After launch
Are SaaS directory submissions worth it after launch?
Directory submissions can be worth testing after launch when a listing fits your audience, gives people useful product information, and has a result you can observe. Treat each directory as its own decision: check who visits it, what appears publicly, what it costs, and whether people arrive or sign up. Submission counts alone do not show that a listing was published or helped your business.
By Simple Backlinks · Updated
Are directory submissions worth it after launch?
Sometimes. A directory can give a relevant audience another way to discover your product, provide a useful profile page, or create a referral path worth measuring. It is a poor choice when the site has no clear audience, the listing would be thin or misleading, the fees do not make sense, or its main pitch is a ranking shortcut. Decide listing by listing, and include the time needed to prepare, review, and maintain each profile.
Google describes link spam as creating links primarily to manipulate rankings. Its examples include programs or services that create links and links from low-quality directories; the policy does not say every directory listing is spam. The practical question is why a listing exists and whether it is useful to people. See Google Search spam policies before treating a directory link as an SEO tactic.
Would the directory reach people who might use your SaaS?
Start with the audience, not the number of domains a directory claims to list. Ask who visits it, what categories it serves, and whether your product solves a problem those visitors have. A focused directory for a well-defined profession may be more relevant than a broad catalogue with thousands of unrelated entries, even if the broad site has a stronger-looking score in a third-party tool.
Look at the directory as a prospective customer would. Can a visitor understand what your tool does from its category page and listing template? Does the category contain products with a recognizable relationship to yours? Is the directory maintained, or does it show broken pages, old brands, duplicate entries, and descriptions that no longer match the listed products? These observations do not predict traffic, but they help you decide whether the listing has a reasonable audience fit.
Do not treat search metrics as a substitute for that judgment. A site-level authority score is not a measure of visits to a particular category page or intent to buy your product. If the directory publishes its audience or referral statistics, note where they came from and when they were reported. If it does not, mark audience size as unknown instead of filling the gap with an estimate.
- Name the specific user who might browse the category.
- Check whether the category and neighboring listings make sense for your product.
- Record audience or traffic claims with their source and date, or mark them unknown.
- Skip a listing that would confuse visitors about what your SaaS actually does.
Is there a real public listing to review?
Before submitting, check what a completed listing looks like and whether the directory makes its pages public. Some sites show a listing only after review; some keep profiles behind a login; others may display a thin profile page that offers little value to readers. Understand the likely result before spending time on forms or paying a fee.
After submission, keep the confirmation separate from publication. A receipt, email, or screenshot may show that a form was accepted. It does not prove that the directory approved the profile, that a public page exists, or that search engines will include that page in results. Google explains that links can help it discover pages, but that is not a promise that a particular page will be crawled, indexed, or ranked. Read its link best practices with that limit in mind.
When a public page does appear, record its exact URL and the date you checked it. Confirm that the page names the right product and points to the intended site. If it is missing, blocked, or still under review, record that state plainly. A later check can change the observation; it should not rewrite the original submission record.
What should you check about the link itself?
A directory profile can be useful without passing ranking credit. If a link detail matters to your decision, inspect the rendered link on the public page and record its visible destination and any rel attributes such as nofollow or sponsored. Some pages change after review, and a directory may use a redirect or a button instead of a direct link, so describe what you observed rather than guessing at its effect.
Google allows paid links for advertising or sponsorship when they are qualified with nofollow or sponsored. A fee can also be for a real service such as review or inclusion, so inspect what is being purchased and how the link is handled. Paying specifically for a link intended to manipulate ranking signals raises a different concern under Google's spam policy. Do not label a paid placement safe, unsafe, dofollow, or ranking-enhancing without evidence from the specific listing and its terms.
Prefer plain language in your own notes: 'profile published; link points to product homepage; sponsored attribute observed on 4 October.' Avoid translating one HTML attribute into a prediction about future search results. If you cannot inspect the markup, write 'link attribute not checked.'
How can you tell whether a listing brought useful visits?
Measure visits to your site from the directory, then look for the actions that matter to your business: a product signup, a demo request, a trial activation, or a purchase. Add a campaign tag to the destination URL only if the directory permits it and the tagged address still works for visitors. If tracking is unavailable, keep the source as unknown rather than crediting a later signup to the listing without evidence.
