Checklist backlinks
Every place on this list accepts free submissions and gives you a real page. No automation, no spam: you submit, which is the only way that's safe. Tick items off as you go; your progress stays in this browser.
How to work through this list
Don't do them all in one day. Two or three a week looks natural and is easier to sustain. Start with the essentials, then the directories that fit what you actually built.
The order that makes sense
- Essentials first. A Google Business Profile and a LinkedIn page take twenty minutes and are the two listings almost every business should have.
- Then the directories that match your category. A SaaS tool belongs on AlternativeTo and SaaSHub; a local service does not.
- Communities last, and only if you'll actually participate. A dead profile with a link is worth nothing and looks like what it is.
What makes a listing worth doing
Real editorial review
If anyone can submit anything and it appears instantly, the link is worth little. A queue is a good sign.
Actual visitors
The best directories send people, not just link equity. AlternativeTo and Product Hunt both do.
A page about you
A listing with your description, screenshots and a link is worth far more than a name in a list of 500.
What to avoid
- Paid “submit to 500 directories” services. Those 500 sites exist only to sell links, Google knows every one of them, and the links range from worthless to harmful.
- Anything promising automated backlinks. Automated link placement is link spam under Google's own policies. It gets the buyer penalised, not ranked.
- Exact-match keyword anchors in every listing. Use your brand name, which is what a natural profile looks like.
- Doing fifty in a weekend. A sudden spike of identical listings is a pattern, and patterns get looked at.
Questions
Do directory links still work in 2026?
Good ones do. A listing on a directory people actually use sends visitors and a trusted link. Bulk link farms have been worthless for over a decade.
Why don't you check whether I'm already listed?
Because we can't do it reliably. Directory search pages echo your query back into their own markup and most render results in JavaScript, so any automatic answer would be wrong often enough to mislead you. The search link lets you check in one click instead.
Where is my progress saved?
In your browser only. Nothing is sent to us, which also means it won't follow you to another device.
How long until these help my rankings?
Weeks to months. Directory links are a floor, not a strategy. The links that move rankings usually come from people writing about you, which is what the broken link finder and good content are for.