DMOZ is the human edited behemoth of a directory that Google traditionally used as a starting point for it’s own index… Amelia asks whether DMOZ is still relevant today.

WebProNews recently published a series of articles questioning the usefulness and longevity of DMOZ. DMOZ, in case you are unaware of it, is traditionally the place to get links from. In the ‘good old days’ all you needed was a link from DMOZ* and your site would list in the top of Google for your keywords. Now, however, search is a totally different ball game and a listing in DMOZ, though still desirable is by no means necessary to get your site to list. Why? Well, I guess, for many of the reasons and concerns addressed by the aforementioned WebProNews article.

DMOZ, is being heavily slated for being corrupt. Many have suggested that the editors have used the directory to benefit themselves or their friends. When I was first starting out in SEO I was told by my then boss** that the editors of DMOZ (and I paraphrase here - to make it much more, ahem, polite) “only include their own sites and that of their friends. You can’t get into DMOZ unless you are an editor” Personally I think he was speaking a little out of turn here, but his point was the same as that of the many commenters at WebProNews: that DMOZ is corrupt. That by putting humans in charge of such a powerful tool you are bound to end up with some corruption, but this is perhaps a wider social issue, that people will always end up putting themselves and their folks first.

Does DMOZ have a Place in Search?

However, the question remains whether DMOZ still has a place in search. I have an admission here: I’ve never used DMOZ for it’s true purpose - to find services, products and websites. I use Google. I don’t know anyone who uses DMOZ for what it’s meant for. This doesn’t mean that nobody uses it for what it was designed for, it just means that I’ve not met anyone who does. If you’ve ever used DMOZ for it’s real purpose, please leave a comment below! I’d like to meet you!

Answer the Question!

OK, I’m starting to skirt the issue here, because I actually don’t know if DMOZ still has a place in search. If it does it’s somewhat diminished from what it once was, but isn’t that to be expected? Especially when you consider how much SEO has evolved over the last ten years, and then consider the rise of the search engine over the directory. It’s perfectly understandable that DMOZ will lose visitors because those visitors are now heading direct to Google, Bing or Yahoo.

Matt Cutts on DMOZ

So, at least my previous boss has less to worry about now: he could never get into DMOZ…

Seriously though, DMOZ is clearly never going to be as important as it was even five years ago, however I do still think it has a value, and if you can find an uncorrupted editor to include your link then so much the better.

*OK stretching the truth again, but you get my meaning…

**Never a Creare employee, but he did give me the foundations of SEO understandings, for which I am eternally grateful…

Have you ever heard of D-Moz?

I’m sorry I don’t listen to hip-hop…

Dmoz isn’t some bling covered rapper from across the Atlantic, I’m sure most people actually assume this when they hear the word…No? Just me then.

If you’re just starting out in the world of SEO (as I was a couple of weeks ago) then you may be unsure as to what Dmoz is.

Dmoz is actually an abbreviation of the original domain for the Open Directory Project (ODP), the largest human-edited directory on the internet.

In brief, Dmoz is a global directory with a vast number of categories, including websites regarding:

• Technology museums.
• Welding and soldering.
• Sporting eyewear protection.
• Bowling for gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
• And, much, much more.

I don’t think I’m dabbling in hyperbole when I say Dmoz contains directories of every imaginable thing, and every unimaginable thing!*

If you speak a couple of languages why not help Dmoz out by translating a directory or two into one of the many languages used.

To keep the behemoth from collapsing under it’s own volume a dedicated team of editors (somewhere in the region of 8,000) trim the fat and keep the system operating as smoothly as possible.

Although the site is free it’s owned by Netscape who are committed to a social contract which aspires to keep the site free and give back to the (internet) community.

With regards to SEO, a listing on Dmoz is essential, it’s a given, a standard for websites.  If your site isn’t on Dmoz then you’ve never heard of it until now or…I can’t think of another reason without insulting people, so let’s just leave it at one reason.

Google acknowledged Dmoz’s importance allowing it to command a high PageRank, therefore giving weight via backlinks to listed websites and making it vital for websites to be listed.

This is from the about page on Dmoz, and sums up the project more concisely than I could: “ODP editors are Web searchers creating a directory for other Web searches”.

Dmoz is for the people, and by the people.

Written By Robert Greenhill, Creare’s newest SEO recruit

*Yeah, fine, I dabbled