DMOZ listing help

[Smcnelley]

Is there someone with the wisdom to help me get my businesses listed on DMOZ? www.admiralmovers.com   www.admiralrecordsmanagement.com

[RobertFisher]

Hi Scott

First, DMOZ is a reasonable goal, but do not place more weight on it than it really deserves. It is a nice link, but there are tons of sites not listed in DMOZ that do very well. But, to get listed is not a do this, this, and this and you will get listed.

First, have you submitted it at all? I will assume you have not, but from looking at your business I will also assume you have gone to the dmoz site and read what to do or not to do. Because we are an agency and we are working daily to assist clients, we submit sites from time to time to dmoz. Some are listed, some not. One key IMO is that you have good content. Since you are in a reasonably competitive vertical with moving, I would be very sure to have unique content (don't rush out and change as you have some authority, etc.) that is not a rehash of other sites. With each site, make sure you go for a couple of the good paid directories (Yahoo directory, BOTW, etc.). Make sure you are submitting for what you do and not trying to use it as some mechanism to move a particular business segment, etc.

Three or four years ago, we had built a site for a client and written some very good custom content. Somehow the content around the main portion of the site was all over the web on news feeds, etc. Very shortly later, that site was in dmoz. Then within about a month another site of that client was listed and his main hit at same time. So, was I smart or lucky...probably a bit of both. But, do all you know from MOZ, etc. and submit both sites. Then you have to wait.

Best

[RobMay]

It could be noted that depending on the DMOZ listing you are going after, in the vertical or niche you focus on, it could be months to get a listing approved depending on the moderator watching that category. Just a little something to consider after you submit the site, if you haven't already. Don't submit multiple times

Also - if you are using the DMOZ listing (after it's live and approved), and have a specific "description" or "title" for the site or page you are using, and don't want to use it across Google's search index, make sure to use the META field on your page. NOTE: This will only apply after your listing if/when is approved in the DMOZ directory. I took a small piece of the content from Google's product support page below and pasted it in right here:

One source Google uses to generate snippets is the Open Directory Project. You can direct us not to use this as a source by adding a meta tag to your pages.

To prevent all search engines (that support the meta tag) from using this information for the page's description, use the following:

To specifically prevent Google from using this information for a page's description, use the following:

If you use the robots meta tag for other directives, you can combine those. For instance:

This is a good Google Product Support page to visit about TITLES and DESCRIPTIONS and how they handle sometimes overriding the TITLE or DESCRIPTION field based on your DMOZ directory listing.

Cheers and good luck!