Why DMOZ is more important than ever - Page 2

cray · 06-10-2004, 10:14 AM

The way DMOZ is edited sucks big time, a lot of the editors speak to you on the forum like your a piece of shit and should bow down to them to get your site listed. The sooner DMOZ becomes obsolete, or gets taken over by someone who has half a brain the better in my opinion. I think DMOZ is digging its own grave, looking forward to some decent directories overtaking it.

PhilC · 06-10-2004, 10:16 AM

Unless the open directory project is closed, DMOZ will continue to be the most important directory on the internet, after Yahoo.

Correction : ..... DMOZ will continue to be the most important directory, followed by Yahoo ...

PaulHarris · 06-10-2004, 10:18 AM

well that leads to a question doesnt it - which is more important - yahoo or dmoz?

cray · 06-10-2004, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfxmystica

Unless the open directory project is closed, DMOZ will continue to be the most important directory on the internet, after Yahoo.

That's a pretty bold statement

awall19 · 06-10-2004, 12:18 PM

Hi David
welcome to the forums

the value of a directory listing depends on your category. the directory gets lots of syndication, but there are a ton of factors in the value of a link in general from a directory with hundreds of thousands of categories... both Google and Yahoo! search are leveraging ODP data so it often counts a bit more than some other links (especially in higher level categories), but it is not necissarily a need.

PhilC · 06-10-2004, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldSocks

well that leads to a question doesnt it - which is more important - yahoo or dmoz?

Personally, I feel DMOZ is more important ...

John Scott · 06-10-2004, 02:30 PM

I think DMOZ lost a lot of weight a while back. And Yahoo is just a big mess.

PhilC · 06-10-2004, 02:54 PM

You have to say that John ... after all, you are in the same business ... :)

John Scott · 06-10-2004, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfxmystica

You have to say that John ... after all, you are in the same business ...

No. I say it because it's my honest opinion. You'll also notice I promote other directories such as www.goguides.org and www.wowdirectory.com

If dmoz was so important, why does a high level category such as this - dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/Directories/ - go un-indexed for so long?

DMOZ pages are dropping from Google's index like flies.

cray · 06-10-2004, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Personally, I feel DMOZ is more important ...

Based on what?

PhilC · 06-10-2004, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnScott

I say it because it's my honest opinion. You'll also notice I promote other directories such as www.goguides.org and www.wowdirectory.com

Yes, I have noticed that. As such, the comment was made light heartedly and wasn't meant as sarcasm ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnScott

If dmoz was so important, why does a high level category such as this - dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Searching/Directories/ - go un-indexed for so long?

You are mistaken that this category hasn't been indexed by Google.
Please check here : http://snipurl.com/6zp2 [google.com] - as you can see, Google directory has reproduced an exact copy albiet ranking it based on PR. Also, if you type any of the URL's listed in the category, Google does show the site's cache it maintains.

(Ofcourse, the category does have a PR of zero, so the backlinks do not show.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnScott

DMOZ pages are dropping from Google's index like flies.

I am not aware of this fact. Moreover, if this is indeed happening, I'd be more inclined to investigate the dropped sites, before checking out if DMOZ is responsible.

If Google considered that DMOZ was losing relevance, they wouldn't promote it. Their FAQ's mention that one of the sure fire way to get indexed by Google is to get a site listed in DMOZ or Yahoo.

The Google Directory also actively promotes DMOZ.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cray

Based on what?

Based on facts.

--> It is the largest human edited directory.
--> It is used by other major directories and search engines, namely, Yahoo and Google. Please visit this site to find the total list of websites using the ODP data : http://snipurl.com/6zpb [dmoz.org]

PhilC · 06-10-2004, 04:33 PM

The problem is that people tend to forget that DMOZ is web directory. The search engines that use the data from it treat it differently and not like a website. So trying to get a link in it, just to get a backlink and increase your PR is a stupid approach to SEO through DMOZ.

cray · 06-11-2004, 03:43 AM

It may be the largest human edited directory but if they are failing to add many genuine new sites being submitted then it is also one of the most incompetently edited directories.

PaulHarris · 06-11-2004, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cray

It may be the largest human edited directory but if they are failing to add many genuine new sites being submitted then it is also one of the most incompetently edited directories.

agreed.

PhilC · 06-11-2004, 04:37 AM

I am rather more inclined to call the submitter 'incompetent'. If you have the patience, try and become a DMOZ editor.

Personally, it doesn't matter what we think. If my focus is on SEO, I just like to see what the search engines like. And currently, DMOZ is their fav, so it's mine too. :)

cray · 06-11-2004, 05:13 AM

Quote:

I am rather more inclined to call the submitter 'incompetent'

Really? So how many people do you know who manage to cock up filling out the DMOZ URL submit form? Its not exactly rocket science. Granted there are those who write awful site descriptions or submit a URL 10 times a week but I am pretty sure they are not the majority here. I can assure you there are many competant webmasters submitting their URL's and not getting any listings for months if ever at all.

Quote:

If you have the patience, try and become a DMOZ editor

Why would I waste my time? half the problem is that editors decisions get overruled by those above them. I'm afraid DMOZ is simply a badly edited directory and will stay that way / get worse until someone gives it a kick up the arse.

awall19 · 06-11-2004, 08:21 AM

hi David
welcome to the forums

it depends on where your category is in the directory structure, how competitive your terms are, how smartly your domain is named, how many people are in your category, lots of stuff like that...

PhilC · 06-11-2004, 09:14 AM

Hey awall, whats up with all this 'David' post ... seems to jump out of no where ...

awall19 · 06-11-2004, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfxmystica

Hey awall, whats up with all this 'David' post ... seems to jump out of no where ...

he basically repeated the opening question of the thread. i answered his question. and then he must have deleted his post

dave conz · 06-11-2004, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cray

So how many people do you know who manage to cock up filling out the DMOZ URL submit form? Its not exactly rocket science.

90%. I kid you not. 9 out of 10 people who submit sites to my category make some mistake that I have to clean up. Usually it's submitting to the wrong category, so I have to waste my time finding out where they should have submitted to and moving it to the correct category. But it's also incorrect URLs, missing descriptions and other incredibly stupid mistakes.

When I first started editing I was absolutely stunned by the sheer incompetence of people submitting their sites. Creating clearer instructions and guidelines for my category didn't help one iota.

From what I've seen, the efficiency of DMOZ would increase exponentially if people would submit their sites correctly. I'm not saying that editors are perfect at all (far from it), but in my experience the cause of delays is 90% due to incorrect submissions.

And this is from someone who actually knows how the system works, not someone who sits on the sidelines making assumptions and complaining when things don't go their way.