editor applies one small truth to all of Regional. Although most businesses require a brick and mortar operation, all do not. There are many types of businesses that work out of the home and still eligible for a Regional listing. The Florida editors might not list this particular site because it is in an apartment. When I looked at this site, I did not do a full review, but I did check one link for a particular inkjet cartridge. It said sorry we are out of stock for this cartridge, but we receive new shipments every day, please check back soon. This tells me they stock in house the products they sell. By listing the office address, whether it is an apartment, warehouse, or storefront, it suggests that one could go to that location to purchase the products. Or it's possible he might take orders by phone at that location and deliver in the area. Either way it shows regional relevance because the office is located there. I would list this particular site in Regional. I wonder if skunky is confusing this kind of address with a P.O. Box address. Normally a P.O. Box is not listable in Regional although there are some exceptions to P.O. Boxes as well. In any case, it won't hurt for him to suggest it in the locality, but it would have to be the Miami Beach/Business and Economy. No where else in Florida.
I realise the question was directed at orlady but the answer is a guidelines clarification. Though even then it is a highly complex issue. I knew (most of) the answer because I was both a Shopping and a Regional editor and took a particular interest in this to try and get the position nailed down into an easy to understand formula. A while later there was an additional clarification, then another thread that got so convoluted I lost complete track of what it was discussing let alone the outcome - this primarily related to an apparent US-centricity of the Shopping branch, the lack of a developed Shopping sub-branch in Regional...US. AFAIK this is the current situation, all assuming the site is otherwise listable: Domestic only US distance sellers (if they ship outside their region) are listed in Shopping, but not non-US domestic only sellers. Non-US domestic but national distance sellers can be listed in their Regional...country...Shopping category but US distance sellers don't get the same Regional benefit. US and non-US localised delivery distance sellers can be listed in Regional at the level covering that delivery area but not in Shopping branch. International delivery distance sellers can all get a Shopping branch listing regardless of origin. International delivery non-US distance sellers can get a second listing in Regional, at national level. If the distance seller has a physical store as well then they can get listed in Regional at the geographical level that covers the store location(s) as well but they would not get two listings at the same level in Regional. Distance sellers with a strong local impact, e.g. Amazon because of jobs, might also get a listing in their Regional...Locality category, but generally I would want to see more local relevance than simply an address. Callers welcome... would indicate a local relevance, or a situations vacant page, or an indication of local community involvement, or products that reflect their locality. Generic products and those not associated with the locality, i.e. the locality is irrelevant, where the only localised information was an address I would not consider to be suitable for a Regional...Locality category. Corporate (non-retail) websites of substantial retail businesses might also qualify for Business, and perhaps for the Regional...Locality instead of but not as well as the retail website. Websites also in languages other than English will also qualify for the World... equivalent categories as well. Sites containing Adult material will only be listed in the Adult branch, which has a Regional sub-section as well as topical sub-sections. All in all it is a highly complex state of affairs. In retrospect a different set of rules might have been simpler and more effective. But at this stage in the development of DMOZ, major restructuring would be almost impossible due to resources, who are better employed on new listings and quality control of existing ones. The best that can be achieved is to try and explain in as easy terms as possible what the position is, and even then it is likely to go over the heads of many. There is another difficulty in that whilst the major branch guidelines are written as a consensus effort by the branch editors it is always possible that those contained in one branch will be inconsistent in some aspect to those in another. Because editors specialise and when one is revised there may not be an editor from an impacted branch present to make sure there are not inconsistencies. Further there are maybe 250,000 or more individual category descriptions often added by individual editors not by group effort and, therefore, potential for discrepancy there if they are not all checked every time a guideline is changed or updated. The Regional...US...Shopping category description I referred to is likely to one such minor description and the normal remedial action taken when something like that is spotted is to update it - it isn't a major job and any editor with the rights can do the task.