Increase your site's Search Engine Ranking with DMOZ, the internet's most comprehensive web-directory!

Open Directory Project (ODP), otherwise known as Dmoz, is an open content directory composed of web link worldwide. While Dmoz.org is owned by Netscape it is constructed and maintained by its own community of editors.

ODP uses a Hierarchy Ontology Scheme

· Hierarchy Ontology Scheme: An arrangement of an ordered set of items or concepts within a domain such as objects, names, values, etc; in which certain items are represented as being “above”, “below”, or “at the same level as” one another.

· Listings pertaining to similar topics are grouped into primary categories which in turn can then include smaller sub-categories.

· Dmoz.org is the largest and most comprehensive web-directory operated by human editors rather than web spiders.

Rather than fighting against the continual extensive growth of the World Wide Web, the Open Directory Project provides the internet with the means necessary for it to organize itself. ODP is the only major internet directory that is 100% free. If you decide to submit your page or site to ODP there is not any associated cost required by ODP in order for you to submit your page to them as long as you agree to comply with ODP’s free use license.

ODP (DMOZ) is an extremely vital directory in order to efficiently grasp SEO, Search Engine Optimization, and incorporate SEO’s most influential practices within your page or site. The most relevant & profitable trick to properly using DMOZ is your ability to have your page or site listed into a category that is not already saturated with other sites similar to yours. Having your website listed in a DMOZ category that already consists of hundreds of other similar websites will probably not be very beneficial to the overall lively hood of your particular website.

DMOZ operates very similar to Google, meaning that websites that are “unique” & “original” will thrive in DMOZ directory. One important factor you must keep in mind when submitting your website to DMOZ for approval is roughly 1 out of every 5 sites submitted are actually approved and included into DMOZ’s directory due to the abundant amount of websites that are submitted to DMOZ for approval on a daily basis. So before you submit your website to DMOZ for approval in order for it to be categorized and listed in its directory just take into account that the individual who will end up reviewing your submission is not an idiot, and more than likely is just as SEO savvy as you are if not more so, and already knows all the tricks and shortcuts that you know and have incorporated into your website.

However, do not let that fact deter you because it is not unheard of for people who have submitted their website to DMOZ to simply luck out because the individual in charge of reviewing their website is already helplessly overwhelmed with an abundant amount of other submissions and literally spends 5 seconds glancing of your site before having it approved.

Prior to submitting your website to DMOZ for approval it is very important that you have titled your site accordingly to DMOZ policy, in other words your site should be titled and submitted to DMOZ using the name of a freelancer, followed by your title for your site.

Example: "Last Name, First Name - Title"

You want to place your sites in categories associated with the first letter in the title you have given the site. Following this you need to write a valid description for the site you are submitting.

* Writing your site description for submission:

- Do not type in capital letters.

- You do not need to include a list of keywords pertaining to your site in the site's description.

- Do not include the products offered by your site.

- Do not incorporate a sales pitch into your site description for submission.

* Your sites description should describe & list the services you are offering:

- Do not gloat ("This site rocks!", "The website to rule all others", etc)

- Make sure the description is written in proper English grammar, the sentences are coherent, and is mistake free.

- Do not include HTML tags.

- Submit your site to only one category.

- Make sure you have chosen the best category possible for your sites submission.

After you have properly submitted your site to DMOZ, an editor will be assigned to review your site for inclusion in the directory. If your site is accepted into DMOZ's Open Directory it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to several months before your site is actually listed on partner sites that incorporate Open Directory data, such as AOL Search, HotBot, Google, Netscape Search, etc.