Affiliate site with unique content

Hello, I operate a website that participates in an affiliate programme

I have spent time to develop unique content for the website and have visited many hotels to collect unique text descriptions, photographs and video clips.

I have worked on the project full time for 2 years and the website really does contain an abundance of unique content that connot be found anywhere esle online.

However I cannot get the website listed on DMOZ because I participate in an affiliate programme.

Is it DMOZ policy to reject a website that participates in an affiliate programme even if the website has unique content?

You can read the guidelines by which editors judge sites at http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html . In particular, there are the following paragraphs:

Sites consisting primarily of affiliate links, or whose sole purpose is to drive user traffic to another site for the purpose of commission sales, provide no unique content and are not appropriate for inclusion in the directory. However, a site that contains affiliate links in addition to other content (such as a fan site for a singer that has interviews and photos plus banner ads and links to buy the singer's CDs) might be an acceptable submission to the directory.

General rule of thumb: Look at the content on the site, mentally blocking out all affiliate links. If the remaining information is original and valuable informational content that contributes something unique to the category's subject, the site may be a good candidate for the ODP. If the remaining content is poor, minimal, or copied from some other site, then the site is not a good candidate for the ODP.

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From what you've said, it sounds like your site may be somewhere near the borderline in this respect, and since we don't allow discussion of individual sites, I won't make any attempt to say which side I think it would lie.

In any case, if you've already suggested the site, then that's all you need to do. An editor will decide if its listable when it gets reviewed.

Thanks, I did look at

http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html

before I even submitted the website and paid particular attention to the part where the guidelines say "However, a site that contains affiliate links in addition to other content"

I don't think my site is borderline to be honest with you. There is no doubt that it contains unique content. The video clips for example that I took myself when I visited the hotels cannot be found on any other website.

There is no doubt that the website would be accepted if it did not have the affiliate links.

I know this because I have other websites listed on DMOZ that do not contain half as much unique content as the website in question.

The fact is this website is not accepted because of the affiliate links. I think the DMOZ editor is blinded by the sight of an affiliate link and automatically rejects the website without having a proper look.

I could probably remove the affiliate links and get the website listed but then there would be no booking option for the customer. Affiliate links are not always bad you know.

And there is no duplicate content either. All of the affiliate links on my website are blocked by robots.txt and if the editor looked properly he would see that there is unique text descriptions and photographs for all of the hotels that is different to the photographs and text descriptions on the affiliate links, therefore providing the customer with additional and useful information.

It really is frustrating as a webmaster to put so much time and effort into a project only to have it rejected by an editor who probably reviewed the site is 20 seconds and rejected it because he / she found an affiliate link.

I followed the rules and ensured the site contained "additional content" but was still declined.

I think it's a problem with DMOZ editors, they decline if they see an affiliate link, it's almost a natural reaction for them, a website of inferior quality with less unique content would qualify even though the public would find it less useful.

I don't want to slag off DMOZ too much but I just remembered something regarding the domain in question. A sub domain of this website has qualified in a different category on DMOZ. The sub domain has six pages and four photographs. It was rightfully accepted as it does provide useful and unique information. (Interestingly it also has an affiliate link).

Yet the main domain which has more than 2000 photo's (many of wich I have taken myself) unique video clips that cannot be found anywhere else, unique descriptions for all of the hotels and hostels and some of the B&B's and guesthouses which amounts to about 3000 properties is rejected!

It's a joke, it really is!

Of course, having called us a joke, and accused an editor of doing a 20 second review, you don't even know if it has been looked at -- let alone declined.

I apologize for the presumption. I submitted the website in March 2004. I believe it was the same day that the domain was registered with the companies registration office (cro) in Ireland. Is it possible that after 4 years nobody has looked at the website yet?

No, that is highly unlikely since we experienced a server crash in October 2006 that wipe out a huge number of sites that were waiting for review.

Several scenarios are likely:

1. It was waiting then and has been lost.

2. If it was suggested the day it was registered, then it is possible it was reviewed and found lacking in content at that time (Murphy's law lives here -- if a site is down for one day in year, it will be when our link checker checks, if a site is suggested before it has enough content, then it will be seen by an editor before it is ready and bounced for lack of content. )

3. It survived the crash and has managed to continue to elude an editor. (Not likely but I had to cover the bases).

Here is my best free advice (worth exactly what you are paying for it):

Go ahead an suggest the site again to the single best category, and when you do, take the extra time to write a low-keyed, guidelines-compliant title and description that even the most scrooge-like editor could not take issue with.

Then (and this is the important part), pat yourself on the back for a job well done, forget about the ODP and go off to promote your site as if the ODP did not exist. If it never gets listed, you are only out a little bit of time and effort, if it does get listed, consider it one of life's little bonuses.