Search Engine Optimization

The Importance of a DMOZ Listing

by Kenneth Catto

DMOZ is used by Google for ALL of the contents of the Web Directory portion of their site. Many small search engines and directories also use DMOZ results for their directories. Since DMOZ has been around a long time and uses human editors, Google also gives your site quite a lot of link popularity credit, if your site is listed. Needless to say, DMOZ is an important link, if you can get it.

When performing directory submissions, your first stop should be DMOZ.org. Spend some time finding the absolute best category for your site. This is crucial. Submitting to the wrong category will hold up the review of your site. Then create a good description and use your company or website name as the title. Make sure to read their submission guidelines, especially for the category you are submitting to. Basically, you get one shot at DMOZ, submit right the first time and forget about it. For some commercial categories, it may take YEARS to be reviewed. DO NOT submit again and again, your submission will be put at the back of the review queue if you keep submitting, or be deleted altogether! Don't get fancy with the description, yes, try and incorporate your main keyword phrase or phrases, but be careful. The description should adhere to their submission guidelines perfectly. Take a good look at the descriptions of sites already listed in the category for an idea of what the editors are looking for. Use natural language, not sales jargon. Make it short and to the point. Also, be sure to use an email from your site, like webmaster@yoursite.com. This may help the editors know that this is a legitimate submission from an important person in your company, as opposed to if you use myname@hotmail.com as the submission email address. You don't need to worry about being spammed. It's unlikely you will ever hear from DMOZ via email. So use your real email address from your domain.

Once you've submitted to DMOZ, you can check your category once a month to see if your site has been added, as you won't receive a confirmation email if your site is accepted or denied.

If the category you are submitting to does not have an editor listed AND if the category doesn't have a lot of listings, preferably less than 50 consider applying to become an editor of the category. As editor, you can approve your own site into the category very quickly. Be honest in your application, the DMOZ people will research the information you give them, if you lie, you won't get approved. If you are approved, be an honest editor, giving competitors a fair shot to be listed. You wouldn't want a competitor keeping you out of the directory if they had the power, would you? Login a couple times a month to review new listings and to keep your editor account updated.