Need Clarity re: "same or similar content" and "related sites"

Hi, I am brand new to using a forum and to suggesting a site to ODP.

In the "How to suggest a site" -steps, it states: "Do not submit URLs that contain *only the same or similar content* as other sites you may have listed in the directory. . . . Multiple submissions of the *same or related sites* may result in the exclusion and/or deletion of those and all affiliated sites."
[I must admit I feel a little afraid to follow my gut —to submit the legitimate business pages that could be considered in violation of ODP. I feel worried about this and request some guidance.

MY SITUATION (keeping with the rule to not use my site):

a. I have a single nationwide web site that for 10 years has been marketing (representing) local minister-associates of mine in 25 U.S. city-areas. My conversion page is my “form page” through which I find out about my customer’s needs (which I then forward to my local associates).

b. While on my Home Page I list the cities- where my local associates live and serve, I have discovered that EVEN THOUGH I AM (in fact) IN A PARTICULAR CITY, because (obviously) I don’t have the room to ENTITLE a single landing page using all 25 city names, there is a perception among prospective customers that saying that I am in 25 cities IS NOT THE SAME AS entitling the page with an individual city name (which would mean many separate individual landing pages).

MY SOLUTION: Have a separate landing page for each city I am in and entitle it with the city’s name (instead of "xyz.com/form.htm" these new pages are: "xyz.com/newyorkform.htm"(again, this is not my actual site URL).

QUESTIONS:
1. What precisely does “only the same or similar content” mean?

2. Are my new separate landing pages (which market service to individual city markets by using a “city named”-landing page for each city) synonomous with “same content” or “similar content” and thereby have me in violation of ODP if I submit them?
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3. Can I submit these pages separately to ODP? Or must I forgo using ODP for this?

4. Would I be forced to buy separate URLs for each city? And would that even work?

Any advice, suggestions, tips would be most appreciated. Thank You.

Your main site *may* be listable (note: lead generation sites are rarely listable) but the individual landing pages are not, not even if you had separate domains for each one. Please do not submit them.

First of all, thanks for trying to comply with forum guidelines.

Now, there are many ways that two sites can have "the same or similar content". But definitely, one of them is "multiple pages from the same source on similar subjects." So, to cover all four of your questions, all of the pages related to any particular business would by definition be "same or similar content."

The normal surfer's expectation is that every particular web content creator will interlink his content. Based on that assumption, all that the ODP editors need to do is add one link to that entire collection of content. The ODP cannot be, doesn't want to be, and won't be forced to be, a substitute for any site's internal linkage. So in order to have all of your pages linked from the ODP, you must link them from some suitable home page.

Still, there's no requirement for you to create adequate site navigation (and many web designers don't do it.) Conversely, there's no requirement for the ODP to list any particular site, whether or not it contains internal links. But this whole interlinking/surfing process works best when the individual websites handle their own internal links. And clearly, a website with no internal links is less valuable a resource than a well-linked website. If a well-linked website can be suggested once, how many times would it be fair to suggest that same site deliberately devalued (for surfing purposes)?

Thanks for Clarifying "Same, Similar Content" Policy

Dear Hutcheson and Motsa, I can't thank you enough for articulating clearly ODP's answers to my questions. Even more, you helped me see what I need to do in order to meet my site's needs, i.e., that it's my responsibility/opportunity to create an internal navigation route for my visitors (how similar to life: It's all within). It's always heartening to find a way to have everyone's needs met. . . Thanks Again. Avehsa22