DMOZ - The First And Last Step In Search Engine Marketing

The DMOZ (Directory Mozilla) or Open Directory Project (ODP) is the most comprehensive human edited directory of the Web which is compiled by a vast global community of volunteer editors. Majority of search engines including AOL Search, Netscape Search, Google, Lycos, DirectHit, and HotBot, and hundreds of others get their data from OPD. So if your site is listed on OPD it becomes automatically listed on majority of search engines. There is no need to submit your site to any search engine manually, or to use expensive site submission software or services. For Web Site marketing and promotion all you need is to submit your site to OPD and just relax. Search engines will automatically find your site.

And the best part is that listing on ODP is 100% free. There is no cost to submit a site or to its data. Anyone can download and use ODP data at no cost provided they comply with the ODP's free license agreement and attribution. Also, there is no cost associated with listing and submitting sites. Getting a DMOZ listing is very beneficial and even critical to your business since it is an Open Directory listing. As an open directory there are many other search directories that use ODP’s results to generate their pages. In addition, a multitude of webmasters use scripts to list all or part of the DMOZ directory on their site, and this in turn boosts a site’s Page Rank.

Who is running the ODP?

The ODP is managed by Netscape Communication Corporation. It is operated by a very small staff responsible for editorial policies and direction, community management and development, and systems engineering. However, the ODP is first and foremost a self-regulating community of net-citizens that basically runs itself.  Through a system of self-governance, the ODP volunteer editors manage the directory's growth and development, and through a system of checks-and-balances, ensure the directory is of superior quality.

What does "DMOZ" mean, and how is it related to the Open Directory Project (ODP)?

The ODP is also known as DMOZ, an acronym for Directory Mozilla. This name reflects its loose association with Netscape's Mozilla project, an Open Source browser initiative. The ODP was developed in the spirit of Open Source, where development and maintenance are done by net-citizens, and results are made freely available for all net-citizens.

What is difference between the ODP and a search engine?

The ODP is a Web directory, not a search engine. The purpose of the ODP is to list and categorize web sites. OPD does not rank, promote or optimize sites for search engines. The ODP is simply a data provider to majority of search engines. ODP data users, such as AOL, Netscape and Google and hundreds of others, install their own search functionality on their site.

How to Submit a site to the Open Directory?

Identify the single best category for your site. The Open Directory has an enormous array of subjects to choose from. You should submit a site to the single most relevant category. Go directly to that category on dmoz.org and then click "suggest URL." Follow the instructions on the submission form carefully.  Descriptions of sites should describe the content of the site concisely and accurately

Getting Your Site Into Portals and Search Engines Using ODP Data

If your site has been accepted into the Open Directory, it may take anywhere from 2 weeks to several months for your site to be listed on partner sites which use the Open Directory data, such as AOL Search, Google, Netscape Search, Yahoo Search, and hundreds of other sites