The latest articles on DEV Community by Sourabh Singh (@sourabh_singh_22b23dfcc37). https://dev.to/sourabh_singh_22b23dfcc37 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4139867%2F13048bb4-a473-4326-a646-b2601f23d7c5.png https://dev.to/sourabh_singh_22b23dfcc37 en Sourabh Singh Wed, 23 Sep 2026 17:03:04 +0000 https://dev.to/sourabh_singh_22b23dfcc37/i-checked-which-startup-launch-directories-actually-give-dofollow-links-1f69 https://dev.to/sourabh_singh_22b23dfcc37/i-checked-which-startup-launch-directories-actually-give-dofollow-links-1f69 <p>Every indie hacker hits the same wall after shipping: you submit to 30 launch directories, and three months later your Domain Rating hasn't moved.</p> <p>The reason is usually boring. Most of those links are <strong>nofollow</strong>, sit on DR 10 sites, or disappear when the listing expires.</p> <p>So I ran a backlink crawl on several popular launch platforms and looked at which ones actually pass <strong>dofollow</strong> links. Here's what I found.</p> <h2> What actually moves Domain Rating </h2> <p>Three things matter far more than the number of submissions:</p> <ol> <li> <strong>Dofollow.</strong> Nofollow and most <code>ugc</code> links pass little or nothing.</li> <li> <strong>Authority of the linking site.</strong> One DR 70 link beats fifty DR 5 links.</li> <li> <strong>Permanence.</strong> A link that lives on a product page for years beats a homepage slot that rotates out in 24 hours.</li> </ol> <h2> Launch platforms with dofollow links (verified in a crawl) </h2> <p>At the time of writing, these platforms showed live dofollow links to listed products:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>PeerPush</strong>: product pages with a "Visit site" link</li> <li> <strong>Startup Fast</strong>: permanent project pages</li> <li> <strong>DeepLaunch</strong>: product listing pages</li> <li> <strong>Days Launch</strong>: tag and category pages</li> <li> <strong>ShipBoost</strong>: badge-based listings</li> <li> <strong>dofollow.tools</strong>: the name says it all</li> <li> <strong>SaaSHub</strong>: alternatives pages</li> <li> <strong>SideProjectors</strong>: project pages with a live demo URL</li> <li> <strong>DevHunt</strong>: dev tool launches and maker profiles</li> </ul> <p>Always double-check yourself: right-click the link on your listing → Inspect → look for <code>rel="nofollow"</code>. Policies change.</p> <h2> Launch boards that don't rank on upvotes </h2> <p>The other problem with most launch platforms is that ranking comes down to upvotes, and upvotes reward whoever has the biggest audience on launch day.</p> <p>Full disclosure: I'm building <a href="https://rankcert.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">RankCert</a> to try a different model. Products are ranked on <strong>verified domain control</strong> insteadof votes, every position cites the evidence behind it, and the check is re-run weekly. Listing, verification and the dofollow link are free. You can see how it works on the <a href="https://rankcert.com/leaderboard" rel="noopener noreferrer">weekly leaderboard</a>.</p> <h2> A launch checklist that actually compounds </h2> <ul> <li>Spread launches over 4–6 weeks instead of one big day</li> <li>Prioritize dofollow + DR 50+ platforms first</li> <li>Write one real post (like this one) per platform that allows articles</li> <li>Add "featured on" badges to your footer, which many directories require for dofollow</li> <li>Keep a spreadsheet: platform, date, link URL, dofollow yes/no</li> </ul> <p>If you want a longer list to work through, I keep a <a href="https://rankcert.com/directories" rel="noopener noreferrer">list of startup launch directories</a>, and there are ~50 <a href="https://rankcert.com/tools" rel="noopener noreferrer">freeSEO tools</a> for checking your site before launch day.</p> <p>What platforms have actually moved your DR? Drop them in the comments and I'll add them to the list.</p> startup webdev seo marketing