- Advertising agencies in Utah with direct links to listed agencies.

Dmoz is a human edited directory that has been running since 1998. It was created as a cooperative environment that would allow volunteer editors to keep up with the internet explosion. Way back, Yahoo used to be a directory – not a search engine – and Dmoz was an (eventually bigger) alternative to this. The only difference of course is that we are now well into the Google era of information at your fingertips. Dmoz on the other hand, is pretty much where it started.

Dmoz’s full title is the Open Directory Project. Dmoz is an acronym for Directory Mozilla. The acronym reflects loose association with ex-owner’s Netscape’s Mozilla project, an Open Source browser initiative. Originally called ‘Gnuhoo’ by founder Rich Skrenta, it was renamed the Open Directory Project in October 1998 when it was bought by Netscape. It was then acquired by AOL shortly thereafter, and Dmoz was one of the assets included in the acquisition.

Unlike a search engine, for websites to be listed in the Dmoz directory, they have to be submitted first. They are then reviewed by individuals (known as Editors) who are assigned to various categories within the Dmoz directory.

Is a Dmoz Link Worth It?

It’s fair to say that Dmoz isn’t what it used to be. You may notice whenever you search for something online these days that a Wikipedia entry is often on the first page. This used to be the case for Dmoz, meaning it was a good referrer of traffic to websites. The key words there are that it ‘used to be’. Dmoz’s category pages do not rank well at all anymore, so traffic referral is next to nothing.

It’s not all bad though, Google has its own directory which is in fact just a re-branded version of Dmoz. This shows us that it is still recognised as an authoritative website and that is demonstrated by the high Page Rank of some of its pages. In fact many websites use Dmoz’s data which means if you get in Dmoz, you may inherit far more backlinks than you expected.

One of the reasons why it is still considered authoritative is that you can’t pay to get in as with many other directories. Providing a reciprocal link isn’t an option either, so the theory is that Dmoz is more or less incorruptible. The fact is though, with many thousands of websites being submitted every week, there are simply too many for the Editors to handle. This means websites aren’t reviewed often and so Dmoz’s content is out of date, especially compared to modern search engines.

So, perhaps Dmoz is not the be-all-and-end-all it once was, but lets not get too negative. It takes minutes to submit, so there is no harm in trying!

How to Submit to Dmoz

Before you submit your website, make sure you give it a thorough health check. Have you checked it for broken links, bad spelling and missing graphics? These are all things your website can be rejected for so don’t shoot yourself in the foot!

In order to submit, you must visit the category you wish to submit to and click on ‘Suggest Url.’ It’s important to follow the guidelines, if you miss one element you will be rejected. For the full steps to submitting, visit:

http://www.dmoz.org/add.html

Ensure you don’t spam your submission with keywords or be ‘creative’ with the title. You may get away with this in other directories, but not with Dmoz. If you’re reading this article, you should already be aware of the basics of Search Engine Optimization, so the description you give Dmoz should be related to your website as well as the keywords for which you want to rank.

For help in writing the best entry, the easiest thing to do is to simply take a look at entries already within the category you are aiming for. If they’re in, they’ve obviously done something right! This is also a good time to ensure the category is the right one for your website. Take a look at the websites within the category and make sure they are similar to yours. If not, it’s best to find a more suitable category.

How Long Does It Take to be Accepted?

Dmoz is well known as an authoritative directory website. Needless to say then, it is very popular and thousands of websites have been submitted. Despite having a large number of editors, the fact that each entry is reviewed by humans means the process is longer and the backlog builds up. Considering Dmoz has been running since 1999, that backlog has grown year on year. With this in mind, waiting a year for entry is not unreasonable.

After submitting your website to Dmoz it is worthwhile looking at your web analytics program and searching for the telltale sign of your website being reviewed. The address to check in your logs for is ‘editors.dmoz.org‘.

Is There Any Way of Speeding the Process Up?

