Since becoming a DMOZ editor, I’ve spent hours going through the editorial guidelines to see what the best approach would be for someone to get their site approved. We all know it can take forever to get listed in DMOZ – if ever! The first thing that struck me when I logged in as a new editor, was how massive the inner workings of the ODP really are. There are loads of active editors in the forums, but the number of un-reviewed submissions is staggering.
Here’s an example of just the Business category. Nearly 600K submissions are waiting to get reviewed! You’ve gotta ask yourself, with all those SEO professionals who keep saying DMOZ is no longer important for ranking, who keeps submitting all these sites?
I’ve made a short list of the most important things you should consider in order to have the best possible chance to get your site added.
- Make sure your site is a quality resource for your visitors. This means if your site falls under one of the following categories, you’re probably not going to get accepted: affiliate sites, redirected sites, sites on free hosting domains, illegal content sites, 1-page lead generator sites.
- Make sure you submit the root domain. Deep links are very rarely accepted.
- Password protected sites will not pass the editorial. If your site has a need to such privacy measures, you probably don’t want it listed on the world’s largest directory anyway.
- Make your site’s title and description as precise as possible – do not stuff keywords. Anything that even remotely looks like spam, will most likely get discarded immediately.
- Again, on spam, editors are very alert when it comes to spam. Don’t waste your time.
- Choose your category wisely. Always check if there’s an editor assigned to the category you want to list your site in. If it doesn’t, it will have a small notification at the bottom saying “Volunteer to edit this category”. This doesn’t mean you won’t get reviewed, because there are so-called greenbusters, who can work on more than their assigned categories, but the time you’ll have to wait is likely a lot longer still.
The better you follow the submission guidelines, the easier an editors job becomes, the more likely your site will get accepted into DMOZ.
If you have any SEO questions, feel free to email me or call me at 1300 783 301.
Granted it’s a damn big directory, but does anyone actually use it, or is the benefit in being listed or ranked realized elsewhere like Google that makes the attraction?
I think I got my blog listed many many years ago, never recall seeing 1 referral from DMOZ in the stats though.
Unless you’re listed high-up in the top categories, I think it’s safe to assume that you’ll get very little direct traffic from it. I do however believe that – even though they wont admit OR deny it – Google does give DMOZ listed sites slightly more weight than non-listed sites.
Just the fact that its so hard to get listed, means the link has to have more value than a run of the mill blog comment link for example. Also, most SEO link checker tools seem to have a special notification for if a site is listed in the ODP. (and Yahoo quite often).
As long as you get placed in the most relevant category for your site, I’d say it is definitely worth getting a link from DMOZ.
Bob,
I’m liking all this practical advice you’re offering. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me coming back to sites like yours.
I read your SEOmoz link building article, and it kind of blew me away, so I came searching for your blog to see if I can scrounge up some more ‘nuggets’.
I have a few questions about this..
1) How did you become a DMOZ editor? Is it a difficult process? If I notice my category needs an editor is that a good way to get in?
2) Is there a minimum time commitment to becoming an editor? Is it worth the time? What’s the benefit?
3) When you’re an editor, can you approve your own listings fairly easily?
Thanks for the help Bob!
Hey Corey,
Becoming an editor can take a bit of time and persistance. I had to go through thr application three times before I was accepted. All I can say is listen to the advise that the reviewer gives you if you get denied at first.
I don’t really have a set time – I contribute whenever I have some spare time (which is rarely these days:).
I guess you could fasttrack your own listings if you are an editor for the appropriate category, but just make sure the listing adheres to the submission guidelines. Don’t just go listing junk becasue other editors are watching. DMOZ is a valuable resource hub, and I suggest that everyone who is contemplating to become an editor, does it for the right reasons
Thanks Bob,
And I agree with your last point there. DMOZ is one of the few high quality directories that still adds an abundance of link juice and we don’t need it full of spam.
I’ll keep an eye out for future posts. Anything link-building related will keep me coming back