Submitted site 3+ months ago with no update

I submitted my site http://www.pharmacy-reviews-online.com I'd say 3 or more months ago and never heard back from anyone on it's status. After about the 2 month mark I sent an email (see copy below) to the editor about 3 weeks ago for an update and still no reply; is this normal?

If my site has issues that keep it from being listed then I'm willing to listen to the editors concerns to fix the problem, but I can't even get a reply to my submissions or emails. This is my first web site and submission so I'm trying to learn the procedures necessary to be accepted by the online community, but I can't do that without some feedback.

By the way how long is this supposed to take on average for acceptance or rejection? I had read the submission rules and I felt I followed all of them, but if I missed something that is causing the delay can someone tell me what I did wrong so I don't make the same mistake twice. When submitting a site do the editors normally send an email saying that a site was accepted and where it was listed and if rejected get an email saying so and for what reason?



See the email I sent to editor (did not CC staff) on Oct. 1, 2003 using online email form.


"Editor Feedback: bujing
Note: Do NOT use this form to send URL suggestions
or updates to editors. Use the Add URL or Update URL
links from the category page instead. Thank you.



Dear Bujing;

I made a submission to the DMOZ directory quite some time ago, I'd estimate about two months ago and I "think" I submitted it to the "Health/Men's Health/Conditions an Diseases/Impotence" category. I've never submitted to a directory before so this is all new to me. I guess I should have documented what category I submitted to and when.

The URL of the site I submitted is http://www.pharmacy-reviews-online.com

If it did get accepted but perhaps placed in a different area of the DMOZ directory or if it was rejected would I get an email sent to me telling me what happened with my submission? And if my submission were rejected would I be told why so I could make the suggested changes so that I could get in by re-submitting?

If there is more information I can give you that will help please let me know.

Thanks,

Stephen C. Dayton"


Any information you can give me on my submission would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Stephen

First of all, it is apparent you did not read the Forum Guidelines here: http://www.resource-zone.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=3025

Secondly, I would recommend reading http://dmoz.org/guidelines/include.html#affiliate . You will find answers as to why your site will not be listed in it's present form.

It is not required of editors to respond to any user emails, or inform of any additions/rejections.

Ok, I definitely didn't post correctly, I'll make sure to do so in the future.

As far as my site goes it does have one affiliate link, but it's not blatant and not even placed on the homepage, but rather very deep into the site and I have a lot of information on different prescription drugs and good information on physical conditions facing those people who could make use of these prescription drugs. These all seem like good things that people would get something out of; is there something else you think would make this site more acceptable by DMOZ such as a sitemap with links to other places people can get similar information from?

I met this guideline from the link you posted:

"General rule of thumb: 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."

But I didn't really meet this one:

" However, a site that contains affiliate links in addition to other content (such as a fan site for a singer that has interviews and photos plus banner ads and links to buy the singer's CDs) might be an acceptable submission to the directory."

So do you think adding a sitemap linking to other related content could put me over the top?

You also wrote this;

"It is not required of editors to respond to any user emails, or inform of any additions/rejections. "

If editors don't send accept or rejection emails then how do we know when or if our submissions have been looked at and been decided on? Wouldn't that reduce or even eliminate the need to even post on this board or send repeated emails to the editors saving everyone time?

Any helpful pointers you can give me to make my site something that DMOZ would consider useful would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Stephen

Erm, your first paragraph is

Been searching the web for the lowest prices on Viagra well look no further because you’ve found it! We here at Pharmacy-Reviews-Online.com have done all the hard work for you researching the web for not only the lowest online Viagra pharmacies, but the ones who offer you quick discrete delivery, secure ordering and confidentiality of your private information.

Click to expand...

and your third paragraph is

Rx-Mex is an online pharmacy that sells Viagra, but it’s best deal and the best we’ve seen online is it’s amazing price for Sildenafil Citrate which is a generic brand version of Pfizer Viagra and the best part is you don’t need to buy 1,500 pills like some other online pharmacies make you purchase to get their super low price which even still can’t match the prices at Rx-Mex.

Click to expand...

I can't quite understand why you think that the viagra affiliate sales focus of your site is not blatant and not on the homepage.

The guidelines state quite clearly that

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.

Click to expand...

Your site quite clearly is built to drive traffic to the online pharmacy you are affiliated with. Simple.

Ok, I see your point John, I'll work on re-doing this site.

When I do, it will probably be a major overhaul so should I resubmit the site since it will probably be a better fit for a different catagory or should I come back to this forum and "correctly" post my request for a status review?

Thanks,

Stephen

The forum guidelines suggest that all queries about a single URL be in the same thread, even if the content and suggested category have changed.

What Arthur said - and also, once you have reworked your site so it has mainly unique content you should resubmit it rather than just ask for status again, as it's likely that the original submission will have been removed by then.

Also bear in mind that three months is not a very long time to wait, and that emailing editors is not guaranteed to get you a response. Editors are not encouraged to respond to email from submitters, because it's led to some very unpleasant incidents with aggressive submitters in the past. Finally, when your site is reviewed, there won't be a notification of its acceptance or rejection.

Hope that helps.

Certain areas of the directory are particularly tuned in to affiliate content, in terms of having a low threshold for rejection. Online hotel booking affiliates and online pharmacy sales affiliates are two such areas. If you continue to maintain your affiliate association with online pharmacies then your chances of being accepted even with a lot of content are pretty low - you'd need really outstanding content to overcome the affiliate issue. In particular, you'd really need content that goes further than just replicating what's already listed from non-affiliate sites but using your own words. I'm not personally aware of any recognised hotel or pharmacy affiliates that are listed in the directory as generally those categories are already well served with non-affiliate sites.

If you want to keep the site as an affiliate site then you're probably best looking for other ways to promote the site, including getting links from other directories and sites in a similar field to your own.