Does DMOZ inform you if they have included you in their directory? [Archive]

nilyab

06-11-2004, 01:12 PM

I submitted my site, www.searchhelpcenter.com, to them a couple of months ago, but so far don't see my site listed in their directory. Does that mean it will not be listed? Is one informed of any decisions taken?

Note: My site is one of those highly ranked in Yahoo (about one-third of my 39 pages are actually #1), and effectively absent from Google due to lack of incoming links. I think it's a high-quality, informative site, that could be useful to searchers. I was hoping that listing in DMOZ would draw Google to actually spider something more than my home page, as well as to list the site.

My website does advertise my book, but it also provides general information on searching from the searcher's viewpoint. The book is just now ready to go, out of the "beta" distribution phase. However, I am awaiting implementation of the e-commerce and affiliates system at sitesell.com. I am also about to make arrangement with a POD supplier for the printed format (the purely e-book format is now ready).

Ed

pleeker

06-11-2004, 01:18 PM

Is one informed of any decisions taken?

That's up to the individual editor of each category. There is no auto-notification.

David Wallace

06-11-2004, 01:22 PM

You can actually inquire about your listing at the Open Directory Public Forum (http://resource-zone.com/). You would submit your inquiry in the "Site Submission Status" topic but be sure to strictly follow their guidelines before submitting.

seobook

06-11-2004, 01:27 PM

usually in your server logs you will see when an editor looks at your site. from there you can search dmoz (when their search is working, which it is right now) to see if you are in there or you can go through the categories to try to find your site.

bewarne

06-11-2004, 05:17 PM

I can tell you that many editors deal with hundreds of different categories/subcategories. And there are many many submissions coming in.

The most common thing that slows down a submission is that the site wasn't submitted to the right category or subcategory, it takes time to deal with that and move it to the right place and you often don't have time. You may move it immediately if you know the right path off the top of your head, but you often don't so you just leave it to get back to it when you have more time. Even when you move it to the right place, you often don't follow it over and then approve it immediately --- you do it the next time you come to edit or let someone else edit it there.

Another thing that slows something down is if the description or title needs to be re-written. If a site is submitted with the wrong title (many categories have specific ways the title has to be done) that isn't right for that site or if the description is using "best", etc. or repeating the name in the title or sometimes the category, that site may not be done immediately either and who knows when an editor will get back to that category again.

There are many things that can go wrong with a submission but those are the ones I find go wrong most often and slow down a submission. There are just so many to do that one does the easy ones and postpones the ones that take extra time. Editors may not look at every category every week or even every month.

hassleback

06-11-2004, 05:25 PM

I doubt most editors inform webmasters when they've included any site. Editors are charged with building a high quality directory, not with interacting with webmasters or others who have suggested sites. In fact there is a sentiment within the ODP community that the site suggestion function should be diasbled. Editors should find the best sites and list them, regardless of where they learn about those sites.

nilyab

06-11-2004, 07:46 PM

I posted a message in the "Computers" category of the DMOZ discussion board, after joining that board. I'll let you know what happens. Hopefully, someone will reply.

Thanks,

Ed

Red5

06-15-2004, 10:23 AM

The following link should show you whether you're listed, and how many times, however I don't know how current their data is:

http://www.whois.sc/dmoz/yoursite.com

nilyab

06-15-2004, 10:49 AM

The following link should show you whether you're listed, and how many times, however I don't know how current their data is:

http://www.whois.sc/dmoz/yoursite.com

Thanks. However, what link do I need to use on that site? How do I indicate the domain name sought? If it's there, it isn't obvious.

Ed

nilyab

06-15-2004, 10:57 AM

Thanks. However, what link do I need to use on that site? How do I indicate the domain name sought? If it's there, it isn't obvious.

Ed

Sorry, but I looked again, and realized that I should have substituted "yoursite.com" with "searchhelpcenter.com" in the URL.

Unfortunately, even when I did that, nothing showed for my site. So, I guess I'm not listed.

I still have not received a reply on the DMOZ discussion board, as far as I know.

Thanks again,

Ed

Nick W

06-15-2004, 11:08 AM

Want to know the simplest route to dmoz success?

Become the damn editor! LoL ;-)
It really isnt rocket science to write a decent application and get the permissions you need to edit a category and it saves having to wait months for an editor that may not even exist at category level.

Just apply and be done with it...

Nick

nilyab

06-15-2004, 12:46 PM

pleeker

06-15-2004, 12:57 PM

Want to know the simplest route to dmoz success?

Become the damn editor! LoL ;-)

Now Nick ... tsk, tsk ... :) ... We all know the worst reason to sign up to be a DMOZ editor is to get your own site listed. (We also know that's why most people do it!) But this is the reason SEO boards are filled with posts like "The DMOZ editor is my competitor and s/he won't add my site! What can I do?" and "There's an editor for my category but s/he hasn't done any editing in three years."

