http://www.dolphinlifts.co.uk

Please confirm submission status for www.dolphinlifts.co.uk.

http://dmoz.org/Business/Healthcare.../Disability/Home-Workplace_Adaptations/Lifts/

Yes it's there, but it might not be for much longer.

You are the person who also submitted http://www.stairlift.co.uk and http://www.dolphin-access.com to the same category.

Please confirm that you have read and agree with our submission guidelines at http://dmoz.org/add.html . But wait, you already did at website submission time. They make it clear that a website that's spread over multiple domain names isn't in consequence eligible for multiple listings.

Also, please explain http://dolphinstairlifts.co.uk which is already listed.

Thanks for your quick response, I was expecting to wait for quite some time. It may help if i explain a little about the Dolphin group of companies. Basically there are 20 branches throughout the UK each owned individually and covering different parts of the country. The system works a little like a franchise in so far as we use our collective buying power to secure excellent discounts from the manufacturers. Whilst we share a common code of conduct, every other business decision is in the hands of the individual owners. The site http://dolphinstairlifts.co.uk is run by the people that own the Cornwall franchise. The site for my branch is www.dolphinlifts.co.uk. The content on the sites is completely different as are some of the products sold and the prices charged. The site www.stairlift.co.uk is also run by myself but again has completely different content, it was designed as an impartial guide to buying a stair lift and as such does not have a promotional bias. However, I can see how this may conflict with ODP rules so its obviously down to the editors to decide. The other website www.dolphin-access.com is again a seperately owned company and this sells completely different products. Specifically Public Access Lifts for schools, hospitals, shops etc. It really is a different market. Perhaps I should have entered the websites under different regions? Please accept my apologies for the long message and let me reassure you that its not my intention to spam the ODP but I do feel each website has its own merits that may warrant inclusion in your database.

So does each franchise have its own defined operating area, or do you all compete on a world wide basis?

If you have 3 URLs that all belong in the same category, we'd class the collection as a single website spread over multiple domains and only eligible for a single listing. I'm sure this doesn't apply to you, but some webmasters adopt this tactic with the objective of improving their ratings on other search engines. We don't knowingly tolerate it. For a more detailed exposition, please search this forum for widgets.

Where stairlifts are concerned there is no competition between the branches. We each have set territories and we can only sell in these area's. If we were to receive a sales lead in another branches area we would pass the lead onto the relevant branch. We are by far the largest of the Dolphin branches and we now have offices in London, Manchester, The Midlands & Kent which cover a fair portion of the country, we currently employ more than 40 people from these offices. As a comparison the Cornwall branch www.dolphinstairlifts.co.uk employ only 2 full time members and operate a very small territory. With this in mind I feel that if only one listing is suitable it may be that www.dolphinlifts.co.uk should be the one.

Thanks for the info. Since you have only a limited territory, one (and only one) of your websites would be better listed in Chobham where you are based.

Your list of branches includes the Cornish company previously mentioned, so we can't tell which are yours and which aren't. Were this made clearer on the website, an England or UK level listing might be possible instead (not as well as).

I've submitted the www.dolphinlifts.co.uk site to the Chobham section of the ODP. I think that this is the best solution. Can I just thank you for your time, its most appreciated. Cheers