The Open Directory Project, or the ODP, is a directory similar in layout to Yahoo. ODP's biggest difference to its competitors is that it is run by over 37,000 volunteer editors, who do their work without receiving any monetary compensation. This uncommon operating model is both an advantage and problem to the ODP. Its reliance on volunteers enables the directory to process most submissions quickly, but can also create situations where an editor suddenly goes missing and causes sites submitted to his category to go unreviewed for a longer period of time. While Yahoo charges for some submissions, submitting your website to the ODP is completely free of charge. Why The Open Directory Project?
A listing at Yahoo is usually hailed as the holy grail of website promotion, but that does not mean you should forget about submitting your website to the ODP. The ODP directory itself receives far less traffic than Yahoo, but because its data is used by several large search engines such as AOL, HotBot and Lycos, being in the ODP can produce a very healthy number of visitors to any site. It can often takes up to several months for these search engines to update their ODP data, you may have to wait for a while before the full benefit of your listing begins to show. In addition to the traffic sent by the ODP and those who use its data, there are other advantages in being listed at the directory that are not mentioned as often but can be even more valuable. The truth is that some search engines are using ODP listings in their algorithms and rank sites & pages that have been accepted into it higher than those who haven't. Google has proven to be very rewarding to sites that are in the ODP, they might even boost a website rank by 1 PR point(page rank) just for getting a listing in DOMZ(Open Directory Project)
Submitting To The Open Directory Project
Before submitting your website to the ODP, you should read through the official submission instructions. While they do not offer any secret tips or gimmicks on how to get listed, understanding them will help you avoid some of the most common mistakes made by submitters. Another very useful resource I'd recommend for everyone is the ODP's editor guidelines page, which offers some insight on what the editors want and don't want to see in the submissions. Same as submitting to other directories, you should definitely submit the home page of your site first into the ODP. If you are able to get in, you might want to think about attempting to get one or two of your content-rich subpages listed in other categories.
Unfortunately, it is often difficult to get these additional links from the ODP, which is why only those who are convinced that their site has very good content should consider this option. Note that the editors don't look kindly to sites that over-submit or "spam" the directory, so it's usually best not to try submitting more than one or two extra pages at most. In extreme cases, excessive submissions can result in the site being completely removed from the ODP.
Some of you might already be listed in the ODP and would like to get another listing in the directory, but feel that the subpages of your site do not contain enough unique content to be submitted on their own. Creating more content is usually the best solution for the problem, but there is also another solution - offering your site in more than one language. If you happen to be for example a Spanish web designer, you can make an English and a Spanish version of your pages, allowing you to be listed in both the English and the Spanish parts of the ODP. You should be aware that the translation must be of high quality. So using Altavista's Babelfish or similar machine-translation service to do the work won’t do. This method does require quite a bit of work, but in addition to receiving another ODP listing, your visitors will appreciate you for making your content available in their native language.
I’ve submitted, but didn't get in! Now what? The ODP doesn't reject sites as easily as Yahoo, but people do occasionally run into problems while trying to get accepted into the directory. If your site hasn't been listed in three weeks even though you followed the guide line, you might consider taking action. The following only applies to situations where you have submitted the home page of your site. You first step should to be to simply submit again. If you received an email that explained why you weren’t listed, you should correct the problem first before resubmitting. If this second submission does not get any results within a few weeks, it would be a good idea to get in touch with an editor of the category you submitted to. You can find a link to contact him at the bottom of the page. You should write a polite E-mail and ask the reason why your site hasn’t appeared in the directory. You should include the Title, Description, and Domain name (http://www.domaininform.net). you should also mention the dates of your first and second submissions. If you don’t get any replies in a few weeks, you should try to contact the editor in the category about the one you submitted to. You should include the same information you had in the first and second letter, then explain the reason your emailing them. If nothing happens within a month, attempt to improve your site if possible and try to find another relevant category within the ODP where you could submit.
OPEN DIRECTORY PROJECT (DMOZ)Getting a listing could take some time. Just keep at it. Some times it take people 6 months or more to get listed this is just the way things work over their. Just keep trying!