How long does it take to update a URL?

Hi,

I was wondering how long it takes for a site listing to be updated? My main URL has changed, and all the search engines are still searching the old one. It's been a week already with no response...

Thanks for your help,

Ben

"Update URL" requests go into the same queue as "Add URL" requests. That means it could happen "before you request", or it could take more than a year. I wish Update requests could receive an automatic priority, but the editors' tools don't yet support that.

If an old site disappears, then our automatic link checker will flag it for quicker attention, and the editor should notice the request and try out the new URL.

And...if an old site DOESN'T disappear, and shows no indication that there might be a newer version elsewhere, we won't update the URL at all -- that's the webmaster's protection against wannabe ODP-listing hijackers.

So, make sure the old site gives a 301 "permanent redirect" to any HTTP client (for the benefit of our spider) and make sure the old URL contains a "we've moved" or some such for the benefit of the human editor who will review the request.

And come back in a month, and we'll tell you the status of your request (in the "site status" forum.)

Keep in mind that there are 2 separte processes that will influence your listing.

First: updating your listing with ODP.
I assume you have filled an update request. After that you will have to wait just like a request for a new listing. It can take a few minutes or it could take several months. Noone can tell. No way to speed up the proces. Just wait. You could ask ofcourse (in the right forum), provide url and categorie.

Second: search engines using the ODP data.
We have no influence on them, so can't tell when they will update.

Thanks For Your Help,

I just wish there was an easier way to have sites updated. Sometimes I would rather not be listed at all, and have the search engines grab my meta tags instead...My old Domain is parked on the new one, but the new one can't be searched until the old one in the directory is completely changed, so I'm stuck. Is there a way to delete my listing from the directory all together?

Thanks,

Ben

Is there a way to delete my listing from the directory all together?

Click to expand...

There are only 2 ways.
1. Delete your site completely and in few months our software will notice that it is gone and mark it for
deletion. It still would take the same time (maybe even more) to get your new site listed.
2. Break our rules in some way, but probably your new site won't be listed because of this.

But keep in mind this would still not remove your site from the searchengines using our data.

Hehe,

Well none of those options sound that good, I guess I'll wait (unless one of the editors here would be so kind to update the listing for me, and then I would be forever grateful, and accredit any success I had on the internet to them). Worth a shot!

Please write me if you want to make my year!

ben@poetism.com

Thanks,

Ben

there is no really good way of changing a URL and expecting the whole world to notice at once.

It's not just the OPD and search engines. There's all those users of ODP data -- some of which seem to update only once per asteroid strike. Plus there are other websites. And, hardest of all, all those people who like your site so much they have bookmarked it -- they are not the people you want to give a 404 message to.

As Hutcheson says, make the old site redirect. Perhaps put in one of those meta tags to say "we've moved: new URL is"

And then hold onto the old site for maybe a year or more so all the stragglers notice,

But if the URL is changed, google will pick it up in 3 days, which is the only search engine I really care about...The old domain points to the same root directory as the new domain, so there is no problem with other sites having linked, or users bookmarked. I couldn't do away with the old domain- I've got 500 users using that email address...The new domain is strictly for marketing purposes and search ranking. (It's a poetry site). It will take two seconds to update, all I changed was two words in the description, one word in the title, and the URL. I wish to god I could do it myself, but I'm not an editor...

Thanks,

Ben
ben@poetism.com

Well none of those options sound that good, I guess I'll wait (unless one of the editors here would be so kind to update the listing for me, and then I would be forever grateful, and accredit any success I had on the internet to them). Worth a shot!

Please write me if you want to make my year!

Click to expand...

Actually we don't want everyone to think that posting here is the best way to facilitate the listing/update of their site - we'd quickly be inundated with requests, rendering the real function of this board (informing webmasters and dispelling myths) unworkable. That's why the guidelines of this forum state:

Please note that posting in this forum will not lead to site listing in itself.

Click to expand...

This statement should perhaps state specifically both listing and update requests.

Well I have recieved listing help before after posting in this forum...so I just assumed maybe I could again. I run a poetry site which features a new poem everyday- based solely on user submissions. I want to update my site listing so that more people will visit, hence more poems...

Thanks,

Ben

It would be very unfair and abusive of us to act to try to cut down the number of your visitors. It would be just as unfair and abusive to try to help increase the number of your visitors. If the current description is accurate and standar-conforming, the editor should not consider a change at all. And if the current URL works, and the new one is keyword-stuffed, the editor will PREFER the current one. That is, "marks-poems.org" is better than "poems-poems-poems.com" or "poetry-poems-peoms.com" or any of the other variants. Experienced surfers will assume (and editors are merely experienced editors who keep records) that URLs like the latter are some sort of spam-scam, and we will and do go to those sites asking not "what's on this site" but "how can I figure out most quickly which scam this spam is hiding?"

That's not the phylum you want your ancestry to be imputed to.

You make a good point about spamming, but honestly, how many people are going to search the word 'poetism'? The main URL for the site now is poetryresources.com, a much more searchable url, because it has the word 'poetry' in it. Shouldn't the listing point to the main URL? Look at Poetry Daily, a site which is listed more than once in the poetry section (policy rules?), which has a web address of poems.com. They also have poetrydaily.org, and market themselves as Poetry Daily, so would they be somehow spamming because they are jockying for engine ranking with poems.com?

Thanks,

Ben

Remember that editors will not take into consideration any factors such as "searchability", "web ranking", "SEO" etc. when considering your site. Sites are listed purely and simply on the basis of unique and valuable content. If your site is eligible for listing under this criterion then fine - the title used is usually the title of the company, the site or the page, whichever is most appropriate. The appropriate title is usually pretty clear and there is usually little variation between editors on the subject.

Just so there's no misunderstanding on this point, you can use any domain you like. We don't care. A domain such as poetry-poems-peoms-pomes.com might cause an editor to check the site for gateways, fraternal mirrors, etc. (and 99 times out of 100 find them) but if the mirrors aren't there we could care less what your domain is. poetryresources.com is a fine domain name. Just put up the permanent redirect, submit the update URL and an editor will update the listing (assuming everything is guidelines-compliant) sooner or later. Given that the content is the same, the permanent redirect is important.

The way the site is set up right now, one domain is simply a mirror of the other. My understanding is that in cases like this, we don't change the listing simply because someone asks us to. (This is necessary to protect listings from being hijacked.) You really need to indicate on the old site that the new domain is authoritative. A 301 permanent redirect is the most standard and accepted way of doing this.

If you cannot do a 301 Moved Permenantly redirect on the old site, then at least put a text message on the old site linking to the new site or stating the new address.

No changes are needed on the new site.

Ben, poetryresources.com claims to run on a Apache webserver. Although you have the same root directory normally you are able to send different answers to requests to different domains. Have a look to the .htaccess documentation. So you are able to permanently forward the requests to a couple of pages from the old to the new domain with a few lines. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your help, I will take a look at it...

Ben