Not really. The biggest mistake to make is to get impatient and presume you’ve been forgotten about, and then re-submitting. You could easily be rejected for this. Likewise, even though deep links and multiple categories are not banned from Dmoz, it’s probably best to avoid the potential downfall of doing this.

However, there is one way to get into Dmoz quickly (relatively speaking). Naturally, people are drawn by the high Page Rank of a main category. Thing is, these are the sort of categories that take literally years to get into. It can be as little as a few weeks to get into a lesser Page Ranked sub-category. It’s very simple, fewer people submit their website so the backlog of submissions is much shorter.

As an example of this, our last submitted reviewed website by Dmoz was first submitted 4 months beforehand.

I Think Dmoz Rejected My Website, Why?

In many instances, websites aren’t really rejected, they’re just taking a while to be reviewed. Some of the busier categories will mean you have to wait months before having your website reviewed. This is why it is important that when submitting to Dmoz, you take care in writing the best entry for getting in, not the best entry for your search engine optimization campaign!

Another common occurrence is that your website may be in a different category to what you actually submitted to. It’s not uncommon to see a website moved to a more local category, if you have a .co.uk. domain for example. Make sure you use the Dmoz search tool before presuming you didn’t get in.

If you are sure you have been rejected and it isn’t down to a) a bad description or b) your website being littered with broken links, then you can contact the editor of the category. Simply visit the category you submitted to and scroll to the bottom to the editors’ names. Sometimes you will see a ‘volunteer to be an editor’ link, in which case you need to go up a level to see the editor for the parent category instead.

When you click on an editor’s name, you will have an option to email them. You can also see their activity on Dmoz under their ‘Bookmarks.’ This will help you find the best editor to contact (if there is more than one). It goes without saying when contacting them, be polite and professional!

There are myths and exaggerated stories about ‘corrupt’ editors who only accept websites after receiving a fee, but a minority of editors may be managing categories that are related to their professional background. Unfortunately, that may mean some direct competitors of theirs might get rejected, no matter what the rules are.

This article courtesy of SiteProNews.com

Even if you are able to show with sincere conviction that you can solve their problems, it still might not be enough to close the sale.

You are at a disadvantage from the start.

People must desire your products/services more than they desire an equal amount of their money. However, if you include a fantastic, solid guarantee, it can make a dramatic difference in your marketing response and closing rate.

The best guarantee that can be offered is a full, lifetime, no-questions-asked refund or replacement guarantee. If your product/service fails for any reason, it will be replaced or refunded. This guarantee removes the most risk from the client by putting that risk on you.

“Stand behind everything you do.
‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ will make all the difference.”
- Sam Walton

Now, I have to point out here that there always will be someone who will abuse a powerful guarantee like this.

However, if what you sell is of high quality and value and you stand by what you sell, then the additional sales easily will offset the few occasions on which you will need to honor your guarantee. I advise you to add 1-2% to the price of your products to offset the cost of the times that you will need to honor your guarantee.

How well do you stand behind your products/services?

Psychologists have proven that everybody holds a constant, ongoing conversation with himself or herself in his/her own head. These silent conversations are always being interrupted by distractions: the phone rings, someone walks by the door, the kids are fighting, dogs bark, etc.

“The character of a man is known from his conversations.”
-Menander

My point here is that, if you want to get someone’s attention, then you have to create an interruption in his/her “self talk.” In fact, you have to keep on interrupting them, until you get their total attention.

Your direct marketing effort has to stop a prospect right then and there. If your offer doesn’t get them to pull out their credit card immediately, then likely you have lost the sale. You have to capture the full attention of a prospect or you will lose the opportunity to make any future profits from him/her.

If someone sets aside your marketing mesage without taking any action, then chances are slim that they will ever pick it back up again. It may get covered up by other mail, or by the newspaper, or by something else. Eventually finding its way into the trash. Advertising and marketing are extreme interruptions in most people’s life, so your offer has to get deep into a person’s silent thoughts.

