A very important step or the most important step is getting your site listed in the Open Directory Project (http://www.dmoz.com). This directory provides search results for many of the important search engines and online portals. The ODP is not a search engine, thus is not driven by a robot spider. It is a directory which is edited by a live human being and you must acknowledge a few very essential points if your submission is to be of success. How long does it take to get submitted? Some sites may take a couple of weeks and other may take half a year. So, make not of the suggestions below and if all goes well you’ll be in sooner than you think.
Please see my article on Why is DMOZ so Important (http://www.kosmoscentral.com/seo-articles/why-Is-Dmoz-Important.html) for more information on this subject.
I. Make Sure You Put Your Contact Information On The Web Site An e-mail address is not enough and sometimes not even a P.O. box. Most editors will not even look at your site if the don’t see a physical address or telephone number. If your company is selling a service or product and the only way someone can contact you is via email then your credibility may look suspicious. Sites come and go all the time and DMOZ will not support a site that may be gone tomorrow and has no contact info. You need to build credibility with your customers, and with the Open Directory editors, by providing the proper contact information.
II. Make Sure You Select The Right Category For Your Submission There is not much thinking involved when you submit a URL to a robotic search engine, things just seem to fall into place. When you submit to any directories an essential step of that submission is selecting a proper category for that web site. You’ll have to go online and see where similar sites to yours are listed in the directory. When you locate that category you assume is the best placement for your site, press the add URL link on the page. Some categories may even have editor notes mentioning the qualifications for that category. Please be careful and don’t submit to a category that has obvious restrictions or qualifications your site doesn’t’ fall under.
III. Make a Note of The Category and Date Of Your Submission It is a very good idea to keep a record of when you submitted and to what category you submitted your site to. Your category may also have an editor; make a note of who the editor is for future reference. The information you gather will be very useful if you need to make an inquiry about the status of your submission
IV. Does Your Web Site Have Original Content? If you are publishing a collection of associate links or even if your site is a twin of other sites that are abundant on the web, then your submission is most likely to be declined. If you are dealing with associate products you can add content, such as product reviews, tutorials or additional information and in this respect you will be showing an editor that your site has something original to provide.
V. Don’t Over Submit! Just submit your site just once and wait it out. Primarily, the directories will only allowed you to submit to one category, but if your site is quite large and has many branches, you may be able to submit those sections of the site to different categories. It takes some time for entries to be processed, particularly if your category has many submissions. If you jump the gun and resubmit your site, it will just end up on the bottom of the list for processing and review, because they are stored logically by date.
VI. Spell Check Your Site for Spelling Errors and Professional Web Presence The editors are primarily looking for original content they are also human beings and will be annoyed by simple correctable errors and by a hastily un presentable site. Sites that are built with a professional feel, design, and with good content, should always make it into a directory some time or the other. Hopefully your site is not on the other end of a 6 month waiting line.
VII. Use the Proper Channels to Contact the Directory If you have any questions regarding your submission and your category you submitted has an editor, which is indicated at the bottom of the page, you can send that individual a note. A great alternative to making contact with the editors is through their online forum located at http://resource-zone.com/ubbthreads.php . Through the online forum you can inquire about the status of your submission, and you must provide the date and category to which you submitted your web site. You can also inquire about any of the procedures too, but don’t argue or try to prove an editor wrong. Remember, this one human being holds all the power to getting your site listed within their directory. If you find out how what makes the editors of the directory tick, their requirements and meet all their conditions then you will be triumphant.
I am a developer, designer, dmoz volunteer editor and consultant. I have been working in the computer networking industry since 1991, providing training, technical support, project management and consulting services. After working for 4 years for a major online company providing web development technical support services, I was offered a directors position in a large real estate corporation utilizing my web development and management skills. A few years later I decided to start a side business for myself and created Kosmos Central LLC a web promotion consulting company. Currently I provide my consulting services for the same company and a few more.
I’ve lived in the Portland Oregon Area the majority of my existence on this planet and occasionally Ill take time off to enjoy life
