Question about ODP Search Results

<img src="/images/icons/confused.gif" alt="" /> How is it that I am listed on the first page of most of the major search engines for "office Space" but am nowhere to be found in a search for "office space " at the Open Directory. Listings include #5 at Alta Vista, #11 at hotbot, #6 at alltheWeb, #4 at Netscape, About, AOL and iWon, #5 at Google and #6 at Lycos.

I am listed in the directory, I just think this is very odd. Any suggestions?

OfficeFinder

Re: DMOZ Rankings

dmoz is a Directory, not a search engine. Your site does show up for an "office space"
http://search.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/search?search=office+space&amp;all=no&amp;cs=&amp;cat=Business%2FBusiness_Services%2FOffice_Services%2FOffice_Space

The order of the results are random and don't mean anything.

Re: DMOZ Rankings

&gt;How is it that I am listed on the first page of most of the major search engines for "office Space" ... Listings include #5 at Alta Vista, #11 at hotbot, #6 at alltheWeb, #4 at Netscape, About, AOL and iWon, #5 at Google and #6 at Lycos.

We (as ODP editors) cannot account for that at all. We have no explanation, no knowledge, no control, no responsibility, no associations, no interest, and no concern.

&gt;...but am nowhere to be found in a search for "office space " at the Open Directory.
You are found. There are 688 results, and yours is one of them. The results are given in a purely indeterminate (random) order, because ODP search has no concept of page relevance, popularity, value, weight, or any other conceivable way of sorting sites. And, just for the record, there is nothing an ODP editor can do that affects that order in any predictable way.

&gt;I just think this is very odd.
It's always been that way: and will probably not change. The ODP search is not for people to find websites; it's for ODP editors to find ODP listings. That it does well enough (although it is surprisingly good at the other.)

&gt;Any suggestions?
Yes, and a very firm one. Fageddaboudit! A very few fortunate webmasters report getting 1-2% of hits from ODP Search referers. (For most, it's not a visible blip in the referer logs.) So you'd do better focusing your effort on making sure all your pages display correctly under Netscape. Version 3. For Windows 3.1. On a Macintosh running a Windows emulator.

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Shows my ignorance. I thought that if there was a search function, relevancy might be important. Why even offer a search box if results are only random? Just concentrate on the directory, if that is the purpose....

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Why even offer a search box if results are only random?

Click to expand...

Well, the answers are in hutcheson's post <img src="/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

1. "The results are given in a purely indeterminate (random) order" does not mean that the results are random, only the order.

2. "The ODP search is not for people to find websites; it's for ODP editors to find ODP listings"

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Just concentrate on the directory, if that is the purpose....

Er... that's what we ARE doing, which is why we don't care about the ordering of results in the search feature. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Another point is that ODP editors commonly use the search to find categories, not sites. If I edit in Society but not in Health and I get a site that's about alzheimer's disease submitted incorrectly, I can use the search to quickly locate the alzheimer's disease category.

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Just wanted to add my 2 cents here. The ODP search isn't just for editors to find sites. It's also for the public to find sites, just not in the usual way that you would in a search engine. The ODP search is good for narrowing down on an appropriate category. Very rarely will you get the exact category that you are looking for by using search terms, but you will get close to a related category that might be close to what you were looking for - or at least it will give you some hints as to other directions to take.

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Then why offer the search function to the public?

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Then why even offer the search function to the public?
As editors, you may find it useful, but it is not of any use to the public. In fact, it probably hurts your cause more than it helps. If it is available, one expects relevant results.

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Then why even offer the search function to the public?

Click to expand...

To irritate self-involved webmasters, mostly...

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Keep up the good work

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Not all searches work the same as Google and its wannabe clones.

Re: DMOZ Rankings

Would webmasters prefer to browse the directory's 3.8 million sites hoping to find their site or retain the ability to search for their url to find the category it is located in? I would guess that the search function is very valuable to them. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" />

Instead of assuming it works a certain way and being irritated when it doesn't do what you want, understand how it works and then use it appropriately. The two most effective ways I use it are to search for particular url strings (useful for webmasters) and to find appropriate categories (useful for submitters and the browsing public.)