Free SaaS Directories for Backlinks Before You Pay for Placement
Free SaaS directories for backlinks are the lowest-friction SEO work I would do before paying for placements. They will not rank your SaaS by themselves, but they can create the first layer of public profiles, referral paths, and relevant links.
Founder of SaaS Directories
Build the free link layer before you pay for placement
If I were starting with a fresh SaaS domain, I would not begin by buying random links. I would first build a clean base of free, relevant listings. That gives Google more branded references to crawl, gives users more ways to discover the product, and helps you understand which descriptions and categories fit. The catch is quality control. Free directories vary a lot. Some are useful, maintained, and easy to submit to.
Others are low-quality or ask for a reciprocal badge that may not be worth adding to your site. For backlinks, I would prioritize relevant directories with public pages, decent DR, and dofollow links when available. But I would still accept a strong nofollow listing if the audience is right. The goal is not guaranteed rankings. The goal is to build a credible early SEO footprint without spending money too soon.
How I would choose the first sites
- Start with free directories that fit your SaaS category.
- Prioritize public listing pages with useful DR and dofollow links when available.
- Review reciprocal-link requirements before adding anything to your own site.
- Save published URLs so you can verify links and indexing later.
Questions I would ask before submitting
- Can free SaaS directories help with backlinks?
- Yes, they can help with link diversity and discovery when the listing is relevant and public. They do not guarantee ranking gains.
- Should I include reciprocal directories?
- Only if the directory is relevant enough to justify linking back from your site. I would not add badges just to get a weak listing.
- What should I check after approval?
- Check the final URL, link attribute, page content, category, and whether the listing is visible without logging in.
25 places I would check first (see all 299 sites)
Start with this shortlist, then open each submission page and keep track of the ones that are relevant to your product.
You may also want to compare saas directories for backlinks, free saas directories, high dr saas directories, submit saas to directories.