Startup Directory Submissions

What is a startup directory submission?

A startup directory submission is adding your product to websites that list new startups, software tools or apps, so people browsing those lists find you. A listing is a small profile page: name, one-liner, description, screenshots, category and a link to your site.

There are hundreds of these sites, and they fall into two very different groups. A few bring real visitors who are looking for a tool like yours right now. Most bring nothing except a backlink, a link from their site to yours that search engines count as a small vote of trust. Both have some use. The trick is knowing which is which before you spend a whole weekend filling in forms.

When should you use it?

• Good fit: SaaS products, apps, AI tools, browser extensions, templates and digital products, especially ones people search for by category (“invoice app for freelancers”, “alternative to Trello”).
• Timing: right after your product is usable by strangers, around your launch week, so the listings start working while you’re also posting elsewhere.
• Less useful for local services, physical products and consulting, where Google Business Profile and local directories matter far more.
• Skip it if your site has no sign-up or contact path yet. A listing that sends visitors to a dead end teaches you nothing.

How do you do it, step by step?

1. Write one master listing first. In a Google Doc, prepare everything once: product name, a one-liner of 60 characters, a short description of about 300 characters, a long description of about 700 characters, 5 screenshots, a square logo, your pricing in one line, 3 to 5 category words and your founder bio. Every directory asks for some mix of these, and copy-pasting from one source keeps your message the same everywhere.

2. Sort directories into three tiers. Start from a list instead of searching from scratch: the Fe/male Switch list of startup directories and SaaSHub’s free submission list both collect hundreds. Then sort:

   • Tier 1, user senders: sites where people come to choose a tool. “Alternative to” sites like AlternativeTo and SaaSHub are the clearest example: visitors arrive from a search like “alternative to Toggl” and are ready to try something.
   • Tier 2, niche lists: directories for your exact category, such as AI tools, no-code tools, remote-work tools or tools for designers. Smaller audiences, but the right ones.
   • Tier 3, link-only: generic “submit your startup” sites with little traffic of their own. Useful for a few backlinks, useless for users.

3. Check each site in 2 minutes before submitting. Open its newest listings. Are they recent? Do listings have comments, ratings or view counts? Search Google for the site’s name plus a category word: does it show up? If a directory looks abandoned or full of casino and pill spam, skip it. A link from a spam site can do more harm than good.

4. Tag every link. Add UTM parameters (labels at the end of a URL that tell your analytics where a visitor came from). Google Analytics’ help page on URL campaign parameters says to always set three: utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. Say: yoursite.com/?utm_source=alternativeto&utm_medium=directory&utm_campaign=launch. Some directories reject tracking links; use the plain URL there and note it in your sheet.

5. Submit in batches with a time limit. Do all tier 1 sites first, then tier 2, then at most 10 tier 3 sites. Set a timer of 4 to 6 hours in total. On AlternativeTo, you sign in and use “Suggest new application”; new entries go through a review queue before they appear. Also add your product as an alternative on the pages of the 2 or 3 best-known tools you compete with, because that’s where searchers land.

6. Log everything in one sheet. Columns: directory, tier, URL of your listing, date submitted, date live, tracking link used, visits after 30 days, sign-ups after 30 days, paid or free. You’ll fill the last columns later.

7. Ignore paid packages at first. Plenty of directories offer “featured” spots, and some services sell “submission to 500 directories” bundles. Wait until your free listings show which sites send users. Then, at most, pay for one featured spot on your best performer and measure it the same way.

What does a worked example look like?

Say Ines built a time-tracking app for freelance illustrators that turns tracked hours into a client-ready invoice. She has 60 users from an illustrators’ Discord.

She writes her master listing in 90 minutes. Tier 1: AlternativeTo and SaaSHub, where she lists the app and adds it as an alternative to two well-known time trackers. Tier 2: four directories for freelancer tools and creative tools. Tier 3: eight generic startup lists. Total time: 5 hours.

After 30 days her sheet tells a clear story. AlternativeTo sent 210 visits and 34 sign-ups, mostly from the page of a big competitor. One freelancer-tools directory sent 40 visits and 9 sign-ups. The eight generic sites together sent 12 visits and zero sign-ups. Next quarter, she spends her time writing comparison pages for her own site instead of submitting to more generic lists.

Which free tools help?

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Submitting everywhere. 200 listings on dead sites cost you days and bring nothing. Twenty well-chosen ones beat them.
• Different descriptions on every site. You lose track of what you said, and your message gets blurry. Keep one master listing.
• No tracking. Without UTM tags you’ll never know which directory brought your best users.
• Buying bulk submission packages. They land you on low-quality lists, and some of those links come from spam sites.
• Forgetting to update. When your pricing or screenshots change, outdated listings confuse people. Put a reminder in your calendar every 3 months.

How do you know it worked?

Check your sheet 30 days after the last submission. Our rule of thumb: a directory that sent 10 or more visits and at least 1 sign-up in 30 days is worth keeping updated; one with zero visits gets no more of your time. Also check Google Search Console for new links pointing to your site.

Go: at least 2 directories sent sign-ups from your target customers. No-go: almost nothing from all of them. That tells you people don’t search for your category by name, so put your effort into communities, content or direct outreach.

What should you do next?

If the “alternative to” sites worked, write your own comparison pages as part of an SEO content plan. Pair your listings with a BetaList submission or a Product Hunt launch to get a bigger spike in one week. To see where directory visitors drop off, set up conversion funnel tracking. And if you’d like help choosing launch channels for your idea, the Fe/male Switch startup game gives you an AI co-founder to work it through with.

FAQ

Are startup directory backlinks good for SEO?

A handful of links from real, active directories help a new site a little. Links from spam directories add nothing and can look bad, so quality matters far more than count.

How many startup directories should I submit to?

Our rule of thumb is 15 to 25 well-chosen ones: every tier 1 site that fits, the best niche lists for your category and a few general ones. Track them and drop the ones that send nobody.

Should I pay for a featured directory listing?

Only after a free listing on that site has already sent you sign-ups. Then a featured spot is a small, measurable test instead of a guess.

Updated 26 October 2026 · Written by the Fe/male Switch team

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