# Directory & Marketplace Discoverability

Where discoverability happens *outside* search engines. Directories give you backlinks, third-party brand mentions (which AI engines weight), and direct discovery from people browsing the directory.

## Directory categories

### Launch / discovery (one-time, high-burst)

| Directory | Audience | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Product Hunt** | Tech-aware consumers + builders | Tuesday/Wednesday launches highest engagement. Plan a 2-week comms runway. |
| **BetaList** | Early adopters | Pre-launch traffic |
| **Hacker News (Show HN)** | Developers | Earnest Show HN posts can drive massive traffic. No marketing speak. |
| **Indie Hackers** | Indie founders | Community + directory |
| **Reddit (relevant subs)** | Niche audiences | Adhere strictly to community rules; never spam |

### Evergreen review sites (ongoing presence)

| Directory | Audience | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **G2** | B2B SaaS buyers | Reviews drive enterprise purchase decisions |
| **Capterra / GetApp / SoftwareAdvice** | SMB + mid-market | Same Gartner-owned ecosystem |
| **TrustRadius** | Enterprise | Long-form reviews, thorough |
| **AlternativeTo** | Anyone researching alternatives | Cross-references competitors |
| **SaaSHub** | SaaS-focused | Mid-traffic |

### AI-specific (newer)

| Directory | Audience | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **There's An AI For That (TAAFT)** | Anyone searching AI tools | High traffic, low submission cost |
| **Futurepedia** | AI tool researchers | Curated list; gets quoted in articles |
| **Future Tools** | Same | Different curator, similar audience |
| **AI Library** | Same | Newer, growing |

### Developer-specific

| Directory | Audience | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **GitHub topics** | Developers searching repos | Add 5–10 relevant topics to your repo |
| **GitHub trending** | Devs browsing what's new | Hard to get on; aggregated by stars/day |
| **npm / PyPI / Crates** | Package consumers | Keywords + good README |
| **Awesome lists** | Curated topic indices | PR to relevant `awesome-*` repos with your project |
| **MCP registry** (modelcontextprotocol.io) | AI/agent builders | List MCP servers |
| **Claude / Cursor / Codex marketplaces** | AI-tool users | List plugins/extensions |
| **VSCode marketplace** | VSCode users | If you ship an extension |

### Industry-specific

Find the directory or aggregator for your vertical:
- DevOps tools → DevOps tooling directories
- Marketing tools → MarTech maps
- Design tools → Designer-focused review sites

## Submission strategy

- **Same week as launch**: submit to all relevant directories within 2 weeks of launch — coordinated burst maximizes momentum.
- **Quality over quantity**: 10 relevant directories beat 100 spam directories.
- **Track submissions**: spreadsheet with directory name, submission date, URL, status, traffic source if measurable.
- **Optimize listings differently**: each directory has different conventions — read top listings before writing yours.

## What makes a good directory listing

- **Distinct positioning per directory** — don't paste the same description everywhere. Tailor to the audience.
- **Specific outcome** — "Track 50+ metrics in real-time" beats "Powerful analytics platform."
- **Visual** — screenshot or video; absence of media is a signal of low quality.
- **Honest pricing** — directories that show pricing get higher click-through; "contact sales" gets skipped.
- **Reviews + ratings** — actively ask happy users to leave reviews on G2/Capterra after the moment of value.

## Backlink consideration

Most directories give nofollow links — they don't pass SEO authority directly. But:
- They drive **referral traffic** (people clicking from the directory).
- They contribute to **brand mentions** (AI engines pick up on brand frequency).
- They surface in **comparison searches** ("[Product] alternative" Reddit/HN threads link to directory listings).
- Some directories give dofollow (G2, Capterra often do).

## Maintaining listings

- Check listings quarterly for accuracy (pricing, features, screenshots).
- Update descriptions when major releases ship.
- Respond to reviews on G2/Capterra/TrustRadius — non-response signals neglect.

## What not to do

- **Mass auto-submit to 500 directories** — most are SEO spam farms; backlinks from spam can hurt.
- **Pay for fake reviews** — both directories and AI engines detect this.
- **Identical listings everywhere** — looks templated, signals low effort.
- **Launch on PH without runway** — silent launches die quickly.