How the fit score works
For every active directory in our directory database, the model answers one question: how well does this product fit this directory? It reads your description, the audience and product type if you gave them, and our notes on the directory: its category, what it lists and who it’s for.
The answer is a position on a four-step scale: wrong audience, weak fit, good fit, ideal fit. The model gives a probability for each step, and the fit score is the weighted position, from 0 (certainly the wrong audience) to 100 (certainly an ideal fit). We label 75 and up as ideal fit, 50 to 74 as good fit and 25 to 49 as weak fit. Below 25, the directory is for someone else.
The scores are only as specific as what you type. “A tool for teams” fits everything a little. “A Chrome extension that saves LinkedIn profiles to HubSpot, for B2B sales reps” puts the right directories on top.
How to work through the list
- Start with ideal fit, free and dofollow. Turn on “Free to list” and “Dofollow only”. These cost nothing, reach the right readers and give you a followed link if you’re accepted.
- Then the good fits. General startup lists and launch sites usually land here. They take any product, so they’re worth doing, but their readers are less targeted.
- Decide on paid listings last. Before paying, open the directory’s page, look at its popularity and link type, and ask whether its readers would buy from you.
- Check each directory before you submit. Rules change. The link on each name opens our notes for that directory, with tips and the date we last checked it.
- Keep a log. Download the CSV, add a column for status and live URL, and work in batches of 10 to 15. Many directories review by hand and take days or weeks.
Prepare your copy once
Most directories ask for the same things. Write them once and paste them in, adjusting the category each time:
- Product name, URL and a one-line tagline under 60 characters
- A short description (one or two sentences) and a longer one (two or three paragraphs). The product description generator can draft both.
- A square logo (PNG, at least 256 px) and two or three screenshots at 1270×760 or larger
- Pricing in plain words (free plan, trial, price per month), and your category and tags
- A contact email you read, and your X or LinkedIn handle if the form asks
The launch checklist covers the rest of launch week.
What the link types mean
- Dofollow: the listing links to you with a normal link, which search engines can count as a vote for your site.
- Nofollow, UGC or sponsored: the link carries a rel attribute that asks search engines not to count it as an endorsement. It still sends visitors and helps search engines find your site.
- Mixed: some listing links are followed and some aren’t, often depending on a paid tier.
- Unverified: we couldn’t see a live listing to check. Look at one yourself before you count on the link.
A note on Domain Rating
Where we have one, the list shows the directory’s Domain Rating by Ahrefs. DR describes the links to the whole directory site, not your listing page. A listing buried on page 40 of a category passes on far less than the homepage number suggests, and many high-DR directories use nofollow links. Use DR to spot very weak sites, and fit and link type to decide. The DR checker looks up any site.
Rather not do it by hand?
Filling in dozens of forms by hand takes hours. Our directory submission service does it for you: a person picks 30+ directories that fit your niche, fills in every form and sends you a report with each live link. From $49, one-time. We guarantee submission, not acceptance.