If you have spent weeks, months or even years building a website, it’s likely that you want to do whatever you can to better it.  Ranking in the search engines has a lot to do with your site itself but you also want to make sure to keep an eye on your competitors so that you can follow their SEO strategies and know what you need to do.  One of the main things you will need to constantly check are the number of backlinks that your competitor has and how valuable these backlinks are.  A backlink from the DMOZ directory is one that you can’t afford not to have.

What is DMOZ?

DMOZ is also known as the Open Directory Project.  Originally started in the 1990’s it was one of the internet’s first web directories and was used by many search engines to find new sites.  Many website owners over the years have done as much as they possibly can to ensure their website gets listed in DMOZ even though the rules can be stringent.  Although perhaps not as influential as it once was, many people still do their best to get their website included in the directory due to its high authority.  A link in DMOZ is said to be great for an SEO strategy, so if your competitors are listed, you need to make sure your website is too.

How Easy is it to Get Listed in DMOZ?

If we went back to the 1990’s we’d say it’s quite easy to get a link in DMOZ however nowadays the same is not true.  As each submission to DMOZ is checked manually it is incredibly important to make sure that your site abides by the guidelines set out by the directory.  Due to the amount of sites being submitted to the directory on a daily basis, you may also find that there is a long wait to be accepted; the website currently states that there is a two week waiting period, but many webmasters have found that the wait is in fact longer.  What is important is not to keep re-submitting your site, rather wait and check and then wait some more.  If your website does not get listed make sure you adhere to the guidelines and then re-submit.

Checking DMOZ Backlinks

If you want to check whether your own site has any backlinks from DMOZ or whether your competitor’s site does, the quickest way of doing so is with a DMOZ backlink checker tool.  Here at Pingler we have two versions of this tool available:

• The DMOZ Backlink Checker Tool for checking one link at a time
• The Multiple DMOZ Backlink Checker Tool for checking more than one link at a time

By comparing your competitor’s backlinking strategy to your own you can see how much work you need to do to improve your search engine position.  DMOZ is a high authority website and even though it is difficult to get your site listed, it is almost always more than worth the effort.