How to suggest a site to the Open Directory

The Open Directory Project is a web directory of Internet resources. A web directory is something akin to a huge reference library. The directory is hierarchically arranged by subject - from broad to specific. The ODP is maintained by community editors who evaluate sites for inclusion in the directory. They are our experts, and all submissions are subject to editor evaluation.

We care a great deal about the quality of the ODP. We aren't a search engine and pride ourselves on being highly selective. We don't accept all sites, so please don't take it personally should your site not be accepted. Our goal is to make the directory as useful as possible for our users, not to have the directory include all (or even most) of the sites that could possibly be listed or serve as a promotional tool for the entities listed.

To keep the ODP running smoothly and to assist us in exercising our editorial discretion, we have set up policies for submitting sites for our consideration. We may reject, delete, or edit submissions that violate these policies or that we otherwise believe, in our sole discretion, should not be included in the directory. We may also reject, delete, or block other sites that we believe to be associated with a user who has violated these policies.

You should take a few moments to understand these policies and the steps to submit a site before you begin. Failure to understand and follow these instructions generally will result in the rejection of a submission.

Step One

Determine whether a site is appropriate for submission to the ODP:

• Do not submit mirror sites. Mirror sites are sites that contain identical content, but have altogether different URLs.
• Do not submit URLs that contain only the same or similar content as other sites you may have listed in the directory. Sites with overlapping and repetitive content are not helpful to users of the directory. Multiple submissions of the same or related sites may result in the exclusion and/or deletion of those and all affiliated sites.
• Do not disguise your submission and submit the same URL more than once.
  Example: http://www.dmoz.org and http://www.dmoz.org/index.html
• Do not submit any site with an address that redirects to another address.
• The Open Directory has a policy against the inclusion of sites with illegal content. Examples of illegal material include child pornography; libel; material that infringes any intellectual property right; and material that specifically advocates, solicits or abets illegal activity (such as fraud or violence).
• Do not submit sites "under construction." Wait until a site is complete before submitting it. Sites that are incomplete, contain "Under Construction" notices, or contain broken graphics or links aren't good candidates for the directory.
• Submit pornographic sites to the appropriate category under Adult.
• Submit non-English sites to the appropriate category under World.
• Don't submit sites consisting largely of affiliate links.

Step Two

Do a quick search in the directory at dmoz.org (the home of the Open Directory) to be sure your site isn't already listed. This saves everyone time.

Step Three

Identify the single best category for your site. The Open Directory has an enormous array of subjects to choose from. You should submit a site to the single most relevant category. Sites submitted to inappropriate or unrelated categories may be rejected or removed.

Note: Some categories do not have "suggest URL" or "update URL" links. These categories don't accept submissions, so you should find a more specific category for your site.

Step Four

Once you've selected the best category for your site, go directly to that category on dmoz.org and then click "suggest URL." Follow the instructions on the submission form carefully. Descriptions of sites should describe the content of the site concisely and accurately. They should not be promotional in nature. Submitting a promotional description rather than an objective, well written description may significantly delay your site from being listed or prevent your site from being listed at all. Auto-submission software is (and always has been) a violation of this procedure. Sites submitted automatically are flagged and deleted after the submission is accepted, without notification to you. Persistent automatic submission may force us to ban you from the dmoz site, so we can provide resources to real human beings.

Procedure After Your Site is Submitted

An ODP editor will review your submission to determine whether to include it in the directory. Depending on factors such as the volume of submissions to the particular category, it may take several weeks or more before your submission is reviewed. Please only submit a URL to the Open Directory once. Again, multiple submissions of the same or related sites may result in the exclusion and/or deletion of those and all affiliated sites. Disguising your submission and submitting the same URL more than once is not permitted.

Updating Your Site

If a site has been accepted for inclusion in the directory but you are dissatisfied with how the site is described or titled, you may go to the category where it is listed, and fill out the "update URL" form. If you are dissatisfied with the category in which your site is listed, you may send an e-mail to an editor for the category explaining your disagreement. Be polite and civil -- threatening or abusive behavior will not be tolerated.

