The short answer
Launch on Product Hunt for the traffic spike, but do not stop there: its links are nofollow, so the SEO value is zero. The compounding wins are the platforms below it. Smaller spikes, but dofollow links from DR 60–82 domains that keep working after launch week ends.
DR is Ahrefs-scale. Traffic is monthly estimate. Verified August 2026.
How to sequence a launch
Week 1 : the spike Product Hunt, Peerlist, Indie Hackers
Product Hunt is still the biggest single day of traffic available to a new product. Just know what you are buying: attention, not SEO. Its outbound links are nofollow. Peerlist launchpad gives you a second, smaller audience the same week and an Indie Hackers post puts you in front of people who actually buy tools.
Week 2 : the compounding links Fazier, SaaSHub, AlternativeTo, StackShare, TinyLaunch
These are the quiet winners. All free, all dofollow, all DR 72–82. AlternativeTo and SaaSHub also do something no launch spike does: they rank for “[your competitor] alternatives” searches for years, putting your product in front of buyers mid-decision. One note: Fazier keeps your listing only while your site shows their badge. A real trade, decide deliberately.
Week 3 : the paid slots, if the numbers make sense Uneed, BetaList, MicroLaunch, Dev Hunt
A $29–$49 one-time fee for a dofollow link from a DR 62–76 domain with real traffic is cheaper than almost any outreach campaign will get you. BetaList in particular has an audience of early-adopter subscribers that predates Product Hunt. Dev Hunt is the pick when your buyer is a developer.
What most founders get wrong
- Treating launch day as the strategy. The spike decays in 72 hours; the dofollow links above compound for years. Sequence both.
- Counting nofollow links as SEO. Product Hunt and Peerlist send visitors, not authority. Track them as traffic, never as links.
- Ignoring badge requirements. Several platforms remove your listing if you remove their badge. It is a fair trade, but it is a trade.
- Stopping at 15. These are the launch-shaped doors. The full list of 112 verified AI & startup directories is free, filterable and has no email wall.
Launching tells people you exist. found tells you what happened next.
Run a free scan and see who the AI assistants recommend for your category, where your SEO actually stands and which of these doors is worth your week : measured, not guessed.
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