DMOZ has now been closed. An unofficial clone, that this tutorial may still be relevant to, has been created here.
A lot of people want to get listed on DMOZ.org (Open Directory Project). Why? Because Google likes DMOZ. What weight this has on your PageRank or SERPs isn’t precisely known. But, it certainly can’t hurt. The last thing that you want to do, is submit incorrectly.
If submitted incorrectly, you can only hope that they delete it quickly so that you can resubmit properly. You don’t want to double submit or you can be pushed to the bottom of the list, possibly even blacklisted (if excessive). Sometimes, you’ll need to wait 6 months to 1 year to resubmit. I have to rate this how-to as “Challenging” because although it’s very easy to submit perfectly, it’s still very difficult to get in.
This is due to the fact that unpaid volunteers decide at their own discretion if you’re added or not. And although it’s difficult to become a DMOZ Editor and I’m sure that most are very respectable, the sad truth is that there are some shady Editors looking to benefit themselves and there might even be a few competitors in there.
Not to mention simple human error and that depending on what industry you’re in, you’re probably in a pool of thousands of submissions. But, if you’re going to have a chance at all you need to submit properly. Good Luck!
Difficulty: Challenging
Things You’ll Need:
- Real Website (no social or blog profiles)
Step 1.
First, you’ll want to go to: http://www.dmoz.org/ and then search the field your business is in. I’m going to use an example company for these instructions: Lucky Moving Company.
I’m going to search for “moving companies”.
You want to narrow it down as much as you can. It didn’t take me long to narrow it down to: http://www.dmoz.org/Business/Business_Services/Corporate_Relocation/Moving_Companies/.
Step 2.
Up in the top-right area, you’ll find the link: “suggest URL”. Click on it. I recommend going over the instructions found here and read the additional instruction on the “Submit a Site to the Open Directory” page you got to after clicking “suggest URL”.
Onto filling out the form…
Step 3.
Site URL: http://www.luckymovers.com/
I recommend entering your exact website address just like this. Not http://www.luckymovers.com/index.html or http://www.luckymovers.com/Home/index.php or similar.
If your website forward to something strange like: http://home.luckymovers.com/4829299/home/default.asp it’s not going to work and you better fix it first.
It needs to be clean and professional, simply: http://www.luckymovers.com/.
Step 4.
Title of Site: Lucky Moving Company
Make this simple and short. Don’t add any flare, ! or .com or anything like that. Even if technically your business name is Chicago’s Lucking Moving Company Incorporated, keep it simple.
Step 5.
Site Description: Provides moving services and packaging materials.
MOST IMPORTANT — Do not use promotional language like “Great Deals!” or “Check us out”. Also, do not use your company or website name again in the description. If you’re listed, the name will already be placed just to the left of the description.
Step 6.
Your E-mail Address: contact@luckymovers.com
I recommend using your website’s official contact email, whatever that may be.
Step 7.
User Verification: Of course enter the CAPTCHA code correctly, click “Submit”, and cross your fingers. I recommend waiting at least 6 months before resubmitting if you’re not accepted in that time.
Step 8.
To see if you’ve been listed, search for the following via Google:
site:dmoz.org lucky moving company
Of course swapping out “lucking moving company” with whatever you entered as the Title of Site.
The absolute key to getting listed is for your submission to be simple, clean, and informational only. Not even a hint of promotion can be found.
You also need to use correct and proper spelling and grammar. Another factor is the quality of your website. If it has a poor structure and design, is over-filled with ads, etc., don’t expect to make it.
Tips & Warnings
- The key is to keep it simple and informational.
- Google Search: “site:dmoz.org Title of Site” — to see if you’ve been listed.
- Do not submit the same site multiple times in a short period. This will never help your website get listed or listed faster. It may only stand to deter away from it in fact.
- Before resubmitting, I recommend waiting at least 6 months. Do your own research, others may recommend 3 months or even 1 year or more.
- If at all you have any trouble or questions about this how-to or find any errors, please comment and I’ll work to update and resolve the article so it’s more thorough and clear.