Compare the cost of the listing and the time spent preparing it with what you learned. A listing that sends a small number of qualified visitors may be useful for a narrow SaaS; a larger number of unengaged visits may not be. These are observations about your own product and period, not a general result that another founder should expect. Check that the tracking window and definition of a conversion are consistent before comparing directories.
Use Search Console for search results performance, not as the source of referral sessions from directory pages. Its Performance report measures clicks and impressions from Google Search and lets you examine queries and pages. Google's documentation also explains that page-level and property-level aggregation can differ, so keep the selected view and date range with any comparison. See the Performance report overview and data aggregation notes.
What is a fair way to compare two directories?
Use the same questions and observation window for each option. Separate facts you can inspect from estimates and outcomes you can measure. A simple scorecard prevents a domain metric or a submission count from deciding the whole question by itself. Use 'unknown' wherever you lack evidence.
| Question | Evidence to record | Decision use |
|---|---|---|
| Audience fit | Category, likely visitor, and source of any audience claim | Would the listing make sense to your intended user? |
| Public result | Listing URL, visible date, review state, and whether the page loads without sign-in | Can a customer actually view the profile? |
| Link details | Destination URL and observed rel attribute, if checked | What does the page link to, and what remains unknown? |
| Cost and effort | Fee, staff time, assets requested, and any renewal terms | Is the likely value worth the full cost? |
| Observed outcome | Referral sessions, relevant signups, and measurement window | Did this listing contribute a useful visit or action? |
| Evidence quality | Source, capture date, and gaps | Can another person reproduce the observation? |
Should a SaaS pay to be listed?
A paid option deserves the same audience and usefulness review as a free one, plus a closer look at price, renewal, review standards, and what the fee buys. Ask whether payment purchases advertising exposure, editorial review, access to a category, or a link. Read the terms before you submit, including whether a listing can be removed and how any renewal is authorized.
Do not approve a payment because a seller promises a particular ranking, a guaranteed traffic total, or a large quantity of backlinks. Those claims do not answer whether the audience fits your product. The planned Simple Backlinks service includes only free placements; no directory listing fees are paid, and orders are closed. See the planned Simple Backlinks packages for the current package details.
When should you pause or stop adding directories?
Pause when you cannot explain who the listing is for, when the directory asks for inaccurate copy, or when the page would be useful only as a place for a link. Also pause if you already have more profile maintenance than your team can keep current. A stale profile can tell visitors the wrong price, feature set, or product status.
After a small set of listings has had time to be reviewed and visited, compare the evidence. Keep listings that create a relevant public profile or measurable referrals. Update promising profiles that contain outdated information. Stop spending time on directories that repeatedly reject suitable listings, leave them invisible, or send no useful signal after a reasonable observation period. Lack of a measurable search change by itself does not prove a listing caused or failed to cause a ranking change.
What can a submission report prove?
A useful report distinguishes the submission record from later observations. A confirmed submission can be supported by a dated confirmation screenshot. A published listing needs its own public URL and check date. A live-link check records whether that page linked to your site at that time. These are separate statements, and a later page change does not erase what was observed earlier.
For the planned offer, Simple Backlinks lists 25, 50, or 100 confirmed submissions at €55.30, €83.30, or €125.30, with a 30-day submission target. Orders are currently closed. The target covers submission work; each directory controls its decision to publish. Read the evidence methodology to see how a submission record differs from a published-link check.
Use the SaaS directory listing audit worksheet to inventory profiles you already have, and return to the Simple Backlinks homepage package section for the planned package facts. The audit is often the better first step if you have existing profiles with stale descriptions, missing pages, or unclear status.
What is a sensible next step after launch?
Write down the audience you want to reach, inspect a few directories that appear to serve it, and record what you can verify before submitting anything. Start with a small, relevant set and give your analytics time to capture how people respond. Track useful visits and signups instead of reading business results from submission counts alone.
If your listings already exist, audit them before adding more. A corrected product page, working destination URL, or current screenshot can improve the visitor's experience without creating another profile to maintain. If your list is empty, compare each candidate by fit, public visibility, fee, time, link handling, and actual referrals when available.