|
Besides Google,
the other place on the Internet in which you absolutely
need to have your site indexed is actually a directory rather
than a search engine, the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org).
The Open Directory Project is the largest human-edited directory
on the Internet. They even say so themselves! Whereas the
second-largest human edited directory, Yahoo will charge
a hefty fee for indexing your site by humans, the Open Directory
Project (OPD) is free.
Dmoz.org has
some great advantages such as once you get listed, you will
also be a part of Google's directory since Google gets its
directory database info from the ODP. In addition, many
other websites on the Internet will also grab parts of the
ODP database so your site will, over time, show up on many
different, relevant sites simply by getting listed on dmoz.org.
The downside
of the ODP is its main strength. Since it is the largest
human-edited directory, it has the largest human element
driving the site. The editors are unpaid volunteers who
may not get around to adding your site to the ODP for months
and sometimes not at all.
Also, the editors
may rewrite your website's description, writing around all
the keywords you were careful to pack in. If there is a
problem with your site and an editor rejects it, more than
likely you will not get an email rejection and will just
be left wondering why your site did not get included. Another
drawback to the ODP is that since it is a popular index,
it is frequently overloaded and experiences an inordinate
amount of downtime.
But the advantages
far outweigh the disadvantages. The best advice is to find
the most specific subdirectory that applies to your website,
submit your site to the ODP and if you don't get listed
within 6 weeks, then submit again.
Remember, in
SEO-terms the two most important places to have your site
listed on the Internet are Google and the Open Directory
Project.
|
