DMOZ and Specialist Directories for SEO
What is DMOZ? (The Open Directory Project)
The Open Directory Project or DMOZ is probably the most important directory for SEO purposes. It is the biggest directory Worldwide and the fact that it is manned by human volunteers made it one of the most popular.
All submissions for entry to the Open Directory must be approved by an editor meaning that the quality of the listings is a bit better than we normally find in large directories.
DMOZ was also very important because Google uses its results in its own directory, Google saw the DMOZ results as the most credible that were available. Many other sites also used their results meaning that an entry in DMOZ guaranteed you many inbound links from all the sites that did so.
It is no longer very important in the greater scheme of things and its future is uncertain. Having said that, you probably should still submit your website as it costs nothing to do so. To submit it go to http://www.dmoz.org and navigate your way to the most appropriate section of the directory.
Note that you should follow the DMOZ submission instructions carefully. Applications for inclusion in the ODP are screened by volunteer editors who strictly apply the rules. I am an editor myself and I can tell you that if you do not obey the submission rules that are detailed for you then your website is unlikely to be listed. Many of the categories in DMOZ do not have regular editors so you may well find that it can take a couple of weeks to a couple of years before an editor gets round to. The best plan with DMOZ is to submit and forget it.
Specialist Directories
If you provide a product or service there will be at least one specialist Internet directory for this. Getting an entry may be free or they may charge you for this. You will have to decide if it provides value for money. Sometimes the best way of doing this is to get the opinion of some of those who are already included in the directory. Email a few of them and you should get some responses.
Local directories are also important for some websites. Have alook at what's available and try to decide if an entry would be worthwhile.
Note: These specialist directories are not only useful for building PageRank. You may find that the more reputable directories will generate additional business directly from these links.
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