Status of http://www.websearchstrategies.com

I am checking on my site that I submitted twice over the past six weeks to http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/Promotion/Search_Engine_Optimization_Firms/W/. It has not been included in DMOZ nor have I heard back from an editor if it was rejected for any particular reason.

If an editor can look at http://www.websearchstrategies.com, I would appreciate advice on what needs to be changed if the site has been rejected.

I would also like discuss the goals of the site right now to provide some context of how the site is valuable to people looking to understand SEO. I reviewed the DMOZ guidelines and there are some affiliate links used throughout the site. My thought process during the design of the site was that I could offer some original and valuable content regarding how search engine optimization works and how I approach it (http://www.websearchstrategies.com/seo/). Most competing SEO sites do not talk about the SEO process in depth, what the client should expect (besides of course the flood of traffic to their site :0), or the tools that they use to accomplish the job. http://www.websearchstrategies.com/ provides all these things and does use both affiliate and non-affiliate links to vendors where appropriate.

If the reader is motivated to do undertake a SEO project on their own and not use my services, I provide affiliate links to all the tools I use and books that I have found helpful under SEO resources (http://www.websearchstrategies.com/seo_resources/). The SEO resources content also includes a listing of relevant SEO forums and a glossary of SEO terms.

The site's goal is to sell my services and provide an honest assessment of SEO and what can be expected. If they want to do it themselves and purchase the appropriate software, books and research materials, then perhaps I get affiliate revenue for helping them better understand SEO and the best tools for the job as well as saving a little time in the process.

I believe there is a balance between the original content I provide and the affiliate links I present. The goals of both are to educate the user and help them succeed at SEO.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can or should do to get the site listed in DMOZ.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Regards,
Jim Clark

Your site is in the queue, and so far it hasn't been looked at.

twice over the past six weeks

Click to expand...

...which isn't very long at all.

...nor have I heard back from an editor if it was rejected for any particular reason.

Click to expand...

Editors rarely contact submitters to tell them the status of the submission.

Thanks for the update.

Regards,
Jim

Hello Jim. I looked at your site.

>> I reviewed the DMOZ guidelines and there are some affiliate links used throughout the site.

I see a few affiliate links scattered here and there, yes. Having reviewed the ODP Guidelines you surely noticed the bullet where it says Sites consisting primarily of affiliate links, or whose sole purpose is to drive user traffic to another site for the purpose of commission sales, provide no unique content and are not appropriate for inclusion in the directory..

Basically, when finding affiliate links on a website we look at the content on the site, mentally blocking out all affiliate links. If the remaining information is original and valuable informational content that contributes something unique to the category's subject, the site may be a good candidate for the ODP. If the remaining content is poor, minimal, or copied from some other site, then the site is not a good candidate for the ODP.

In your particular case, I don't see the affiliate links overcoming the rest of the site's content, which is focused on explaining, promoting and sellilng your SEO services -- not on driving traffic to the tools/books/software used for SEO. Also, the answer to the "classic" question "would this organization take the time and effort to make this web site available if they were not profiting off of the affiliate links" in your case is "YES".

As dfy said, your site is in the queue (BTW, it's not a huge one). Please don't resubmit, since every new submission rewrites the old one and pushes the site at the end of the queue in sort date order. Be patient, and an editor will review and list it eventually. In any case, the title and description you suggested in your submission will be slightly changed, since they're not really Guidelines-compliant.

Excellent! I'm glad that you feel the content is worthwhile and is not overshadowed by the affiliate links.

Thank you for your time.

Regards,
Jim