You want your prospect to think silently to him/herself, “I absolutely cannot live without this product/service.” If it doesn’t do this, then your marketing effort or offer is ineffective.

Perhaps your prospect doesn’t want what you are selling, or perhaps they simply can’t afford your products/services. Either way their silent, personal, internal conversation will make the final decision. It is up to you to make your best offer, and persuade them to make a positive decision.

What silent “conversations” are your prospects having about your products/ services? How can you make sure that those conversations are positive?

Nobody is alone in any market niche. And if you are, it’s going to fill up really fast.

One of the most important things to learn to marketing on the Internet IS direct response marketing.

The Internet is only one more marketing tool to help sell whatever you’re selling. And the more you learn about direct response marketing, the better you’re going to be able to get a good strong message out there.

People will to come to your website, but if you don’t have a real strong headline and content to keep them their, to keep them interested, entertained, reading, listening and looking for information, they’re on to the next website, fast.

I recommend, highly, that your learn direct response marketing or hire someone who does.

Now when I say direct response marketing, I’m talking about being able to write a good headline. Being able to write some good body copy and bullet points. Being able to create offer so strong that they would be crazy not to to take you up on it.

That’s the name of the game when you’re selling anything on the Internet.
To get an immediate order or to get a name and email address so you can build trust them sell what you have to offer

It’s not easy.

And most likely, because it’s tough to sell someone the first time they do arrive at your site, you’ll want to capture the interest of your prospects enough to come back for the second and a third and a fourth time, so you can sell them in the future.

Are you spending enough time marketing your online business?

Yes, there’s lots to do, but if you break your internet marketing program up into small manageable tasks that you can accomplish on a regular basis, it becomes much easier.

Take a look at this example of an effective daily Internet Marketing Plan.

Monday
Ah, the traditional start of the work week. Usually the busiest day on any working person’s calendar, by Sunday evening, Monday morning can loom like a great beast waiting to devour all of your time. Not when you work for yourself – at least, not if you do things the right way!

As far as marketing goes, you might want to limit what you do to reach other people who are just as busy as you are. Instead, do some behind-the-scenes work.

Take a look at your website statistics. Weekends tend to be popular days for consumers to buy online and you might find some interesting data to help narrow your marketing efforts. Did you experience a high bounce rate? Was a particular item you sell more popular than others? Did you see an increase in traffic due to a holiday or event? What’s being said on the social media sites you frequent and could you capitalise on one of those topics related to your own business?

Take a half hour to update all your social networking sites with a fresh micro-blog post.

Tuesday
This is a good day for venturing forth and posting and blog commenting. Go back to your social networking sites and see if anyone has left a comment on your posts. Scan through the posts made by your network of friends and find at least three or four to comment on.

Find a new site to add your profile. Spend an hour or so updating your information, adding a photo, and looking for friends. Remember that you will need to add this new site to your list of social networking profiles you maintain. If you don’t currently keep a spreadsheet with your user name and password, this is a good time to start.

Wednesday
Write an article with a link to your website. Rewrite several versions of the same piece and then submit them to article directories. If you are not already a member at several sites, sign up to become a regular contributor.

Use the same topic of your article to write a blog post. Spend a few minutes submitting it to social bookmarking sites. While you are there, find interesting content from others that you can Digg, Stumble, re-Tweet, or leave a comment on.

Thursday
Do some link building. Revisit one of your older blog posts and use the free version of Fast Blog Finder to find other blogs where you can leave a comment and a link back to your site. While you’re visiting, ask the owner if you can write a guest post for a future date.

Visit a forum where you are a member. Glance through the threads and find one where you can contribute intelligently to the conversation.

Friday
Take a look at your pay-per-click advertising campaign or your affiliate marketing statistics. Take note of any data that indicates concern. If you need to make changes, now is the time to do it before you get a rush of weekend traffic to your site.

Post again on your social networking sites and blog. Give your network a reason to remember you when they have time to do some shopping.

