Coaching For Success
Posts tagged DMOZ
For or Against Bothering with a DMOZ Listing!
Jul 14th
For or Against Bothering with DMOZ?
This post picks up a little from the last post on DMOZ as looking online we noticed a debate going on about whether having a DMOZ listing was still worthwhile. So we decided to do a quick post discussing the points for bothering with a listing and those against it as a summary round up of the views being put across on the subject by big players like SEOmoz who we would like to thank for their inspiration on this post. If you have a point of view on this subject we would love to hear it.
As stated in the last post, DMOZ was once seen of the mother of all Directories, The queen, the must have important link to obtain and many people still hold this view. The point for having a listing as discussed in various articles and forums are as follows:
1. Google had the directory copied originally as the Google directory, which was once linked to from their home page, it is still listed but now you have to find it in their large service list – but it is there
2. DMOZ brings direct traffic as their pages ranked well for search queries and were used directly by web visitors before Google basically cornered the market in search.
3. DMOZ received many new inbound links on a regular basis making it extremely valuable in the eyes of the search engines
4. DMOZ was an active place that was regularly used to add, review and modified links making it relevant and up to date.
5. DMOZ is still regarded as desirable by many as it seen as a status symbol, badge of honour for your website.
However the people who are not so thrilled with DMOZ arguements are equally compelling as many feel it is outdated, out of date and rendered practically useless. Below are the points made by the against camp:
1. DMOZ is practically inactive – The basis of this arguement is that many new sites aren’t being accepted and those listings that do exist are typically quite old and many just do not exist any more.
2. Big players like SEOmoz have listings in DMOZ and are not receiving more than 10 visitor a day, which only goes to prove how few people are using DMOZ.
3. The number of inbound links has dropped as people use different sources to gain links.
4. The number of people who no longer regard DMOZ as a worthwhile place to link to has increased with many companies doing very well using other link strategies with less wait time and restrictions, this includes paid directory submissions.
5. The shear number of failed submissions, due to any number of reasons including, no one to review that category and the fact that many editors are now worried about accusations levelled at them for reasons from being bribed to keep people out to bias.
6. The ROI in terms of time and effort to get a listing with DMOZ is not worth it.
These are the arguements for and against, we would love to hear your point of views on it now.
Tips For Getting Listed With DMOZ
Jul 13th
DMOZ was once regarded as the queen of all directories and is still widely regarded as a favourite by all top Search Engines. Google see sites that are listed in DMOZ as a positive thing as all sites in it are hand picked and reviewed strictly on conditions set by its editors.
It is not easy to get a listing in DMOZ and many people constantly try for many years without success. There are many people who dislike DMOZ and claim among other things bias in terms of getting listed being used.
There really is no short cut to getting listing in DMOZ, if your entry was not accepted look at the issues that may have caused this on your website. DMOZ likes good quality sites to be listed that satisfies their quality guidelines.
Here is a quick list of what it takes to get listed on DMOZ and even if you follow all of them you may still not be listed.
1. Make sure your site doesn’t violate the DMOZ guidelines. There is no point in submitting if it does or it is a duplicate site with mirrors or an affiliate site full of links. Also in keeping with this guideline make sure your site is complete and that contact details can be found. Do not try to get a listing for a multilevel marketing site or one that promotes illegal or immoral activites.
2. Contact Information: For credibility purposes this is a must, it must also be verifiable, easily found on your site and accessible.
3. Value for users: If your site is providing value for its users by having good quality articles a forum, reviews or community area then it may have a better chance of getting a listing.
4. Find the right category: Many people find they cannot get listed because they submit to the wrong category, make sure you find the right one to submit to, if there is no one category you fit into try find the most appropriate one for your sector or suggest a new category – but remember it takes time. It is also worth remembering that it may be easier to get a regional listing rather than a general one.
5. Submission Guidelines: Have a well written title tag and a good descriptive description tag. The best title tag will be your company name itself. When writing your description make sure it is not an ad, the best description will be something which falls into the category you have opted for using the DMOZ submission guidelines. Here is a link to them http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/describing.html
6. Multiple listings: Are generally not allowed.
7. Patience: After you submit your site wait for at least a year before checking again, look for anything which would have caused you not to get listed and fix them before resubmitting.
