Tips for Submitting to the Open Directory Project – DMOZ

Submitting your website to the Open Directory Project is an important step in search engine optimization (also known as SEO). The Open Directory Project, which is DMOZ.org, is run entirely by volunteers. Your website submission will be hand-reviewed by one of the volunteers before it’s considered for inclusion.

Because the Open Directory Project is usually under-staffed, it may take up to six months for your submission to be reviewed. Have patience, it is well worth the wait; DMOZ it is used by a large number of portals and directories. This makes it more likely that your site will be indexed properly by all the major search engines in addition to being listed on Open Directory.

Use the following submission guidelines when submitting to the Open Directory Project.

Three months after submitting, check to see if your website has been reviewed. If it has not, send a follow up email to the category editor. You could also ask for assistance in the Open Directory Public Forum.

A few rules for submitting to the Open Directory Project or other directories:

1) Only submit once: Generally there is no need to need to submit more than once to a search engine or directory unless your site is dropped entirely (this rarely occurs). Google is the only exception to this rule. Whenever you make significant changes to your website, my recommendation is that you resubmit your URL to Google.

Google’s URL submission: http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl

2) Do it properly: Be thorough when submitting to directories. Take the time to research and locate the most appropriate category for your site and to write an accurate and keyword rich title and description. I recommend keeping your description under 250 characters.

3) Be patient: Search engines and directories 2-6 months to index and list your website, the Open Directory Project may take longer. Do not resubmit. If you submit to the Open Directory Project more than once, you will most likely be penalized.

Submitting to online directories can take some time, but taking the time to do it right will pay dividends for your website for many years.

Heidi DeCoux is owner of Clear Simple Marketing , which specializes in increasing your bottom line through online marketing. Visit their website now to get 3 free videos: How to Rank #1 on Google, 2 Things You Can Do TODAY to Skyrocket Your Revenue, and How to Attract Customers You Love. http://www.ClearSimpleMarketing.com