Suggest a site to DMOZ / Open Directory Project

"The Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors." - dmoz.org

What they say about the Open Directory Project (ODP) is true; it is the largest human-edited directory on the internet today. What is the big deal about being human-edited? That also means that it's one of the toughest directories to get listed in. because your submission is reviewed by at least ONE other human before it gets approved and listed for the entire world to see. So, having that said, you do need to know what you're doing prior to hitting that "submit" button.

Guidelines for submitting to DMOZ

It's HIGHLY recommended that you read and understand the dmoz guidelines in their entirety before you think about submitting your site. Otherwise you'll most likely wind up wasting your time, and you'll never know for sure if your site got listed, why not. First, let's outline what is guaranteed NOT to get listed in the ODP.

Mirror sites - sites containing identical content, but have altogether different URLs.

Redirects - site addresses that open and automatically redirects you to another URL address.

Illegal Content - sites that are not suitable for children or has DMOZ puts it:
"Examples of illegal material include child pornography; libel; material that infringes any intellectual property right; and material that specifically advocates, solicits or abets illegal activity (such as fraud or violence)." - dmoz.org

'Under Construction' - sites that are unfinished or have pages that are not completed. You should wait until your site is complete and presentable before submitting. Adding content later is fine, however you need to have a fully functional site without broken links, images, and under construction pages before trying to submit the URL.

Affiliates - sites that are primarily affiliate links. The ODP is not here to help you earn money on click-throughs.
"Our goal is to make the directory as useful as possible for our users, not to have the directory include all (or even most) of the sites that could possibly be listed." - dmoz.org

So your first step is determining if your site falls into any of those categories. If it does then your site is not suitable for placement within the Open Project Directory. If your site does not, then you should proceed on to the next step.

Could your URL already be listed?

DMOZ is a human-edited directory, which means that one of the editors may have already seen your site and listed it without you knowing. Another possiblity is that the URL was previously owned and submitted. This raises a hugh issue as the sites focus may not be the same as your primary focus. If you find that this is the case, you will want to request a change to the listing, so that the site is represented correctly within the directory, including the correct placement in the most relevant category for what you are offering.   That is why it is extemely important that you varifiy if the URL is already within the Open Project Directoy. To perform this check you can go to the home page and enter the URL (yoursitesurl.com) into the search box.  You can do that here - dmoz.org - [http://www not required]

Okay, so you're not any of the unapproved sites, and you've checked for the URL within the directory and it is not listed.

Next Step: Submitting

Identify the single best category for your site. The Open Directory has an enormous array of subjects to choose from. You should submit a site to the single most relevant category. Sites submitted to inappropriate or unrelated categories may be rejected or removed. Note: Some categories do not have "add URL" or "update URL" options. These categories do not accept submissions, so you should find a more specific category. However, don't go too deep into the listing if you can help it. Make sure you're at the most relevant location for what you have to offer. For example, let's say your company has a line of weight loss supplements. First, your site cannot be an "affiliate" or "reseller" of a line of supplements, your site must directly belong to THE company that MAKES the supplements. Got it? Ok.

Selecting a Category

Now that you are searching around the categories within the directory you will notice that your site could fit within a handful of categories. They seem to be relevant, however you should take the time to review the descriptions and take a look at their sites. Going back to our example of weight loss supplements, you COULD go to dmoz.org/Health/Weight_Loss and try to submit there, but that's a very broad topic with TONS of listings. If you review the sites listed within that category, you will learn that these sites are not manufactures of the supplements. A better category would be something like dmoz.org/Shopping/Health/Weight_Loss/Supplements which brings it down through the "shopping" category to specifically target individuals looking to purchase weight loss supplements. Also, you will find that there are far less listings in that category, so your site is more apt to be looked at rather than if it were listed within a category with an extremely long list of sites. One more important detail is that this category is more relevant, as it is under the "Shopping" category, which is precisely what you're looking to do, is SELL your company's weight loss supplements.

Now that you've settled down on the most relevant category choice, look for this...and suggest your site!

Good Luck!

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