Saturday
You don’t need to work all day, but this might be a good day to start working on new online video content for your site. Entreat friends or family members to help you produce it, provide music, or function as actors.

Sunday
You should have at least one day per week when you don’t do any internet marketing work. Take a break, you deserve it. Start fresh again on Monday.

While this particular Internet Marketing Plan may or may not be right for you, as you can see, a few minutes a day could make a big difference in your site’s search engine optimisation and that there are enough things to do on a daily basis to keep you growing your business and your profits.

Sticking to a solid Internet Marketing Plan could have lasting effects and before you know it, you could need to spend just a fraction of this amount of time to keep the profits flowing in.

Have a most outstanding day.

Sean Rasmussen
Aussie Internet Marketing
www.SeanSEO.com © 2008 – 2009

It’s a recognized fact that most people get much more done when they have someone motivating them, than they will on their own (sometimes a LOT more). This is very true with marketing. I have to keep calling and bugging some of my clients to get them to do anything. They get hung up on the daily tasks of running their business. They are constantly putting out fires, and so their marketing efforts end up on the back burner.

“Don’t fall before you’re pushed.”
- English Proverb

Failing to allocate specific time for marketing (i.e. the daily grind of running a business) seems to prevent many business owners I know from taking the actions that are necessary to market and grow their business in a consistent way.

A trick to keeping on track is to set aside one-hour per day to work on your marketing (and nothing else). Use this time to look for “cost effective” ways to generate new prospects or to develop strategies for increasing sales to your existing customers.  If you have trouble doing this on your own, then find someone who will hold you accountable.

“Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A word of optimism and hope. A “you can do it” when things are tough.”
- Richard M. DeVos

Most of the time, a little external “push” or “kick-in-the-butt” from somebody who is close to a business owner does wonders to get the ball rolling.  An outside expert can motivate, persuade, urge, and inspire you to levels that you may have never known before. This is very important, because once you get the energy flowing, you will find that new ideas come from many different places.

Find an advisor whom you trust to keep you motivated and on track toward reaching your business goals. This should be someone who is willing (and has the “authority”) to get you moving. If you need someone to help motivate you, give me a call. I will be happy to give you a motivational push.

Do you have someone who is helping you to stay focused, on track, and motivated?

I’m sure that you’ve made a call and been forced to listen to the following recorded message:

“Your call is important to us. Please hold for the next available Customer Service representative.”

Many business operations have been automated at the expense of customer service. The businesses that keep their Customer Service departments “human” often thrive.

Southwest Airlines is ranked as the number one airline in the United States, and they use only “live” human beings for their telephone Customer Service operations. Call 1-800-435-9792 and hear for yourself.

Automated customer service has been proven to drive customers crazy.

It will drive these customers away from many of the businesses that are using this service.

People often will turn to a competitor that uses a live operator.

Why? Because this business seems to care more about how customers are treated.

Most people like to talk to a person, so when you or your employees hide behind an automated phone system, your customers will get frustrated and move on to your competition.

Customer dissatisfaction will not only drive away prospective clients, it will drive up your marketing costs.

You will have to replace the customers whom you lose. It costs about five to seven times more to get a new client than it does to keep an existing one.

What are you doing to make it more convenient for your clients to contact your company on the telephone?

Many businesses set up an online presence and then forget about customer service.

Too many times they take days or weeks to respond to client and prospect questions.

Even worse, sometimes they forget entirely. One great way to set your business apart from your competition is to attempt to respond to your online inquiries within minutes.

A short time ago, I was offered a one-on-one phone session with Chet Holmes, a protege of marketing guru Jay Abraham. Chet was promoting the marketing seminars that he was conducting with Jay Conrad Levinson.

Within fifteen minutes of leaving Chet an email message, I received a call from one of his associates, who asked me some qualifying questions and then scheduled a telephone meeting for the next day.

I was impressed, both with the fast response and with the information that I received from Chet Holmes and Associates.

These things showed a level of caring for the client that is extraordinary in today’s business climate.

What can you do to improve your customer service?