Is DMOZ Worth It Anymore?

For years, DMOZ was the most popular directory among search engine marketers and professionals. It had a reputation for being “quality” directory, thanks to its age, its authority among search engines, and the lack of a fee for listing. However, as years have passed, some question its real value.

It can take weeks or months to get a listing, and the prospect of success is hit or miss.DMOZ is strict as to which sites it will include, and lists major reasons why a site is not put in because of “poor quality” or for not being in accordance with DMOZ submission guidelines.

The idea is that DMOZ listings are high value, and should be treated as definitive resources. If the quality of the websites included is great, then DMOZ’s reputation stands as one of the best directories in the web. If not, and if DMOZ is just being exploited by search engine professionals wanting to get link juice, the primary purpose of DMOZ (providing a quality website directory for everyone, not just SEOs) is corrupted.

DMOZ allows users to search websites which have been “manually reviewed” by human editors and given the stamp of good quality in terms of providing information, trust and reputation; no spammy or affiliate sites allowed. DMOZ editors visit the actual website, navigate it, read your content, examine your services, check your background and verify your business address. If the websites cannot pass, a DMOZ listing is denied.

But does it really benefit you? Do people actually use DMOZ? Or is it just a strong link? Some webmasters will use DMOZ as an alternative to Google, Bing and Yahoo for search. However, a problem exists in a severe lack of websites and updated results.

By all means try for a DMOZ listing, just don’t make it your main mission, you can get good links elsewhere and grow organic traffic through good SEO.