Been trying for two years

I have been trying for two years to get listed in dmoz, I submit my site according to the terms and conditions, I have never been notified of rejection or acceptance, I however do search for my site and nothing comes up. There are those large retailers who get listed instantly, but for some reason small business such as mine, seem to take a back seat to others. I know the editors maybe over worked but two years and nothing? Being a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, I need as much exposure as I can get, this is my livelihood. My traffic to my site is below average at best, but I would appreciate some type of communique from the powers to be, please don't think I am whining, I am just looking for answers and how I should proceed.

There are those large retailers who get listed instantly, but for some reason small business such as mine, seem to take a back seat to others.

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How do you know that?

I know the editors maybe over worked but two years and nothing?

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You might have misunderstood our objectives and how we operate here. ODP is a volunteer organisation building a directory as a hobby. Editors edit where they wish, when they wish and as much as they wish within the constraints of their permissions. We have no schedules or systems to force people to do work that they don't volunteer to do. ODP is not primarily a free listing service for website owners and it does not attempt to process their listing suggestions within the time scales desired by them.

Some volunteer will process your listing suggestion in time but we can't predict who or when that might be. Elapsed times can range from a few days to a few years. There is no need to re-suggest your website and doing so could be counter-productive because a later suggestion overwrites any earlier one.

Being a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, I need as much exposure as I can get, this is my livelihood. My traffic to my site is below average at best,

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If your website's success depends upon the actions or inactions of a bunch of uncontrolled volunteers, I suggest that you close it down immediately. If you think that's harsh, ask your financial advisors.

I am just looking for answers and how I should proceed.

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Focus on other means of promoting and improving your website, If it's listable here, we'll list it in time. As far as ODP is concerned, you need do nothing.

My current understanding about the search engines (especially google) they place a lot weight on whether you are listed in the ODP are not, if that is true then maybe ODP should cease to be a volunteer organization and become a paid inclusion site, because to many people are being left out and if volunteers (editors) are picking who they choose based on their own opinion then that doesn't seem fair. How do I know that large retailers get added first, please the world is built around those who control the money, are you telling me that if WALMART and Joe from Idaho were vying for the first slot in ODP and the editors would choose Joe? I hardly think so.

And yes being a person who is Severely Disabled I do depend on the actions or inaction of others, my site is dependent on the contributions of others, if not then I become another statistic about Disabled Vets to my government. Believe me if I could afford a financial adviser, I would not be here seeking clues or answers. But thank you for your input and I do appreciate your candor.

My current understanding about the search engines (especially google) they place a lot weight on whether you are listed in the ODP are not, if that is true then maybe ODP should cease to be a volunteer organization and become a paid inclusion site, because to many people are being left out and if volunteers (editors) are picking who they choose based on their own opinion then that doesn't seem fair. How do I know that large retailers get added first, please the world is built around those who control the money, are you telling me that if WALMART and Joe from Idaho were vying for the first slot in ODP and the editors would choose Joe? I hardly think so.

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Whilst I appreciate your point unfortunately you have it the wrong way around. We are, and will stay a volunteer organisation. It is nothing to do with us how other companies use our data that is freely available to all. If you want to change say, how Google use our data, you will have to contact them.

We do not have "first spots". Everything is listed in ODP in alphabetical order. If listed Joe from Idaho would actually be above Walmart.

And yes being a person who is Severely Disabled I do depend on the actions or inaction of others, my site is dependent on the contributions of others, if not then I become another statistic about Disabled Vets to my government. Believe me if I could afford a financial adviser, I would not be here seeking clues or answers. But thank you for your input and I do appreciate your candor.

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I have, and have had, several websites that were never listed in DMOZ and they did quite well. There are many free sources of information on how to promote your website. You will be able to find the best ways of promoting your business, many of them at very low cost if any. The ODP is only one very small way of doing it.

