6 min read
Directory submissions in 2026: what still works
Directory submissions won't rank you alone. Done right, they bring foundation links, brand citations and discovery. How to pick, how many, what to avoid.
Blog
Notes on launching, ranking and getting cited by AI
What we learned growing our own product with SEO: the wins, the mistakes, and what Google actually says. Written by founders, for founders.
6 min read
How to measure AI visibility without paid tools
A manual method to track whether ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI features mention and cite you: a prompt set, a scoring sheet, and free official data.
6 min read
How to get your startup cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity
What OpenAI, Perplexity and Microsoft actually document about how AI search finds and cites sources, and the steps a startup can take on each point.
5 min read
Is backlink exchange safe? What Google's spam policies say
Google's spam policies call excessive link exchanges and automated link programs link spam. What that means for exchange networks, badges and safe options.
6 min read
robots.txt, llms.txt and AI crawlers: a practical setup
Which AI crawlers train models, which power AI search, and which fetch pages for users. A robots.txt setup for each choice, with each vendor's own docs.
5 min read
What is llms.txt, and do you need one?
llms.txt is a markdown file that summarizes your site for AI agents. What the spec says, who reads it, what Google says, and whether it's worth an hour.
7 min read
AI Overviews and AI Mode: what founders should change
What Google's own docs say about ranking in AI Overviews and AI Mode: how they pick links, what to ignore, the new opt-out control, and how to measure it.
6 min read
Product Hunt alternatives in 2026: where to launch
A factual roundup of 11 places to launch in 2026: cadence, free vs paid, what it takes to get a followed link, and how to mix them. One of them is ours.
6 min read
SEO agency, tool or DIY? How founders should choose
How to choose between DIY SEO, an SEO tool or an agency, by stage, budget and time. We sell two of these, so we also say when not to buy anything.
6 min read
We published 2,500 posts in a month. Google throttled us.
We shipped about 2,500 posts to Versely in one month. Google crawled them and left many out of the index. What happened, and the ~20/day pace we use now.
5 min read
Launch on several platforms without burning your audience
Launching on several Product Hunt alternatives means asking the same people for help again and again. How to plan launches so supporters don't tune out.
6 min read
Launch week checklist: what to do, day by day
A day-by-day launch week checklist: prep from day −7, what to do on launch day, and the follow-up that turns a spike into links and search traffic.
5 min read
Dofollow vs nofollow in 2026: what a link is actually worth
Since 2020, Google treats nofollow, ugc and sponsored as hints, not rules. What that means for a link's value, and how to judge a link beyond its rel tag.
6 min read
Title tags that get clicked: what we learned rewriting them
Rewriting titles on pages already ranking on page 1–2 was our biggest SEO win on Versely. How we pick pages, the rules we write to, and how we measure.
6 min read
Programmatic SEO without getting deindexed
How to build programmatic SEO pages Google will index: real data per page, a quality bar per family, noindex below it, and a pace your domain can absorb.
6 min read
How to write a directory listing that gets approved
What directory reviewers check, and how to write a tagline, description, category and screenshots that get approved and then clicked. With a listing kit.
6 min read
Internal linking for small sites: a simple system
A four-rule internal linking system for sites under a few hundred pages: hubs, three links per page, descriptive anchors, and a monthly orphan check.
6 min read
Search Console for founders: the 5 reports that matter
Google Search Console has dozens of screens. Founders need five: Performance, Page indexing, URL Inspection, Sitemaps and Links. What each tells you.
6 min read
The 90-day SEO plan for a brand-new domain
A week-by-week SEO plan for a new domain: technical base in weeks 1–2, first links and core pages by week 6, then a Search Console loop to day 90.
6 min read
The $0 SEO tool stack for a new startup
Every tool a founder needs for SEO on a $0 budget: Google and Bing's free consoles, test tools, and free checkers for titles, crawlers and sitemaps.