I checked all 35 launch directories I was told to submit to. A quarter were dead, nofollow, or overstating their own DR.

TL;DR: 35 directories from the usual "where to launch" lists. Three checks before spending a cent: is it alive, does the link follow, does it still fit. Eight failed. The worst offenders guaranteed a number: one promised DR59+ and reads 54, another shows a "verified DR" badge on a DR-40 domain. Method, a curl line, and the full list is at the bottom.

Correction, 25 July: I originally reported that Findly advertised four dofollow links and shipped one. That was wrong. Their founder pointed me at the links I had missed and I verified them. The Findly, Neeed and TwelveTools rows below are corrected, and the full correction is in the comments.

Hey IH,

The usual move is blast every directory you can find, collect the backlinks, move on. So I built the list: 35 directories, the ones in every "where to launch" thread. The first one I opened had a working submit form and had not published anything since 2014. If that one was a ghost with the lights on, how many of the other 34 were the same. So I put all 35 through three checks.

1. Is it alive. Find the newest post or listing date. A submit form returning HTTP 200 is not proof anyone is home.

2. Does the link follow. A link only builds authority if it is not nofollowed. Open a listing the site already published and read the rel on the outbound link:

curl -s <listing-url> | grep -o 'rel="[^"]*"'

Three traps caught me. First, if the listing is built with JavaScript, curl and View Source both miss the link, so read it in the browser's Inspect panel instead. Second, noopener is not an SEO attribute, so "noopener nofollow" is still nofollow. If you see nofollow, sponsored, or ugc, it passes no ranking credit. It can still send traffic, just not authority. Third, and this is the one that got me: run the check on every page type your listing appears on, not just your product page. Directories routinely nofollow the links in your description and follow the logo and Visit anchors on their category and index pages. One page is not a site. Read a real published listing, never the pricing page, and if the link is a redirect, confirm it lands on your live URL.

3. Does it still fit. Sites drift. Three of them no longer fit the app I was pitching.

Two tells the list cannot hold. Neeed's FAQ says, word for word: "Submitting and listing your product is 100% free. You also get a permanent backlink to your website, which helps with SEO and domain authority." The link on a live listing is nofollow, and the followed version is tied to either displaying their badge on your site or paying for a listing. The free backlink costs you a link back.

And the community I am posting this on, Indie Hackers, nofollows its outbound links, 266 of 266 I sampled. Fine for reach, nothing for authority. Yes, including this post.

Here are the 12 worth showing. DR figures are Ahrefs, checked 2026-07-22. Findly, Neeed and TwelveTools corrected 2026-07-25.

Delivered, paid, worth it:

• BetaList: 1 dofollow on a DR-76 domain, exactly as promised

• TwelveTools: DR-81 tool-page dofollow, verified before paying

Oversold their own link:

• Findly: advertised "4 permanent dofollow," and all four are real, on the logo and Visit anchors rather than in the description. I originally reported 1 and was wrong

• Firsto: advertised "Guaranteed DR59+," reads DR 54; link nofollow

• Neeed: FAQ promises an SEO backlink; nofollow unless you add their badge or pay

• JustLaunched: shows a "verified DR" badge; DR 40, link nofollow

Drifted off-category:

• 148Apps: a mobile-game news and reviews site now

• MobileAppDaily: a B2B marketplace now, nofollow

• Setapp: discontinued Setapp Mobile in February 2026

Dead, but the form still works:

• AppSafari: newest post 2014, submit form still returns 200

• AppAdvice: announced shutdown, site no longer resolves

Pleasant surprise:

• Becoming Minimalist: roundup links dofollow, DR 77; I'd wrongly ruled it out

The four I paid, BetaList, PeerPush, TwelveTools and Findly, each gave me at least one dofollow that counts, for about 160 dollars total. All four delivered what they advertised. Worth saying that four links from one domain is still one referring domain, so Findly's four were never worth 4x regardless. The one I would buy again is BetaList.

This is one launch, not a verdict on any site, and any row can change tomorrow. I got a row wrong myself and had to fix it. Run the curl line on your own list before you spend, and run it on more than one page.

Reply with a directory and the rel you found on its live listing, and I will verify it and add the row.