From a search engine optimization standpoint, most link directories aren’t worth the time, effort (and often money) spent in getting your site added. However, there are exceptions.
SEO Company has a useful list of the top 40 or so web directories rated by inbound link quality. This is worth bookmarking should you ever need to quickly get some quality inbound links to a site.
If you’re not sure about the value of link directories in this day-and-age, SEO Book has a good article about whether they are still relevant for SEO purposes. In short, yes, if they are quality directories.
Most of the top directories listed require a fee to get your site listed. However, if you’re not willing to pay for a listing there are five that will list your site for free:
- Librarian’s Internet Index
- Starting Point Directory
- Jayde
- MavicaNET
So, if you’re looking for an SEO boost, it would very likely be worth your time to get your site added to these five. And, good luck getting into the Open Directory Project! I’m still waiting.
Thanks for the good luck with Open Directory.
I run a site (CEFLO.com), which is a pretty straight forward business directory and search engine, that recently welcomed it’s 2 millionth visitor.
However – since 2004 I submit this site to it on a quarterly basis – yet to no avail.
BUT on the other hand – quite frankly for quite a while I doubt that the open directory really works and actually has a profound impact – just check how much you hear about it.
As a former editor at DMOZ I can verify that it’s an essential directory to be listed in but will take a eon, purely because the rate of processing is slower than the rate of submission.
All the talk of back handers, corruption, dodgy insider dealings is a complete nonsense and the staff within DMOZ work hard, for free remember, to get unique and quality sites listed.
Many search engines pull the descriptions from DMOZ over the META Description tag in the website itself as having been human edited and published means it holds value, something the search engines are striving for.
It’s purely because SEO’s cannot manipulate DMOZ like they can Google that bitterness occurs.
DMOZ – Essential listing…
Well Ed – I understand lagging behind – that is not really unusual. However – lagging behind 3 years that’s pretty heavy and – it would make DMOZ outdated by default – doesn’t it?
And it’s not bitterness on my end that made me make my point – it’s pure and simple resignation.
I believe that this project has lost a lot of credibility in the past years – which is what I meant with “how much you hear about it”.
Absolutely. From a simplistic business approach, I’d say DMOZ needs sponsorship. Charging for submission hinders growth so the only viable economic model left is advertising. DMOZ’s sheer size and success is too much for the enthuisasts that operate it and it needs a major rethink to sustain it’s longevity, and credibility.
*Ed* – I wonder why an advertising-supported model hasn’t been tried?
Perhaps it goes against the ideals of DMOZ but it seems like it would be better to face reality. No? Do you think there is there any likelihood of this ever happening?
There must be so much potential opportunity there.
Potential opportunity? Most definitely. But practically speaking some things are just not there.
For one – who actually knows and uses DMOZ as enduser? At least no one I know of. That is the downside of opensource projects – usually no capital available to market a product properly – and products like Firefox as runaway success will always be an exception.
So let’s say they start site advertising with Adsense.
As I mentioned earlier – I run a local business directory, that has become quite popular in the region. But I couldn’t possibly sustain it with Adsense. It helps – but generates just as much as to cover hosting…
And given how much users nowadays rely on Google and where engines like Yahoo, MSN, Ask struggle to compete – I don’t see DMOZ becoming a player in the foreseeable future.
And creating, having and maintaining a directory is extremely work intensive – and seeing the infamous lagging behind I’d say that the experiment will fizzle into oblivion eventually – the sorry I am about that.
I occasionally use DMOZ; however there are clearly plenty of people using it — it currently has an Alexa rank of 177 after all.
I would say that you could implement AdSense with little difficulty (and without losing credibility) and start bringing in some serious revenue — enough maybe to pay some editors.
Perhaps they should also go down the paid submission route and charge for expedited review and inclusion?
Forget Dmoz, Dmoz is dead. Even if you get listed in dmoz , it doesnt bring u traffic . dmoz will go under like zeal directory. Unless if they start charging.
*Tony* – although DMOZ might not bring you much extra traffic, it sure wouldn’t hurt having a link in from a site with such a high PR.
Perhaps that is reason enough to try and get in?
I submited my site at DMOZ over 2 years ago, I am still waiting to be submitted. I would also suggest going with some Google Adsense to bring them in some revenue to get some more employees. It’s a great directory, but needs to stay up to date.
DMOZ may not generate traffic but it certainly generates rank. Think of all the directories that uses its data, including Google.
I don’t think DMOZ has face value so that’s advertising out. It’s the RDF that DMOZ generates that is priceless to search engines as these are human edited results that have ‘screened’ quality so perhaps they should slap a license on it.
Another great directory to submit your site to is Seekzap. One of the web’s fastest growing directories, Seekzap ranks its sites on user feedback. Most site submissions are reviewed in days, and the directory offers submission offers where webmasters can get up to five links for their site.
The DMOZ why not to list my site?
How to let DMOZ to list site fast?
Depends on the editor – some editors work faster than others. Keep in mind that it is a volunteer directory.