The ODP (Open Directory Project) located at www.dmoz.org should never be under estimated. The directories aim is to make some order out of the internet and to do this is uses thousands of volunteers to act as editors. Any website that you see featured in the ODP has had to have passed the watchful eye of at least one editor, because of this manual processing of the websites the major search engines take significant notice of the Open Dierctory Project.
Google for example bases its directory on the ODP and let’s face it, Google isn’t going to include a website in its own directory that it doesn’t trust. It’s this trust gained by being approved by an ODP editor that can help your search rankings. Whilst the ODP may not generate much in referral traffic what it can do is provide a signifcant boost to your natural search placements. However, it is this trust issue that has become the problem, a lot of webmasters now ignore the ODP because they consider it corrupt, that editors only edit for their own personal gain. Whilst there are bad editors, there are also a lot of good ones, and in terms of SEO it is best not to ignore the ODP, it is after all free.
One of the biggest complaints about the Open Directory Project is that it can take a long time for your website to be included (6 months or more), this is simply down to the number of submissions. If you can find a highly targetted category then you stand a better chance of being included faster. It may also help to find a category that is edited by somebody who is not also editing a broader category. One of the best ways of achieving this is to look at the regional areas. Another thing to think about is your entry, do not write promotional material, got that? NEVER write promotional material when attempting to get a listing in the ODP! The more an editor has to change your application to make it acceptable the less likely you are to be entered into the directory quickly, or maybe more importantly at all. They are volunteers and under no obligation to add your website, it’s in your websites interest to make life as simple as possible for them.
These are my main pointers for submitting to the ODP, do each of these and you stand a great chance of your website being listed:-
- Have original content that can’t be found elsewhere on the internet
- Spell check your website, the ODP is about quality information and not design
- If possible have a friend give your website a once over before submitting
- Make the title that of your company, or failing that your website, either way do not stuff keywords
- Your description should be as simple as possible, just say what you do and what is found on your website, DO NOT USE PROMOTIONAL LANGUAGE! Excellent, best etc should not be used.
- Only submit to one category, make it the most relevant one.
At the end of the day a listing in the ODP can be significant, it’s also free. Stick to the rules, be patient and you should be ok.