Last night StepForth hosted the ‘WebMarketing Meetup’ at Accent Inns, Victoria, BC and though the turnout was small, the tips offered by the participants were valuable and noteworthy.

One of my duties at StepForth is Link Building and after I shared my ‘nugget’ of information the discussion revolved around the value of submitting to DMOZ. I am definitely not a link building guru but here is what I garnered in trying to answer the question:

The Value of DMOZ (Open Directory Project-ODP)

At one point it was thought DMOZ was one of the most important places to have your website listed as search engines put a lot of importance on the ODP listing as an indicator of the site’s value. Sounds good right? To some degree it is, as the ODP is entirely human edited and one of the oldest online free directories; but, there is always the but, it takes a very long time to become listed, anywhere from a few months to a few years and updating your listing in the future can be a lengthy challenge.

In saying that though, DMOZ is recognized by Google as one of the best and most highly regarded listings a site can have because, quite literally, Google’s directory is nothing more than the downloaded DMOZ directory. Therefore you do get two significant links to your website – one from DMOZ and one from the Google directory which can ultimately increase your page rank. You will also get numerous other links from the many DMOZ clones out there. These clones may not offer as much in terms of “link juice” but every little bit adds up.

The question still remains, is there value in listing with DMOZ and the answer is yes. As it is free, it will take a long time to become listed, and it won’t result in much direct traffic, but it will serve you well with the inbound links this listing can generate. The chances of having your listing accepted are low, but it only takes a few minutes to submit, and the potential gains are well worth the time.

In the event you decide to list with DMOZ it is crucial you follow their guidelines, ensure you submit your site to the single most appropriate category and that your submission is ‘well-written and thoughtful’ as the editors are very selective in reviewing and accepting a site.