DMOZ Questions From An Editor’s Perspective

Posted: 11 Sep 2011 09:39 PM PDT

This is a guest post by Jason Bacchetta. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

DMOZ has long been considered a top web directory and is a highly sought after backlink. However, not a lot is known about what goes on behind the scenes, and what the true value of a DMOZ backlink is today.

Being a DMOZ editor myself, hopefully I can help to answer a lot of the same questions that I see popup every day.

1. How do I become a DMOZ editor?

Becoming an editor is a lot easier than you might think. Simply go to the category that interests you, and click on the “become an editor” link at the top.

The application is pretty basic. The problem however with most applicants is that they do not follow instructions. Either they fail to include ALL of the sites that they are associated with, or they do not take the time to understand how to properly write a title and description for website submissions.

I was actually rejected the first time myself, and had to apply again after I figured out what the issue was. They will usually not give a reason for rejecting your application, so it will be up to you to figure it out. It turns out after googling myself, there were a few guest posts that were showing in the first few results that I had failed to include as websites of which I was affiliated with.

If you’re one of those people who submits dozens or even hundreds of guest posts and can’t recall all of them… that’s fine, just be honest and say so. Do not be afraid to list websites that you own. Believe it or not, they actually prefer someone who owns a site that fits into the category that they are applying for, as that person would be more likely to be familiar with related sites.

It also helps if you have a legit reason for wanting to become an editor. “I want to add my own websites” is not what I would consider a good reason.

2. How do I get my website into DMOZ?

A) Most importantly, choose the correct category. Spend some time looking at potential categories before you submit your url. Quick tip: use the search function to find related sites that are already listed in DMOZ.

B) Read the guidelines, and submit a proper title and description. Use the name of your site, do not use alternate anchor text that might have some SEO value. Do not use all caps. Do not include promotional language (great, the best, cool, etc.). I would say that probably 80% of the submissions I see fail to follow these simple directions that are clearly outlined.

C) Stay on topic. If you’re submitting your website as a men’s magazine, but half your articles are personal posts about what you ate for dinner or how great the zoo was that day, then I’m going to have a hard time categorizing it. Besides, do guys coming to your website looking for dating advice or workout tips really care about what you ate for dinner?

D) Have a good website design. Although site design can technically not affect your chances of getting listed (according to official guidelines), if it’s a ridiculous mess, some editors will not accept it. Now for 99% of you, you have nothing to worry about. So please do not spend a week trying to tweak your website based on this advice. I’m referring to designs that look like they haven’t been updated since the 90′s, have hundreds of widgets plastered over the page and navigation links hidden between them all.

E) Be patient, and do not continue to submit your website every week. This could lead to a permanent ban.

3. I submitted my website over a year ago. What’s taking so long?

Even if you submitted your website 3 years ago, it does not necessarily mean that your site has been rejected. There are a few things to consider:

A) Keep in mind that all of the editors at DMOZ are volunteer editors. In other words, most of them login whenever they feel like doing so. There have been times when I’ve logged in daily, and other times when I haven’t logged in for months. In fact, there are meta editors and category moderators that haven’t logged on in YEARS.

B) Some categories don't even have editors. If there is an active editor for that specific category, it should say so at the bottom of the page: “Category editor: johndoe”.

C) If time is limited, many editors will approve sites that were submitted with a proper title and description first, even if other sites have been sitting in que longer.

D) Some editors don't know what they're doing. Although there are clear guidelines for getting into dmoz, many editors don't read them. Therefore each editor might be looking for something different.

For this reason, I might suggest that you research the descriptions in your specific category and try to come up with something that matches both the dmoz guidelines AND the category editor's judgement.

An improper title and/or description is not a valid reason for rejecting a website. But again, there are editors who aren’t aware of this. If they do happen to delete your submission, you would need to wait for a category moderator or a meta editor to review the deleted submissions and add it back into the que.

4. Are some editors corrupt?

Some of them? Absolutely. There are editors who will only add a website if they’re getting some form of compensation (cash, exchange of backlinks, etc.). And then there are those who have sites themselves in the category, and may choose to reject their “competitors.” While corrupt editors do exist, the majority of editors are legit. And even if your submission is left to sit in the que, or even deleted, eventually it will be reviewed by a moderator. Probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but a fact nonetheless.

5. What can I expect from a DMOZ backlink?

Aside from a bit of prestige, not much. Dmoz is not a traffic generator. In fact, don't expect any traffic from it. Zero, zip, nada. After all, how many people do you know that use DMOZ to find websites?

There was a time when search engines placed a high value on a DMOZ backlink. I’ve heard of people that would offer thousands of dollars to get listed. But today, I can tell you from my own experience with getting websites into DMOZ, that there is very little SEO value to be had… if any at all.

In other words, if you’re one of those people who still obsesses over getting into the directory, then take the advice listed here and give it your best shot. But do not for another minute spend your time fantasizing over how great your website will be the day it gets into DMOZ.

About the Author: Jason Bacchetta is the founder of i7oMedia and recently launched Lifed.com, your resource for life hacks, health, finance and productivity tips.

Original Post: DMOZ Questions From An Editor’s Perspective

Just a blog

Monday, 12 September 2011