The Open Directory Project or DMOZ.org has been an important directory listing when optimizing a website for over a decade. DMOZ is a huge directory that is free to submit to. The Open Directory Project is the largest human-edited directory of the Web. It is staffed with volunteer editors whose job it is to review and approve submissions.
Getting websites approved and listed can be a lengthy and problematic process. If the website is not viewed as high quality and authoritative or if there are already a high number of similar listings, the submission can be rejected. The approval process can take months or years, depending on the editor assigned to a given category.
But is DMOZ still important as a SEO strategy?
DMOZ links are powerful. The link you get back is from a highly authoritative website. The cost for submission is free.
In the end remember it is only a link. One link will not make or break your link building effort. By all means, I do recommend submitting your site to DMOZ. It is best to submit once and then forget about it. It won’t happen quickly. Check back in a year and if not listed, re-try your submission.
How to submit to DMOZ. Submission is actually quite easy.
- First verify the quality of your site. It should not be under construction, a mirror site, contain extensive duplicate content, contains illegal content or be a URL that redirects to another website.
- Go to Dmoz.org and check if your site is already included. Search for your domain.
- Identify the single best category for your site. Navigate to that page and then select “suggest URL” in the upper right.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Don’t use promotional language (hype) in the title or description such as best or finest…
- Don’t submit to multiple categories
- Don’t be impatient and submit multiple times. Each time you submit, it erases your original submission and starts the waiting period over again.
