AOL Open Directory updates

How often?

[pmac]

Does anyone have any idea how often AOL updates the information they get from the Open Directory? And on that note, how strong is AOL as a referrer?

Cheers

[oilman]

I don't watch too closely but it seems to be pretty close to monthly as far as updating goes.

As for how strong a referrer it is that all depends on your target audience etc. It's about 40-50% of my referrals for a couple of my sites.

That said - there is absolutely no reason to not be in AOL since ODP is a free listing. ODP ---> AOL is a must for any effective SEO campaign.

[Bobby79]

AOL updates every month, between the 1e and the 10e. At least for the last 4 months.

[Brett_Tabke]

When was the last update of the aol odp directory?

Now that those listings are really front and center on AOL it changes everything.

I never was a believer in keywords in ODP descriptions, but I am now. Wish I would have been for the last year. It sure would make a difference right now.

[Bobby79]

i think the laast update was around 9-6-'01
Sinds then i had new referrers from AOL.

[pmac]

It definetly hasn't updated in the last 3 weeks.

[Bobby79]

I'am 100% sure they have, i check them every week. last time i checked (31-may-2001) i had 21 DMOZ links in AOL.com, and today 25 links.

[oilman]

It was sometime last week - I know cause I lost my ODP listing last month and fell out of AOL on about Tuesday of last week. AOL referrals just stopped

Point of interest:
search.aol.com referrals stopped
aolsearch.aol.com referrals still coming in but very few. search.aol.com was a better referrer for me.

[hutcheson]

ODP updates its downloadable database weekly (usually)

A highly placed ODP source has said that Netscape and AOL update (about) once every two weeks.

Google apparently updates monthly.

Hotbot, um, doesn't update often enough to have established a cycle.

[pmac]

Thats strange because I was picked up By ODP a couple of weeks ago, and in the category I am searching, all I see are old results. If I search the category in AOL, it is most definetly old ODP data.

[oilman]

pmac - AOL does some funky stuff with the ODP dump - you might be seeing something along those lines. For example after I fell out of ODP I stayed alive in AOL for 2 updates and got dumped on the third.

[pmac]

Thanks For your help all!