We need more editors that really want to improve the directory and fewer editors that want to improve their own site's SE rankings.

Nick W

06-15-2004, 01:28 PM

I edit some im involved with and some I only have an acedemic interest in. Regardless, if I sign up to edit a directory to get my site listed, i have no problem paying the fee: Editing the category well.

Nick

AussieWebmaster

06-15-2004, 02:04 PM

I know a lot of people that did not make the ODP editorial staff cut.
It is a little harder to do than it used to be... and that is with rampant need for more editors.

rustybrick

06-15-2004, 02:18 PM

That reminds me, I should see what is in my ODP queue.

I am actually proud to be an editor.

Do you have any idea how much spam is submitted to the ODP? SEOs like you (just kidding) submitting URLs just for PageRank purposes.

Nick W

06-15-2004, 02:21 PM

I really enjoy it too.

It's weird though, i've applied for cats that are in DESPERATE need of work and they turn me down, to be frank im bored of applying for additional responsibility...

You think they'd be grateful for the help, oh well, ho hum....

Nick

nilyab

06-16-2004, 06:44 PM

Anyways, since it was I who started this thread, and I promised to let you know what happened, I thought I would share the response from the ODP Forum with you (see http://www.resource-zone.com/forum/showthread.php?p=97236#post97236).

My submission was received and reviewed, and then moved to another category by the ODP editor. So, I guess I'll have to wait 30 to 60 more days to find out, who knows.

Thanks for all the suggestions,

Ed

PixelStreamed

06-16-2004, 08:20 PM

Is one informed of any decisions taken?

i've had a few sites listed in DMOZ. I haven't had one confirmation that they were listed. I found out by seeing hits from DMOZ through my hit tracking script.

PixelStreamed

nilyab

06-18-2004, 06:57 AM

i've had a few sites listed in DMOZ. I haven't had one confirmation that they were listed. I found out by seeing hits from DMOZ through my hit tracking script.

PixelStreamed

Yes, I realize that. Thanks anyways for posting a reply.

I am at last starting to get some hits on my website, averaging about 5 unique NEW users (ones that have not been there that month or since several months -- I am not sure) a day, with an average of 9 webpages viewed per user. Last month I had 4 users. The good thing is that many of these users apparently keep coming back, since the average number of users and visits per day is much, much higher than the new user count. On the average, users seem to return about 5 times, which I guess is a good sign. Also, when they return, they make more than one visit, and browse several pages on each visit. So, I'm hopeful.

Also, users from a number of European and Indian sub-continent countries are becoming involved. I get this information from my daily report of website hits from my hosting site, sitesell.com. They also have a page that reports directory listings, on which none appear for me. I only submitted to the DMOZ directory, since it's free.

All these hits are from word of mouth "advertising," as well as message placed on a couple of message boards like this one. I'll begin "real" advertising and start actively contacting people once the sitesell.com e-commerce system, which includes an affiliates system, is in place. That's supposed to be "around the corner," according to their current pop-up ad. I'm a little fed up with the delays, since the system was supposed to be in place as of last February.

Ed

makemycall

06-21-2004, 06:31 AM

Hi All,

I'm having problems with getting my site listed in Dmoz directory.
Here's the thread of my correspondence with the editors in Dmoz forum:
http://resource-zone.com/forum/showthread.php?p=98123#post98123

Can anyone let me know the reason why my site is still pending to get reviewed even after more than 6 months.
And pls do let me know wht can i do to see my site get into the category.

Thanks in Advance.

AdamJewell

06-26-2004, 05:03 PM

It is a waste of time to focus on an ODP listing. The best bet is to submit the site and forget about it. If it doesn't show up in 6 months, check at the ODP forum to see if it is still in the queue.

Chances are ODP will not send notification one way or the other and the only way to know if it is listed is to search ODP for the domain (waste of time) or just be pleasantly surprised when you see a referral from DMOZ or one of their data users one day.

seobook

06-26-2004, 06:44 PM

...the only way to know if it is listed is to search ODP for the domain (waste of time) or just be pleasantly surprised when you see a referral from DMOZ or one of their data users one day.

also http://www.seotie.com lets u know

loki

06-29-2004, 06:59 AM

Interesting! But, of course, there is some work involved, unfortunately, correct?

Ed

you'd possible spend less time editing that you would re-submitting, checking resource zone, complaining, etc

eitemiller

08-04-2004, 11:59 AM

It is a waste of time to focus on an ODP listing. The best bet is to submit the site and forget about it. If it doesn't show up in 6 months, check at the ODP forum to see if it is still in the queue.

