DMOZ – The Gold Ring of Directory Submissions

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: listings from DMOZ directory do well in search engines. In fact, a DMOZ listing will generate highly targeted traffic because DMOZ’s listings get good visibility in search results. In addition, you get amazing PR from DMOZ, as the pagerank which is received is from the root level PR.

DMOZ has a general PR of 9! Many categories inherit a high PR from DMOZ and it ranges from anywhere between 4 and 9, increasing your favor with Google. If you are submitting correctly, you should be able to get good anchor text when you get listed in DMOZ and if this happens it will increase your site’s performance for that keyword.

Directory submission is one of the most trusted SEO strategies as it can generate strong backlinks and targeted traffic. The importance of these directories cannot be overestimated. Submitting to many different directories can be time consuming, but manual submission is the best route as you will gain more approvals.

Some people still use directories for search.

The early online directories were assembled for the purpose of providing Internet users with information relevant to searches they conducted online. They were the door ways to various websites, and since many were manually approved directories, they were trusted as a source of information. This means that when links became part of search engine algorithms,  these doorways were some of the first links to be considered to pass valuable authority on to the websites.

Now  most searches take place on the several major search portals, but webmasters still submit the links to their websites to gain one way links from these directories. Many directories have become automated, but DMOZ still has human editors examining each website and granting approval only to those they feel are relevant.

Directory submission can still be one of the top SEO strategies, because of the importance Google gives to quality links using the concept of assigning PageRank to websites. Depending on how much PageRank the site the link comes from has, as some of this ‘link juice’ passes through to the website from the directory. Some directories are not known for their PR, while others (such as DMOZ) have high PR (DMOZ has PR9).

Manual directory submission can be highly time consuming, but automatic submission is not an option as there is no one size fits all form and you will be viewed as spamming for links. Manual submission is the best way to go, and it starts directories with the highest page rank and works down the list. You should be able to get a starter list of directories online by searching for ‘best directories for submission’. It can take a lot of research to collect an exhaustive selection of directories.

There is an alternative. Enlist the aid of a directories submission service. They know which directories have the best PageRank and have probably already compiled a complete list, and can quickly and efficiently submit your site manually as they know all the tips and tricks for directory submissions.

You should have a well thought out plan for obtaining relevant links and make quality directory submission your goal. Never do random directory submission as this is a waste of your time. Automated submissions are also useless, as each directory will have specific categories which you should submit under. Manual submissions ensure you get all your information correct and submit according to directory guidelines. Link from the page and check the PageRank to make sure it is decent before submitting to a directory. This is how to obtain the full benefits and be able to acquire higher PageRank with relevant one way links from broad range and niche directories.

DMOZ is the gold ring. If you can secure a listing in that directory, you have truly come up with a website that is worthy!