Which launch directories actually sent you users, not just a backlink?
I'm building IndieNeed, a free launch board for indie makers, so I'm biased on this topic. Saying that up front.
Most "where to launch" lists run to 100+ directories. My guess is that only a handful send real visitors, and the rest give you a backlink and a listing nobody opens.
If you launched something in the last year, I'd love to hear:
- Which directory or launch site sent actual signups, not just a traffic spike?
- Which ones were a waste of time?
- Did you submit everywhere on one day or spread it out?
I'll share what I learn from the replies in a follow-up post.
If you're launching soon and want one more free listing, you can submit here: https://indieneed.com/submit?utm_source=indiehackers&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=20260927-directories&utm_content=ih-indie_hackers-002
I can't add a signup number, but here's a second filter for the "waste of time" column that doesn't depend on traffic: can an AI answer quote the listing?
In the brand-name thread here this week, the IvaBot founder said all three sources ChatGPT cited for a direct question about her product were directories. If that holds more widely, a listing with zero clicks can still be doing work. Three quick checks per directory:
A directory that fails 1 probably won't be cited by that engine; failing 2 is a yellow flag, not a verdict. It'd be useful to see those columns next to the signup data in your follow-up.
founder of peeka here (ios beta, fridge photo to recipes you can cook), so one small data point. we did betabound, launching next and uneed in the same week, all free, and honestly i can't tell you which one sent anyone because a testflight public link gives you zero attribution. betabound was the only one that felt human, someone actually emailed back and wrote the listing up. if you want makers like me to bother, a click count on my own listing that i can see would get me to submit way faster than a dofollow link
Worth separating the two jobs in your question, because directories are an SEO play and almost never an acquisition one — the honest test isn't "did it send visitors on launch day" but "does that listing page rank for anything six months later," and for most of them it doesn't.
Can't give you signup numbers, but one pattern worth separating in your follow-up: general launch boards vs niche catalogs tied to a platform. Niche ones send fewer visitors, but they're people already using that platform. Disclosure since I'm answering in the same spirit: I help curate shipwithmuse.live, a free catalog for anything built with Meta's Muse. It only takes builds with a public source that actually use Muse, and approved ones get featured at the top of the homepage: https://shipwithmuse.live/submit
Appreciate the upfront disclosure. My experience: the directories that sent actual signups were niche ones where the audience matched the product, not the big lists. Spreading submissions over a few weeks also helped, because each spike could be tied to a source. The other thing that mattered more than the directory was having one clear action on the landing page for that traffic; a lot of launch visitors bounce because the next step isn't obvious.
Worth separating the two jobs in your question, because directories are an SEO play and almost never an acquisition one — the honest test isn't "did it send visitors on launch day" but "does that listing page rank for anything six months later," and for most of them it doesn't.
Honest answer from someone with bad numbers: none of them sent users. We listed on roughly 30 directories over the past month. DA went from nothing to 3, referring domains went to 10 and they are all spam. Traffic is four visits a month.
Product Hunt sent the most real engagement but not through the listing page itself. The comments section is where the conversations happen. We have posted over 360 comments across PH and IH and gotten 31 genuine replies, some of which turned into multi-turn technical discussions. That is where the actual discovery comes from, not the directory entry.
The backlink-vs-user distinction you are making is the right one. Most directories are DA farms for the directory, not distribution for the product. The few that work tend to have active communities attached, not just a submit form. If nobody is browsing the directory looking for tools, the listing is just an SEO artifact.