If (but only if) you are dissatisfied with the editor's response, you may then use the "Feedback" link at the top of the page to "appeal" the editor's decision. Be specific concerning your disagreement (including why you believe the editor's response is inadequate). Comments made through the feedback link are reviewed by the ODP staff, who will make the final decision. Please do NOT send correspondence to Netscape, as that will only slow down and complicate the process. We take all feedback seriously and give it our thoughtful consideration. But please remember that we must exercise our discretion and make numerous judgment calls as to how to make the ODP as useful as possible -- no matter what decision we make, we may not always satisfy everyone.

Getting Your Site Into Portals and Search Engines Using ODP Data

If your site has been accepted into the Open Directory, it may take anywhere from 2 weeks to several months for your site to be listed on partner sites which use the Open Directory data, such as AOL Search, Google, Netscape Search, Yahoo Search, and hundreds of other sites. We make updates of the data available weekly, but each partner has their own update schedule.

Editorial Discretion

Please recognize that making the ODP a useful resource requires us to exercise broad editorial discretion in determining the content and structure of the directory. That discretion extends (but is not limited) to what sites to include, where in the directory sites are placed, whether and when to include more than one link to a site, when deep linking is appropriate, and the content of the title and description of the site. In addition, a site's placement in the directory is subject to change or deletion at any time at our sole discretion. You should not rely on any aspect of a site's inclusion in the directory. Please understand that an editor's exercise of discretion may not always treat all submissions equally. You may not always agree with our choices, but we hope you recognize that we do our best to make fair and reasonable decisions.

The Open Directory team welcomes comments and feedback about the directory generally. Please let us know what you think, and how we can improve the service. Thanks!

Proceed to the Open Directory home at dmoz.org - Start here to find a category to submit to.

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

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LOOKSMART - Publisher Solutions

How the LookSmart AdCenter Works for YOU

Your LookSmart AdCenter brings control and visibility to your advertising revenue like no other product in the marketplace. See why this breakthrough collaborative platform makes “competition” a thing of the past.

Multidimensional Ad Network – Capitalize on several, diverse sources of advertisers with LookSmart’s innovative and groundbreaking white label ad platform.

Industry Standard Yield-Ranked Optimizing Auction – Optimize Revenue Per Thousand Page Views (RPM) with an auction that always presents the most relevant, highest-yielding advertisements.

Distribution Marketplace – Increase your revenue and meet more demand through your 2nd party distribution partners. Your collaborative partnerships with other publishers and distribution networks allow you to offer more distribution to your advertisers and fulfill your own page inventory through backfill relationships.

Feed Optimization – Maintain ad revenue from your 3rd party feed providers. Grow that revenue by adding 1st party direct relationships and interconnecting your AdCenter with other quality publishers through 2nd party distribution relationships.

Direct Advertiser Partnerships – Ramp up revenue share by dealing directly with your advertisers. Decrease your dependency on your mainstream feed providers over time without risking your established monetization level.

Greater Margin of CPC Revenue – Know your Cost-Per-Clicks (CPCs) - which feeds will give you the best yield - and maximize the ROI of your inventory through direct relationships with advertisers and indirect relationships through other publishers.

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SEO DIRECT NEWS

How to Keep Your Best Employees

by Michael Masterson

I have often talked about how important "superstar" employees are to the success of any business. And I have encouraged you to find as many of these rare individuals as you can and groom them to take over critical aspects of your operation.

But once you've found them . . . what do you have to do to keep them?

Glad you asked.

In past messages, I've made the following points:

* Money is not the biggest motivator for most people, but it can't be ignored either. Pay your superstars at least 10% more than market, but don't overpay them in the false belief that doing so will keep them loyal.

* Without being foolhardy, give them authority. Achievement-oriented people enjoy freedom, power, prestige, and a good challenge. Give them enough rope to hang themselves but not so much that they can hang you too.

* Mix the positive and the negative. Praise your good people, yes. And praise them publicly when it's appropriate. But don't do so programmatically. And don't be afraid to criticize them either.

Most of the best leaders I know violate all of the prescribed rules about treating people. They are demanding, insensitive, critical, and sometimes overbearing. They get away with it because they are also spirited, engaging, charismatic, and determined. Superstars don't need to be coddled, manipulated, or managed. They need a challenge -- and they are willing to accept criticism for their handling of it so long as the criticism is fair.