Hits the nail on the head. submit it, forget about it for 6 months, and go try again. No use losing any sleep over it. I've got my site listed on all the other major players except DMOZ - I have done the best I can. And I have too many other things to do than become an "editor-for-a-day" just to get it listed. I have found that you can achieve similar results (increasing PR on G (http://www.google.com) ) but submitting to Zeal.com (http://www.zeal.com). They have a high PR, and less hoops to jump through (although there are definatly some hoops, at least you can usually see results of your submission within a week).

Let me know if anyone disagrees...

nilyab

09-14-2004, 09:41 PM

Well, a few months have passed, and neither my www.searchhelpcenter.com (keyword "effective internet search") or my www.searchhelp.info (keyword "search tool guide") are either in DMOZ or in Google. That's despite there now being a few links to my site from third-parties who picked up my site without me knowing about it. Google has refused to spider anything except the home page of the searchhelpcenter.com.

I do, however, think that we have developed a top-notch theme-based site, and that has been recognized by Yahoo (and AltaVista and AlltheWeb, owned by Yahoo via Overture). Their spider(s) have looked at most of my pages, and if you type my name or my keyword (at least for the first sight), many listings of my site appear on the very first page. Yahoo!

As far as Teoma is concerned, I am number 3 on the first page for my homepage in AskJeeves, based on the phrase "effective internet search." My search tool guide site, however, has yet to be listed there.

Go figure!

Anyways, my book is now at last finished and for sale using e-commerce. My sites provide both search help resources and information about my book, Effective Internet Search: E-Searching Made Easy! I have just arranged a contract with LightningSource for a POD copy equivalent to the e-book in PDF format.

Cheers, and may the Google blow its Boogle! :-)

Ed

AussieWebmaster

09-14-2004, 10:32 PM

Good luck Ed!

nilyab

09-15-2004, 07:10 AM

Good luck Ed!

Thanks. I'll be putting up an affiliates system in about a month, and am looking for affiliates willing to take a percentage of sales originating from ads on their websites. Hopefully, that will increase traffic dramatically.

Right now it's basically word of mouth, or one or two postings on discussion boards such as this. So, I'm only getting 7 new visitors (new within the month) as a daily average. I think many have already been there in previous months.

I'm not sure search engine ranking is all that important for me, if the affiliates system works. Do you have any advice on affiliates systems, or where I can go to discuss that?

So far, I'm intending to get a very inexpensive affiliates software, produced by Vixne in the UK. I hope it works alright. That is one of many affiliates systems advertised on the following PayPal page:
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/pdn/3p-solutions-aff-software-outside. The Vixne software is called "AffiliateNET," and is described at http://www.vixne.com/affiliatenet.html.

Thanks again,

Ed

Quadrille

09-20-2004, 04:36 PM

searchhelpcenter.com and searchhelp.info seem to have a lot of overlap; Google is particularly (and increasingly) intolerant of what it considers duplication, and 'similar pages' are often dropped completely, incompletely listed, or dropped lower in the results.

ODP has the same concerns, with human editors rather than computers making the decisions. When submitting to ODP, remember the three U's: Uniquity, Uniquity and Uniquity!

If you are using two (or more) domains to do the same job, it is highly likely that you would get much better results by building one comprehensive domain with logical internal navigation. In ODP and Google.

nilyab

09-20-2004, 04:40 PM

Quadrille

09-20-2004, 05:21 PM

nilyab

09-20-2004, 06:35 PM

In my browser, there are some detail changes, but an awful lot of duplication and cross reference.

Don't forget Google is just a machine (well, a bunch of them), and it simply counts things. Looks like the totals might have been similar.

And I think an ODP editor just might spot a certain similarity ;)

Our persectives are obviously very different; and I'm happy to agree to differ and leave it there. My advice (above) still stands.

The two sites are definitely intended to be cross-referenced. Some of the directories on the searchhelpcenter.com side are hyperlinked to from the searchhelp.info side, since directories are a type of search tool (and we developed some of our own). But, other than the look and feel of the two pages and the fact that they are linked at various levels, the contents are completely different.

Anyways, I know Google picks up on two-way links like that. I didn't retain two sites with search engine listings in mind. It wasn't much of a consideration, since I know Google is smart to that. The reason for the searchhelp.info site is that it contains a different kind of material, that I don't want to mix into my sales site. Also, ownership of the domain name is of interest to me.

I don't have opinion on the matter of whether the two sites overlap. I created those sites, so I know every inch of the content. So, I'm not talking from impressions. There is very little overlap in content, despite the close linkage of the sites.

I appreciate your pointing out that one could get the impression that they overlap in content other than by cross-links. It's amazing what a similar name and look and feel can do to give that impression!

Once again, I'm thankful for your interest.

Ed