I submit and nearly 4 years later....

Hi..

I know these threads are not for submission updates, and this is not the intention of this post. I am questioning in general what more I have to do to get my site listed.

My site has been online since mid 2004.

At first the site was pretty raw, it was a work in progress (and was mainly about me learning HTML/PHP skills).. at this point I looked into search engine submission to raise awareness. I was new to the whole game and used a few search submit tools doh!..

I then came across DMOZ directrory and partner sites, I read the guidelines and submitted my site for the first time.

Granted, looking back now, my first submission would maybe not have ticked all the correct boxes in the tight submission evaluation.. so fair play it was most likely ignored.

I left it alone and worked on other areas, like paying for it to be in Yahoo and other networks and directories. I also embarked on a link exchange scheme, but rather than spamming any old site (I read up on what is good for SEO and what is not) I only approached like minded sites and suggested swapping content links or small features etc rather than just standard link swaps..

A year had passed and still no DMOZ listing so as my sites content and layout/design had improved since first launching I decide to apply again, this time I search the directory properly, find sites which I know I compete with and are very relevant to mine and submit to the category , following every guideline to the letter.

I wait another year.. nothing...

A couple of years on and organically my site is now listed in the top 5 places in Google/MSN/AOL/Yahoo/ASK etc etc for the majority of its most used search terms , traffic has increased and we get over 1.5 million page impressions per month..

Its now early 2007 and as content has changed again, and layout and many new data features added I decide to give it another try..

This time I decide to research competing sites to see if they have anything I do/don't and maybe see if I can find out what is making my site get refused.

Is it adverts?.. Well 2 of the sites I compete with in the category have far more adverts than me per page, and they are really low quality rather than big national banks etc like my advertisers.

Is it page loading speed?.. My homepage can be slow, but I found other sites listed slower... a lot slower on one in particular.

Is it content?.. I provide more up to date, live content than 50% of the category, and most of all my site doesn't sell a thing to users , we run on advertising revenue alone. Not like a lot of sites already listed in the category.

So I follow all the rules to the letter again

And now its October and I'm still not searchable in the DMOZ directory..

Ok, Im passed all this..

What have I got to do to get listed?

Beg?

Best Regards

Lee (UK)

I submit and nearly 4 years later....

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My site has been online since mid 2004.

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Nearly 4 years would be mid 2008

At first the site was pretty raw

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and used a few search submit tools

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I read the guidelines and submitted my site for the first time.

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Presuming the original suggestion for review was looked at when the site was still in development, it may have been declined at that stage (sites under construction or lacking unique content are not listed).If you used one of the bulk submitters to dmoz ... well .. http://www.dmoz.org/add.html step4

A year had passed and still no DMOZ listing so as my sites content and layout/design had improved since first launching I decide to apply again, this time I search the directory properly, find sites which I know I compete with and are very relevant to mine and submit to the category , following every guideline to the letter.

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OK, but seriously, I've been an editor for 5 years and there are still guidelines that I am not fully cognizant of. You may have still tripped an alarm wire somewhere, but the more likely explanation is simply that an editor had not reviewed it yet.

Its now early 2007 and as content has changed again

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This is important, since the crash last year lost most of the not yet listed site suggestions, you should have suggested it again (as you say you have), but even without the crash, the fact the content had changed means you should have suggested it again with a new (appropriate) description, and possibly to a different category depending on how much the content had changed.

And now its October and I'm still not searchable in the DMOZ directory..

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It is only searchable if it has been reviewed and listed.

What have I got to do to get listed? Beg?

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No, there is nothing you can do to get a site listed beyond the obvious - build a site with unique content. Suggesting a site is placing the site in a category for the consideration of an editor who is editing there. When an editor takes an interest in the category they can choose to use the suggestions provided to build that category. Suggestions don't expire though (nasty crash like events excepted) so it will wait for someone with an interest in the category. That might be tomorrow, but it might be that no one gets to it for weeks, months, or even years.

Sorry to say, thats the reality of 600,000 odd categories and 7000 odd editors (and a few not so odd ones). I could sugar coat the facts, but that's not going to help anyone.

Hi

Thanks for your comments..

Firstly though NEARLY 4 years later!!

Mid 2004 - 2005 = 1 year

Mid 2005 - 2006 = 2 year

mid 2006 - 2007 = 3 year

We are now past mid 2007 (My site was first submitted in May 2004).. so its nearly nearly isn't it??. hahaha.. .. I guess I was generalising a bit!!..

To be fair I didn't even know there had been a crash until reading these boards after posting my thread..

So if I submitted last time early this year, should I submit again?.. has my suggestion been lost?

As for content changing.. the content is all of the same theme, we just keep improving the data it is driven from and adding new tools for users (all FOC of course!).. We have changed layout/feel once.. but since then its all about adding features.. but we don't veer far from our subject path and try to cover as much for the subject in hand and supply as in depth as possible to give our users value for money.. ooops.. it doesn't cost anything lol.. .. not like those damn other sites..

Don't get me wrong, Im not here to have a go at editors or the site suggestion process.. and my site is doing just fine and dandy without a listing in DMOZ.. but I guess as I use DMOZ a bit myself it would be great to get listed.. and for search reasons of course... but its not the end of the world..

All suggestions taken in good spirits!

If it was this year, no it has not been lost.