Member Avatar for Piers Rollins

Getting a backlink from DMOZ is still worth for SEO?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by gregkawere

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Quick historical update tied to the replies here: DMOZ (the Open Directory Project) is no longer an active, maintained directory — it was shut down on March 17, 2017 and only archived/mirrored copies remain. That explains the very long waits and the mixed reports in this thread from , and : the slowdown was real, and the project later closed. DMOZ (Wikipedia). (en.wikipedia.org)

Because DMOZ was retired, Google stopped using its titles/descriptions for SERP snippets and the old NOODP meta directive became effectively obsolete. The DMOZ data lives on in mirrors and a volunteer successor project called Curlie, but there is no longer a proprietary “DMOZ” SEO boost to chase. If a 2015 submission was still pending, that process is moot now — consider migrating any useful listing information to active resources instead. Search Engine Land on Google and DMOZ. (searchengineland.com) Curlie about page. (curlie.org)

Practical takeaway for link strategy today: mass submissions to generic directories are not a high‑value SEO tactic — Google’s team has repeatedly said directory links “generally” don’t help, and Google’s spam policies treat mass/low‑quality linking as link spam. Invest instead in a few targeted moves that actually help users: maintain an accurate Google Business Profile and key local/industry citations, pursue editorial mentions and niche directories with real traffic, publish content that earns organic links, and monitor backlinks in Search Console. Avoid paying for or bulk‑creating directory links. SERoundTable on directories / John Mueller’s comment. (seroundtable.com) Google Search Central — link spam / spam policies. (developers.google.com)

For local businesses, citations still matter as part of local ranking signals (GBP, reviews, consistent NAP), so focus efforts there rather than chasing vintage DMOZ listings. BrightLocal on local ranking signals. (brightlocal.com)

Recommended Answers

All 7 Replies

Member Avatar for rtrethewey

It's worth getting the link, although it's not nearly as valuable as it was a decade ago. But it takes an outrageously long time for a site to be accepted, so just make your sumbission and forget about it for the next 6-8 months.

Member Avatar for advent_geek

i was waiting for my approval on dmoz. lol it almost 6 months over.

yep google uses dmoz as one of the ranking factor.

Member Avatar for Dani

Not worth it anymore. I don't even think Dmoz is maintained anymore, and Google Directory no longer uses it.

Member Avatar for larryholley

yes, still dmoz has been believed to be the most important factor of link building as the link from dmoz is still considered to be most worthful one.

Member Avatar for daniel160wong

I believe for sure DMOZ is still a high pR link to google if you can accept by them. it's not question about google using them on directory, but a high PR site and links,many people still believe and will find valued site from it.

Member Avatar for cathiedsquared

Dmoz is still maintained but they have a shortage of editors. I got my site and a few others accepted by them and it is a great backlink to have. You can request to become the editor of the category you want to be listed in. If you become an editor you can help make the directory work better and faster.

Member Avatar for gregkawere

dmoz is worth the wait, it can boost your link profile quite a lot

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