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I wouldnt say 'dont bother' submitting, because it is a good link to have and many other sites use the dmoz data so you will get hits from many sites depending on the area.
Sit and wait, but dont rely on just one link go out and find more links :)
I have submitted numerous sites only to be ignored. DMOZ is a dead issue for me.
[edited by: skibum at 1:44 am (utc) on May 15, 2004]
Is it worth it? The domz listing has not brought me the first visitor yet, except perhaps the editor. It's not enough in and of itself to generate traffic. But it did help build PR, it does help the site get picked up by the SE's, which will eventually generate traffic. Besides dmoz, you should probably also be looking at a few of the more specific directories to your business - drop shipping. I can think of 2 right away.
If you've submitted your site the next best course is to practice patience. You could try to search out the best category for your site, and submit to that one.
I think it is worth the bother, personally. I don't now if it's worth a significant chunk of time, but it is worth doing until you get listed.
my .02
[edited by: skibum at 1:47 am (utc) on May 15, 2004]
Rubbish.
30 seconds?
Of course it's worth submitting. The majority of worthwhile links do get added.
TJ
How long did it take you to submit it?
30 seconds?
I'd be very surprised if someone making their first submission did a "proper" one in 30 seconds!
If you are new to their submission process then spend the time to review the guidelines very carefully. Read also the guidelines for editors to see what rules they operate to. Research your title, description, category etc carefully. Read forums like this to see and resource zone to get a feel for what sites don't get listed, and why.
If you do a 30 second submission then yes, it will be a complete waste of time. Instead, bang your head on your desk. Or kick your car tyres. Anything would be more productive that that ;)
I'd be very surprised if someone making their first submission did a "proper" one in 30 seconds!
True, that's probably the time it takes a more experienced hand.
Make it 10 minutes. Still worth submitting.
TJ
TJ
Anyway, I can't give you a clear answer about the dropshipping because I'm not an expert in the Shopping realm, and an editor who was would probably need to see your site before they could say for sure anyway... but I believe that's a part of the directory where our bar is set very high, because our users don't like seeing hundreds of sites selling the same goods. I know that as a regular online shopper, I sure don't. To me as a user, a site that is selling the same wares as many others needs to have something really special about it before I'm happy about seeing it in directory results. Perhaps an experienced Shopping editor might have a better explanation for you about whether and when dropshipping sites are welcomed in the ODP.
I'd be very surprised if someone making their first submission did a "proper" one in 30 seconds!
True, that's probably the time it takes a more experienced hand.
Probably the hardest thing about submitting is finding the right category and we're pretty forgiving in that area as long as you took the time to get close to the right place.
[edited by: skibum at 2:00 am (utc) on May 15, 2004]
Maybe more accurately a few minutes. If the category for your site is obvious, it is then just a matter of writing a decent description. Looking at the descriptions of other sites listed in that cat can be used as a model.
Why were those posts deleted?
I thought we clearing up misconceptions.
?
I don't get this place.
I thought we clearing up misconceptions.
Which were never the topic of the thread.
TJ
Don't know about that -- I submitted my site to the ODP long before I ever became an editor and it probably only took me 30 seconds
Yes, and when my grandfather was a kid you could buy a house for a dollar.
Jennifer, how much longer than 30 seconds did you take? The fact is that with it becoming increasing difficult to get listed in ODP (because of their shortage of editors and other problems) it is all the more imperative that you spend as much time gaining as much information as you can before you make your submission. I would suggest even monitor the category for a while, note what sites are being included, and analyse them. If a particular category has only one editor reviewing sites regularly and that editor will only approve sites that work well on Macs.... then you'll have to make your site mac friendly before you submit.
So, no, 30 second submissions - or even 30 minute submissions - are not recommended if you really want to get into the directory.
If there is a sea of unreviewed sites, a good submission is more likely to stand out and get listed more quickly if the editor doesn't have to edit it and can approve it as is.
Yes, it does take time the first time around to get it right.
The ODP isn't saying that your site is no good. In fact you might have a rather good site. They are just saying that for an online business they only list one example, just the "main" manufacturer/distributor, not the thousands of affiliated sites.
For a bricks and mortar "real" business where customers can actually go to a physical lcation to shop, or to receive a service (like get a haircut) from a real live human, then a listing in /Regional might be possible, based on the location of the building involved.
For a site that is just a site reselling someone elses goods and/or services, then it isn't going to be listed in the ODP. It doesn't matter if the site sells 20 products or 20 000 products, or whether they all come from one source, or hundreds of sources, it is the "affiliated" bit that denies you a listing.
However, there are very many other places that will readily list your site, so all is not lost as far as you are concerned.
If that makes sense. (-:
And feel free to PM me any dropshipper sites (or even just the category they're in) that you noticed, Jennifer, and we'll take care of them. Or you can submit an abuse report [report-abuse.dmoz.org...] if you'd rather. Either way, it's confidential.
In practice, though, if the amount of unique content is overwhelmingly outnumbered by the amount of ads and non-unique stuff, an editor may never notice the unique parts. If I check a few subpages of an information site, for example, and they're all copied from elsewhere, I'm likely to conclude the whole thing is a plagiarized waste of my time rather than continuing to check the rest of its subpages. Though in most cases this is a good and time-effective assumption, I'm sure I occasionally miss listing a site that has valuable content buried in it somewhere and is just very poorly organized.
So in my opinion, it's a good idea for people to make their unique material prominent on their main pages if they're hopeful of ODP listings. I'd imagine this would also have the benefit of catching the eye of bored surfers who've already seen the non-unique parts of your site someplace else--I'm in that situation frequently as an online shopper, and my tolerance level for repetition as a shopper is even lower than it is when I'm editing. One screenful of stuff I've seen before and I'm often hitting the "back" key. Take that as a data point for whatever it's worth. (-:
Information submitted will be confidential, however, this thread is a rather public forum. It's often not to hard to make connections.
Jennifer, the unfortunate fact of the matter in your case is that we don't list sites that use dropshippers. We'll list the dropshippers themselves, sure, but listing the users of said dropshippers is like listing Amazon affiliate sites (i.e. not something we do).
How would an ODP editor know if an eCommerce site drop ships products or stocks them in a warehouse for shipment? EVERY SINGLE ONLINE RETAILER drop ships SOME of their products. Even Amazon.com does this. I know this, since my company fulfills for them. A "no drop ship" ODP rule seems very short sighted when you consider this fact.