* Most importantly, give your best people good work to do and a lot of it. The ultimate reward for a superstar is the pleasure he gets from doing a good job. Make his work interesting, complex, and difficult -- and he will stick with it.

I don't think it's necessary to make partners out of your superstars, but it sometimes helps. You have to be cautious here. My tendency in the past was to offer equity too soon, and I've often regretted doing so. The last thing you need is a partner who is no more than another pretty-good employee.

Start by giving phantom shares or profit deals. Then, as the relationship matures and your superstar brings more to the table (including loyalty and potential), add equity -- but a little at a time.

http://www.seodirect.net/tipsNov.html

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Articel by: http://widgetbucks.blogspot.com

Tip of the Day: PPC + CPM = Total Impressions

Over the last couple of weeks, we've responded to a number of publishers asking about impressions that are apparently uncounted or underrepresented. As we've dug more deeply into these inquiries and communicated with these publishers, we've discovered the issue is largely due to the fact that only PPC (pay-per-click) impressions are shown on the MyWidgets page’s default (“Widgets”) view. To get a full picture of total impressions, you will need to also look at the “CPM Ad” tab. The Widgets tab displays PPC impressions, while the CPM Ads tab shows CPM impressions. Click on the screenshot at right to see examples of the two tabs.

Starting mid next week, we've decided to improve this display by showing a roll-up of Widget/PPC and CPM impressions and revenue to complement the existing tabbed information. Additionally, impressions, revenue and other related info will be totaled at the bottom of each each tabbed page. This screenshot gives an early sneak peek of what publishers can expect to see on their MyWidgets pages when this rolls out (the red boxes show the affected areas). NOTE: the figures displayed are for mock-up purposes only.

Here is a summary of the upcoming MyWidget page updates:

• A "roll-up" view of Widget/PPC and CPM impressions and revenue, including their pie chart equivalents
• Column totals for all relevant columns in the Widgets and CPM tab views
• The default date range upon login will be set to "This Month." This eliminates the need for publishers to adjust the date range during each visit, while still giving flexibility to manually select dates.
• A "notes" feature will be added (along with a corresponding entry field in the New/Edit Widget pages). For each widget, we are providing publishers with the ability to add internal notes that won't appear on the widget itself. For instance, a publisher can note a particular ad position (i.e. "right sidebar above About Me") or any info on recent adjustments (i.e. "changed to blue 1/28/07") in order to better keep track of their changes. Site visitors will still see the main widget "Name" assigned by the publisher.

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Do you want to become a millionaire ?

Do you want to become a millionaire ?
Make Money online| Online business| become a millionaire

If you are in Vancouver or Toronto, Montreal or Calgary, Ottawa or Edmonton, Regina or Quebec and you want to make money online, where do you start?

Internet ?
Yes, but how ? What are you going to find?
How can you find an online business ?

To find a make money online business, you should know this:

-you can use any search engine and you can look for terms like "online business" or "earn money over the internet", or "online jobs". There will be a lot of programs.

-you can become a millionaire in a year if you follow simple steps like:

-- create a website (find a good hosting provider)
-- Join for an affiliate program that pays you well
-- Become an affiliate of multiple programs
-- Promote those programs on your website

When you found a good program that fits your needs you have to study first if it's real and not a scam.

Different types of online money making opportunities exists. Some of them are the same kind:

Selling other people's stuff (selling a book or a software)

This will happen like this: you will have to join to an affiliate program and promote the available merchandise to your site (Ebay is an option)

Affiliate marketing

Become an affiliate to a real store and promote their products on your website. You will get commission from the sales through your site.

Selling your own stuff

For this you will need a payment gateway and a website to publish your product

Paid survey programs

You will not need a website for this. You will receive the surveys in your e-mail and you will need time to fill those in order to receive money.

Get paid when viewing commercials

You have to subscribe a program like that and the you will need to click the links in your email and watch the page for a while, then you will get paid. You don't need a website for this.

Get paid publishing advertisements on your website

You need a website and a content and the commercials will be additional to your contend and relevant to that.

Good luck!

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How to Increase PageRank?

What is PageRank?