AmericanKnight said:

My current understanding about the search engines (especially google) they place a lot weight on whether you are listed in the ODP are not, if that is true then maybe ODP should cease to be a volunteer organization and become a paid inclusion site, because to many people are being left out and if volunteers (editors) are picking who they choose based on their own opinion then that doesn't seem fair.

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Wouldn't it make more sense to talk to Google about what Google decides to do with data Google has decided to use?

You're not complaining to Google about your lack of a DMOZ listing are you?

Actually, I have complained to google, maybe you guys should charge google for using your info, the problem with the other free sources besides you guys, Google said they regard the vast majority of those so called Free Directories as spam and I am very very leery as to who to trust to list on. I don't want to get banned. All I want is to get some good quality links and DMOZ by my understanding is one of the best places to get listed and these paid sites, I don't know how you can tell if they are legit or worth it or how the Search Engines view them. The info about how and where to get listed is very vague at best and I do no trust these SEO companies that say they will list you in 1000's of directories. So far the only ones I have used that are specific to American Veteran Business, 2 to be exact. If you here know of any other quality links I can submit to, I would appreciate some guidance, I sell gifts from Sesame Street to my handmade jewelry, its basically a buffet of many items. Thanks for reading my post, I do appreciate it.

IMO you should go to some of the SEO forums and see what they say. That is their purpose. Our purpose is to list sites quality sites that appear on the Internet.

Just do a search on something like Google for "SEO Forum" and you will get a bunch of them.

Good luck with your site.

How do I know that large retailers get added first, please the world is built around those who control the money, are you telling me that if WALMART and Joe from Idaho were vying for the first slot in ODP and the editors would choose Joe? I hardly think so.

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Actually, the explanation is really quite simple. Editors frequently find URLs to list on their own rather than relying on the pool of suggested sites. More of those editors are likely to be aware of larger companies like Walmart than a small local business and so it's more likely that those highly visible (and generally high quality) sites will be listed quickly, sometimes without ever having been suggested from the outside. That larger companies tend to be more visible is an aspect of our culture and society that isn't likely to go away any time soon.

AmericanKnight said:

Google said they regard the vast majority of those so called Free Directories as spam and I am very very leery as to who to trust to list on. I don't want to get banned. All I want is to get some good quality links and DMOZ by my understanding is one of the best places to get listed ...

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Why do you suppose Google places more value on sites listed in DMOZ than those listed in "those [other] so called Free Directories"? Might it be that DMOZ is "picky", even "choosy" about what constitutes a listable site? Might it be that DN+MOZ is better at filtering out the spam ... at least as far as Google is concerned?


No offense intended, but I think if you only "listened" to your own comments, you'd have your answer.

the same to me

I have tried my site <URL removed> for a year, it still not listed by dmoz.org like you. i also submit to several directory like: Trading and Auctions: "Goods and Services: World of Warcraft ""
World of Warcraft: Game Databases" "Massive Multiplayer Online: World of Warcraft" , it seems useless. could u tell why

The DMOZ guidelines are very clear
Do suggest a website only ONCE to the ONE best category.
More answer can be found in the FAQ (link at the top of this page) and you might ofcourse read previous answers to similar questions (like the one give in this thread posting #2 by jimnoble).

wowwowking said:

i also submit to several directory like: Trading and Auctions: "Goods and Services: World of Warcraft ""
World of Warcraft: Game Databases" "Massive Multiplayer Online: World of Warcraft"

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That is a good way to increase the time it takes until the site is reviewed. Not as any kind of punishment, but simply because it adds more work for the volunteer editors.

Stop suggesting your site, because every time you resuggest it, you probably add to the time it takes until it is reviewed. The review will happen when it happens and there is nothing you can do, after your first site suggestion, to make it happen any quicker.

The Old Sarge said:

Why do you suppose Google places more value on sites listed in DMOZ than those listed in "those [other] so called Free Directories"? Might it be that DMOZ is "picky", even "choosy" about what constitutes a listable site? Might it be that DN+MOZ is better at filtering out the spam ... at least as far as Google is concerned?

