What Is DMOZ?

The question “What is DMOZ?” can be answered in a number of ways:

• The Open Directory Project is a “highly selective,” categorized directory of websites and pages based on a concept of “useful to users” rather than “all-inclusive,” and it aims at objectivity rather than promotion. It is edited by volunteers and is the largest of the directories.
• The Open Directory Project is one of the two directories that Google Webmaster Help Center Guidelines recommends submitting to.
• Unlike Yahoo, with registration costs of $299.00 for submission and $299.00 per year annual fee (more for sites with adult content), DMOZ is a free directory.

Why Is a DMOZ listing valuable?

The Open Directory Project is one of the sources that Google relies on. This does not mean that not have an ODP listing will keep your site out of Google. But OPD listings boost site links because of the large number of clones it has.

But Google is not the only search engine that relies of DMOZ. The data from the Open Directory Project is used by hundreds of partners including the search engines AltaVista, AOL, Lycos, MSN, Netscape, Webcrawler, Yahoo, among others.

Before we get any further into this discussion, go look and make sure your site isn’t already listed. Submission by the webmaster is not the only way that material gets into DMOZ, so if you’re already there, you can save yourself some time.

What Are the DMOZ Listing Criteria?

Not only does the ODP reserve the right to reject any site that they don’t believe should be included in the directory listing, but there are also submission guidelines that indicate requirements for inclusion.

• Unique Content—mirror sites, redirects, and sites primarily made up of affiliate links are explicitly excluded.
• Single Submission—ODP wants to hear from you  . . . once.
• No Illegal Content
• Only Fully Developed Sites—”Under Construction” will guarantee a miss.
• Submissions to Proper Category—both by language and by content: the most precise category is the one you should choose.

Go to http://www.dmoz.org/add.html for more information.

How Are Listings Submitted?

After choosing an appropriate category, navigate to that category and click suggest URL on the menu. This will take you to a page called “Submit a Site to the Open Directory,” which includes a form with instructions. This page provides further ODP guidelines for formatting the title and site description that form an important portion of your submission.

You may want to look at the end first. There is a link to ODP’s terms of agreement, as well as several other items that you must agree to.

What Can You Do to Better Your Chances?

There’s lots of advice out there, but it all boils down to one thing: follow the guidelines in every particular. Submissions to the wrong category, the use of promotional language, and anything that looks sneaky are specific things to avoid.

Common Complaints

There are two consistent complaints about submitting to DMOZ. The first is that it takes a long time. ODP itself says that 2 weeks to several months is to be expected. Remember that this is simply for the directory listing, not for the pick-up of this listing by search engines.

The second complaint is that there is no feedback or recourse for rejection. If your site is accepted, you hear nothing—you’ll find out only if you go hunting. If your site is rejected, you hear nothing—you’ll only find out after however  much time has passed and you draw the conclusion yourself. In addition, there is no accepted way to contact ODP to discuss rejections, no information that you can act on to improve your chances of being listed, and—unlike the Google resubmission process—no means to try again.

Antidote?

One thing to try if you suspect ODP has bypassed your site, or even if you’re accepted: submit your URL to Google. The process is free, refreshingly straightforward, and you can find it here: http://www.google.com/addurl/