5 Reasons Why I Think DMOZ Is Irrelevant

[Dale King]

Last June I submitted my website to DMOZ. My site was never added to the directory, so a few months ago, I decided to do some investigating. This is what I discovered:

1. I talked to two DMOZ volunteer editors and was told that it can take up to two years or more to get a web site approved and listed on DMOZ.

2. Many qualified web sites are rejected simply because the category editor considers them competition to his or her own site.

3. It's standard practice that if you e-mail DMOZ about the status of your web site, you will not receive a courtesy response to your e-mail.

4. A DMOZ editor told me that some category editors even fight among themselves to have their own web sites listed ahead of other submissions.

5. With thousands and thousands of web sites in the pipeline waiting to be approved and listed, there's no way that understaffed and overworked DMOZ editors can possibly catch up.

Its been several months since I last communicated with a DMOZ editor. Do you have any new information about DMOZ?

Have any of you tried to submit your website to DMOZ? What was your experience?

Personally, after everything I've learned, I no longer consider DMOZ relevant anymore. Do you?

Dale King

[skyjoe76]

[Oregon Coast Guy]

[Bonnie Lowe]

The problem is, it's not only DMOZ... some other directories base THEIR listings on those in DMOZ. I believe Google's directory does that. (The directory is totally different from the SERPs.)

I submitted my site 4 years ago. I've resubmitted it several times since then. It has never been listed by DMOZ.

Perhaps in that particular case, they didn't like the title of my site ("Best Job Interview Strategies"). I had a similar problem with Google Adwords... the word "Best" in the title is a superlative that they don't like... like it's just my opinion of my site. Of course it's that, too (A simple explanation to Google took care of this.)

The last time I resubmitted to DMOZ I entered "Job Interview Strategies" as the title, dropping the "Best." This was only about a month ago, so I don't know if it'll make any difference. I doubt it. And I really don't care.

I agree with Dale... DMOZ is way overrated; my site has done well without being listed.

[JosephRatliff]

There are so many ways to get traffic, get a high ranking link, and network, etc...

That I totally forgot about DMOZ.

Low priority for me I guess.

[Alan Petersen]

DMOZ is a joke. Same with me I've submitted several sites over the years and none have been listed. I don't even get an email telling me they were rejected, I just never hear from them. So now I hardly list them in DMOZ if I do I just do it once and forget it. Not worth the time. I do believe DMOZ's worth has gone way down according to SEO experts.

Last year I had read how back logged they were so I volunteered to be an editor and no not just to get my sites listed but just because I thought it would be a fun way to help out, well they turned me down. I guess the editors in that category didn't want a competitor as an editor (I disclosed my related sites in that category during the application).