Directory submission: what it still does for a SaaS in 2026

It means getting your product listed on the sites where people look for software. Four kinds matter for a SaaS in 2026:

A good listing does four things, and only the first depends on the link being followed. Our SEO benefits guide covers each one in detail:

It will not rank you on its own. Links are one signal among many, and Google's systems are built to discount links that exist only to pass ranking credit. In December 2022 Google said its AI-based SpamBrain system can now detect "sites used for the purpose of passing outgoing links" and neutralize the unnatural links they give, so any credit those links passed is lost.

It usually will not hurt you either. Google says that in most cases it can work out which links to trust without help, and that most sites will never need its disavow tool. The usual cost of a weak directory is the time you spent on its form.

And a higher Domain Rating is not the goal. DR is Ahrefs' metric, not Google's, and it can rise from links that do nothing for your traffic. Our guide to Domain Rating explains what it measures and what it misses.

Google's spam policies name "low-quality directory or bookmark site links" as an example of link spam, which they define as creating links to or from a site primarily to manipulate search rankings. The policy page was last updated on August 28, 2026.

The policy does not say what makes a directory low quality, so this is the test we use: a directory is worth a submission when people use it to find products and the link is a side effect of a listing someone might read. When the link is the product, walk away. A useful directory shows most of these signs:

Ten to fifteen well-chosen listings do most of the work for search, and more are worth adding only when each one reaches people who might use your product. There is no number Google rewards.

Our SEO benefits guide makes the case for ten to fifteen: the big review and alternatives sites plus two or three directories in your niche. Past that, the returns are visitors and coverage, not rankings.

If you want more reach, start from the short list in our study: 56 directories are free, dofollow and DR 70 or higher, and 127 are free, dofollow and DR 50 or higher. Our dataset currently counts 419 free directories with a followed link. Past those, pick by audience fit, not by DR.

Budget the time. By our estimate, one submission by hand takes about 12 minutes once your copy is ready, so 50 directories is about 10 hours. Spread them over a few weeks so you can answer reviews and fix listings as they go live.

Do it yourself if you have the hours and want control of every listing; pay a service if your time is worth more than the fee. Either way, nobody can promise you a listing, a followed link or a ranking, because each directory decides.

By hand, the cost is time: about 12 minutes per submission by our estimate, plus writing your copy once and keeping logins and listing URLs in one place. In return you choose every directory, every account uses your own email and you can edit each listing later.

A service sells the form-filling. Our comparison of the main services, rechecked on October 5, 2026, lays out what each one costs and delivers. We sell one too, so weigh this paragraph accordingly: as of October 2026 ours costs $49 for 50 directories, $99 for 100 or $179 for 150, one-time, and every order ends with a report of each submission and live URL. It promises no listing, link or ranking change.

Before you pay any service, ask for:

Keep one row per directory and recheck it every quarter. A tracker tells you which listings went live, which links are followed and which listings send anyone.