Which launch directories are still worth it after DR4

Ahrefs’ new model weights links from sites that get organic search traffic, scores subdomains separately, cuts the scores of domains it labels spam, and rates about half as many sites as before (Ahrefs’ announcement). Directories are exposed to all four: they link out a lot, many get little search traffic of their own, and some run on platform subdomains.

The clearest numbers so far come from SaaSCity, which ran 2,405 directories through Ahrefs’ free API with both DR3 and DR4 on 5 November 2026 (the study). SaaSCity is itself a directory that sells paid listings and a submission service, which its author discloses in the post, so read the findings with that in mind. Among them:

• Across all 2,405 directories, the median change was only 2 points down.
• A curated set of 123 launch directories fell from a median DR of 61 to 32, and only 18 of them held or gained.
• Directories flagged as giving links in exchange for a badge, with a DR3 of 30 or more, lost a median of 31 points. The rest lost 3.
• Directories hosted on platform subdomains all fell sharply, because they no longer borrow the platform’s score.
• Software review sites and communities held steady or rose slightly.

The author points out that the free API returns only a score, not a link profile, so the reasons behind each drop are inference. The list also isn’t a random sample of the web.

DR was always a stand-in. What you actually want from a directory is some combination of three things: people who see your product, a page that can be found in search, and a link that search engines can follow. A directory with a high DR and none of those does nothing for you. A small directory in your niche with a real audience can be worth more than ten large ones.

DR4 moves the score closer to that, because it now leans on search traffic. But it’s still one company’s estimate, and Google doesn’t use it. Check the things below directly.

Does it have real visitors?

Open the most recent listings. Do they have votes, comments or reviews from people who aren’t the makers? Is there a newsletter or community with visible activity? If every listing has zero engagement, nobody is browsing, and the only value left is the link.

Do its pages rank for anything?

Search Google for the kind of thing you make, plus words like “tools” or “alternatives”, and see whether the directory’s pages ever appear. Then search site: followed by the directory’s domain and a recent product name to see whether listing pages are indexed at all. A listing page that isn’t indexed passes no value, however strong the homepage is. The indexability checker shows whether a listing page is blocked from search.

What kind of link does it give?

Pick a live listing and run it through the backlink checker. You’ll see whether the link to the product is followed, or marked nofollow, sponsored or ugc, and whether it’s in the HTML or added later by JavaScript. Nofollow links still bring visitors and are fine to have. Just know which kind you’re getting, and be wary of a directory that promises one and delivers the other.

What does it ask in return?

Many directories make the link followed only if you put their badge on your site. That is a link exchange (IndieTide used to work this way and dropped it after DR4; its link no longer depends on a badge). Google’s spam policies list excessive link exchanges among link spam (source), and in SaaSCity’s study badge-exchange directories lost a median of 31 points. One badge from a site you’d happily show off is a reasonable trade. Twenty badges in your footer from directories nobody visits is not.

Which host is the listing on?

Some directories live on a subdomain of a platform such as Notion, Gumroad or GitHub Pages. Under DR4, a subdomain is scored on its own, so the platform’s high DR no longer applies. Look up the exact host with the DR checker, and remember that your listing may sit on yet another page or subdomain.

Are you being sold a followed link?

Google’s spam policies describe buying or selling links for ranking purposes, including exchanging money for links, as link spam (source). Google asks for paid placements to be marked rel="sponsored" (source). So a directory that sells a “dofollow upgrade” is selling exactly what the policy describes, and it puts both sites at risk.

Paying for visibility is different. A featured slot, a newsletter mention or an ad with a sponsored or nofollow link is a normal purchase, and you can judge it like any ad: by the visitors it sends.

Is the listing a real page?

A good listing has its own page with your name, description, screenshots and link. One line on a page of hundreds of links is the low-quality directory link Google’s policies warn about, and nobody reads it.

Before you submit anywhere, and before you pay anything:

1. Open three recent listings. Look for engagement from real people.
2. Run one listing through the backlink checker. Note the rel attribute.
3. Check that the listing page is indexable, and search for it.
4. Look up the exact host’s DR4, if you track DR at all.
5. Read what they ask in return: a badge, a payment, a reciprocal link.
6. Decide whether you’d be glad to be seen there by a potential customer.

If a directory passes on audience and the listing is a real page, it’s worth your time even with a nofollow link. If it fails on both, skip it, whatever its DR.

• Places your users already go. Communities, forums and newsletters in your niche, where a launch post can start real conversations.
• Launch boards with an active audience. Where recent launches get comments and votes from people who aren’t the makers.
• Review and comparison sites in your category. People use them when they’re ready to choose, and in SaaSCity’s study they held their DR.
• Directories that rank. If a directory’s category pages show up when people search for your kind of product, a listing there can send visitors for years.

Our list of launch directories is a starting point. Run the same checks on every entry, IndieTide included.