Used to be in ODP but no longer

My site used to be listed in ODP under

Games > Gambling > Bingo > Online > Directories

(You can see the previous entry here) .

A while back ODP decided to remove this category. Rather than replace my site in the next level above they deleted my site's listing.

I have re-submitted on numerous ocassions to no avail. I have mailed 'feedback'. No response.

The current category (Games: Gambling: Bingo: Online) has no Editor. Nor does the category above. I have even submitted to become an editor (I know the market well). No response.

My site is full of original content. It is listed high on Yahoo/Google and most other major search engines. Indeed without blowing my own trumpet too much, it is universally recognised as the leading portal in the field.

So why can I not get my site back onto ODP? - It is hugely frustrating.

BTW the site is called Which Bingo (http://www.whichbingo.com)

Any help would be gratefully received.

Regards

Webmaster Which
Which Bingo - The Net's largest Bingo Information Portal
http://www.whichbingo.com

Nobody gets any site into the ODP, and if you think that's what you're doing, any act whatsoever will be frustratingly futile. The "suggest URL" link is to help editors find sites that they might consider reviewing, to help them add value to the Open Directory.

At various times, the editors have agreed that certain classes of sites simply weren't worth the trouble of reviewing them, and that we simply would not list them. (In every case, this was after we had spent years reviewing and listing them, and had enough experience to judge whether our effort was worth while.)

Lead generators and MLM remarketer sites are examples. Gambling directories -- well, you saw it happen. And there are others. In each case, based on considerable discussion, we made a deliberate decision to get out of that business -- and we don't want back in.

Hutcheson

Thank you for the speedy reply, appreciated.

I understand the reticence to list "certain classes of sites [that] simply weren't worth the trouble of reviewing them" particularly "Lead generators ... MLM remarketer sites .... Gambling directories". I fully understand your view of those sites claiming to be 'Gambling Directories', most of which are simply excuses to promote affiliate links.

My site is different (well I would say that wouldn't I). Please at least take the time to have a look (here) so that you can see what I mean.

However, there are two points that make my site's omission particularly annoying and frustrating;

1) There are sites listed in Games > Gambling > Bingo > Online
which are indeed sites purporting to be 'Gambling Directories' that are simply excuses to promote affiliate links - just the sort of site that you state shouldn't be there.

2) If you click on the 'description' link at the top of Games > Gambling > Bingo > Online it states the following;

"Sites offering the ability to play bingo games online, or sites offering news/reviews/information about places to play bingo online."

My site does indeed offer completely independent "news/reviews/information"

I hope that you can now see my frustration, and lack of understanding at the fact that after suggesting the site on numerous occasions, when it fits perfectly in the category, still does not get included.

I fear that my site has been deleted due to it erroneously being tarred with the same brush as the less legitimate entries within the online gambling market.

Regards

Webmaster Which
Which Bingo - The Net's largest Bingo Information Portal
http://www.whichbingo.com

Webmaster Which]My site is different (well I would say that wouldn said:

here[/URL']) so that you can see what I mean.

Click to expand...

Webmaster Which;
my suggestion as a simple bystander is: give it up. You got your answer. This is exactly why DMOZ editors don't answer many questions like yours. They can't win. They get dragged into a never ending argument about why one site is better than another.

Many website owners and developers have been waiting for a very long time for a review. By and large, commercial sites are not a priority. But, it is commercial site owners and web developers who have caused the problem by way overloading the submissions with e-junk. I’m not saying your site is e-junk. I’ve never even seen it. I’m saying only that the years of junk pouring in has ruined it for all of us. That's a simple fact.

I’m a commercial site owner, and my baby (a site I spent 6 months building and which is now my sole source of income) will probably never be reviewed. So what? I still work on it everyday, more content, better links, and so on. Well, guess what I found out. If you keep at it, your site rank will still improve with or without DMOZ.

Besides, if you already rank #1 all over, why do you care about an ODP listing? I suspect you are angry because your competitors are still in and you’re out. My advice: get over it and move on. We all have the same situation, and it's not likely to change.

By and large, commercial sites are not a priority.

Click to expand...

Minor point: I know of no class of site that is or has a "priority" over any other class of site.

This brings an interesting point. How important is a directory listing given that most people find your website through search engine?

andrewk said:

How important is a directory listing given that most people find your website through search engine?

Click to expand...

In my view, it is only as important as you make it. The fact is, Google is the most popular SE. It is also the most difficult to reach a Results Page 1 {IMHO}. To land anywhere on pages 1 - 3 (which are the pages most people view) you need lots of content, and you need lots of quality inbound links, preferably with anchor text.

Since the ODP is category driven I think Google considers the category name as anchor text (my opinion, no evidence). What is certain, is that there are lots and lots of small directories out there that display the ODP, and put Overture Pay Per Click listings at the top of the page. (It's actually a classic combination.)

Since they get a share of the PPC, they make a good living. In the meantime, Google crawls those sites, finds yours in the directory, and credits your site with one inbound link from that site even though it’s the same directory that all the others have. As a result, if you get in the ODP, you ‘inherit’ anywhere from 15 to 50 links.

Depending upon your key-phrase and the size of the page pool, that alone could launch you from a Google results page six, to page three (for example). If it’s a big pool, maybe you move up only half a page. But, without ODP, it just means you have to work a lot harder and longer, to get those 15 -50 links. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible.

Just stay well away from link partners who have casinos, porn, and so on. They are usually bad news, and by exchanging links with them your site will become bad news too.

BTW: I just did a Google search on the phrase “Help build the largest human-edited directory” which is required to appear on all sites that are licensed to display the ODP. The total number of listings is: 1,950,000. That of course includes all of the DMOZ pages, resource-zone, etc. Even so, that's a lot of pages!