PageRank - an exclusive technology developed by Google which can have a major impact on the success of your website. This article will attempt to explain the concept of PageRank and how your ranking can be improved without spending any money at all.

How is PageRank beneficial?

Google refers to the technology as a way of evaluating the usefulness, importance, and quality of a website. The PR of a webpage can mean different things for different people.

For a webmaster, a high PR is a sign of accomplishment. It shows that your website is moving in the right direction and has the potential to become successful. PageRank also directly effects your Google search engine listings. Acquiring a higher PR than your competition could mean more traffic for you, and less traffic for your competitors.

Visitors to your website probably won't care about the page's rank (most surfers have no idea what PageRank is). However, visitors who understand PageRank may use your PR as a sign of how credible your content is. Would you rather use the information from a website with 0 PR or a website with 5 PR and hundreds of other websites linking to it?

How is PageRank determined?

PageRank is basically determined by backlinks. A backlink is when another page links to your page. For every page that links to you, that page is "voting" for you. The more votes you get, the better your PageRank will be.

However, it gets more complicated than that because some votes weigh more heavily than others. The weight of the vote is determined by the PageRank of the page linking to you. This means that a couple links from pages with high PR may be more beneficial than hundreds of links from pages with low PR. But it gets even more complicated - each page can only transfer so much PageRank. This means that a PR 7 page could actually give out as much weight per vote as a PR 3 page if it had too many outgoing links.

Google also uses factors totally irrelevant to backlinks to determine PageRank. An example of this is how long your domain has been registered for. It would be good to look into these factors if you want to maximize your potential PageRank, but quality backlinks are still more effective.

How can I improve my PageRank?

There are many different methods to obtain quality backlinks to your website. You will find that some methods work better than others depending on the subject and popularity of your site.

Submit to Web Directories

Submitting your website to directories is one of the best ways to increase your PageRank and even get some traffic at the same time. But submitting your site to just a few directories won't be good enough. You need to sit down and spend the necessary time to submit your site to a large amount of directories. This may seem like a painstakingly long process, but you'll be glad you did it when you notice results. I have taken the time to make a large list of free directories with high PageRank which you can get to by clicking here. Although directories with low PR may seem like a waste of time, you should submit your site to them too because it still helps and they could eventually become a high PR site which charges money to submit to.

Link Exchanges

A very common practice to improve your PageRank is a link exchange. This is simply where two people link to the other person's website. It's best that you only link exchange with someone who has at least as much PR as you and the subject of the two websites are similar. If you receive a link from a website with a subject which has nothing to do with yours, you'll find that very little if any PR will actually be transferred to you.

Forum Signatures

If you are an active user on a forum or message board, it would be wise to put a link to your website in your signature. This could help improve your PageRank if the forum has a high PR, it could help improve your traffic from the forum members seeing your signature, and your site could get spidered more often because it's linking to a forum (forums generally have a lot of new content every day and search engines love new content).

Buy Advertising

Although it isn't the best of choices, many webmasters will buy text link ads on websites with high PR. Although this can be effective, it can be very expensive and only a temporary thing. If you purchase text links for just a couple months, after the months are over you won't have the backlinks which were giving you the "votes" you needed to keep your PageRank. So you have now spent a large amount of money on text links, but in the end you're right back where you started.

Publish Web Articles

This is a method which not many people know about. Basically, you write articles about the subjects you know a lot about. You then let other people use these articles as long as they provide a link back to your site. If you wrote a quality article, you'll find many websites will want to use it, thus giving you plenty of backlinks. This method can work well with anything which you develope and give away for free such as scripts, web design, etc.

Stay On Google's Good Side

The most important thing to remember when trying to increase your PageRank is to not cheat and to always follow the rules. The people which run Google aren't fools and they have many ways of catching cheaters. Don't even think about using any of the "link farms" or trying to hide keywords on your pages. If caught, you may not get unbanned for many months.

Make A Quality Website

If you have a quality website which your visitors enjoy going to, then you will receive backlinks without having to do anything. Websites will link to you with the intention of informing people of a helpful resource, or showing off a cool new website they found, or any other reason other than trying to increase your PageRank. If you build it, backlinks will come...

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