No offense intended, but I think if you only "listened" to your own comments, you'd have your answer.

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Uh Sarge, are you saying that my site is not good enough or spammy or not good enough to be listed in DMOZ, I sell Childrens toys for Gods sake, quality toys from major manufacturers and all in compliance with the 2008 CPSIA. I am not a drop shipper, my site is secure, I belong to the BBB, I hold a business license, I went through training with the VA and the SBA and its a qualified SDVOSB by the VA, Jesus, come on.

What does DMOZ consider quality sites?
How does DMOZ arrive at the decision that this or that site is quality?
What parameters are used to determine quality?
Who sets those parameters?

AmericanKnight said:

Uh Sarge, are you saying that my site is not good enough or spammy or not good enough to be listed in DMOZ

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No, that is not what he was saying. You were asking why Google might give DMOZ a value while it at the same time considers other directories as spam. Maybe the reason is the way DMOZ selects websites to list. Our selection method is completely done by humans and as a result will take some time to perform. With so many websites to be reviewed it can take a long time before a website might be processed.

The fact that a website is accepted or rejected for a DMOZ listing does not tell you anything about the quality of the website. It only means that the website does not match the DMOZ criteria for a listing.

AmericanKnight said:

What does DMOZ consider quality sites?
How does DMOZ arrive at the decision that this or that site is quality?
What parameters are used to determine quality?
Who sets those parameters?

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DMOZ does not review websites on quality. The reason is very simple. Quality is not something that can be objectively measured. A website that I think is quality might be spammy to others. That is why we have created a number of criteria. On http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html you can read which type of websites we will list and which we will not list.

pvgool said:

No, that is not what he was saying. You were asking why Google might give DMOZ a value while it at the same time considers other directories as spam. Maybe the reason is the way DMOZ selects websites to list. Our selection method is completely done by humans and as a result will take some time to perform. With so many websites to be reviewed it can take a long time before a website might be processed.

The fact that a website is accepted or rejected for a DMOZ listing does not tell you anything about the quality of the website. It only means that the website does not match the DMOZ criteria for a listing.


DMOZ does not review websites on quality. The reason is very simple. Quality is not something that can be objectively measured. A website that I think is quality might be spammy to others. That is why we have created a number of criteria. On http://www.dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html you can read which type of websites we will list and which we will not list.

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Thank you for chiming in, I took a look at your guidelines like I have before and my site is not even remotely close to any of those objectionable sites, illegal sites, mirror sites etc. Since my site does not violate any of the terms and is hosted by a respectable and highly regarded company. My question is then, is getting listed on the ODP nothing more than "I will get to it when I can, attitude?"

I found this snippet to be quite intereseting and would like a clarification of what this means.

Editors should consider the following for each site:
Is the site's content/information identical to other sites?
A site should not mirror content available on other sites.

I sell mostly toys, so if the same items are being sold on another site that I am not affiliated with would this be reason enough for not getting listed?

Unless you're using a drop shipper, that's unlikely. I gave you the most likely scenario way back in post #2 of this thread - as have others subsequently. I can't understand why you seem so unwilling to believe us.

AmericanKnight said:

My question is then, is getting listed on the ODP nothing more than "I will get to it when I can, attitude?"

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100% correct
At some time in the future an editor will review the website and list it.
Who this editor will be is something nobody does know. And neither does anybody know when it will happen.

AmericanKnight said:

Uh Sarge, are you saying that my site is not good enough or spammy or not good enough to be listed in DMOZ

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Not at all. I'm saying that while you point out how Google values DMOZ listed sites, you also complain that DMOZ is too slow, too picky, to difficult to get into ...

Has it occured to you that that is the exact reason Google places such value on DMOZ listed sites? DMOZ filters out the spammy sites so Google doesn't have to work so hard to do so. The process of filtering that spam is time consuming. Speeding up the process only increases the chance that spammy sites will escape the filter.

Besides, DMOZ does not list sites for the benefit of site owners. That is not and never was the purpose.