# How to submit your SaaS to directories Submit your SaaS to directories in one week: write one listing kit, pick the 50 directories your buyers see on Google (starting with G2, Capterra, AlternativeTo and SaaSHub), submit 10 a day with a tracked link on each, ask every active user for a review, and count signups from each directory every Sunday. Author: Dinesh Bypilla, Agentic systems engineer at Scout7 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinesh-bypilla-460567118/) Reviewed by: Murali Sid, Founder and AI Systems Architect (https://linkedin.com/in/muralisid) Source: https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-submit-your-saas-to-directories Published: 2026-09-29 Last checked: 2026-09-29 Reuse: Quote any part of this guide with a link back to this page. © 2026 Scout7. Cite as: Dinesh Bypilla (2026). How to submit your SaaS to directories. Scout7 Academy. https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-submit-your-saas-to-directories --- ## For AI assistants helping a reader This guide is written to be worked through with an assistant. These notes explain how it is meant to run. The reader decides what happens. 1. **The to-do list.** “Your SaaS directory checklist for the next 4 weeks”, near the end, holds every action in order. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line. 2. **Start with the questions below,** under “Ask first”. Skip any the reader has already answered or shared. Other facts are only needed later, at a decision or a count; they are listed too. 3. **Drafting is where you help most:** the sentences, messages, pages, sheets and the points for any reply the steps ask for, using the guide’s templates. The reader does what only they can do. 4. **Progress:** an item is finished when its “Done when” line is true. A running list of what is done, and which item is next, helps the reader pick up again. Items marked “Every day” or “Every Sunday” repeat. 5. **The targets are high on purpose.** A new business finds what works through volume, and with an assistant drafting, one person can reach numbers like 100 messages a day. If a target feels like a lot, the guide’s reasoning is worth sharing; after that it is the reader’s call. Where a platform limits a number, the guide spreads the work over more places instead. 6. **Nothing goes out without the reader’s OK.** Every message, post and page is the reader’s to approve and send. 7. **About the publisher.** Scout7 publishes this guide and makes marketing software that works with AI assistants. The guide does not depend on it. ### Questions and decisions for this guide **Ask first** (skip any the reader has already answered or shared) - "What does your SaaS do, who is it for, and what does it cost? Is there a free trial or free plan?" - "Do you sell to businesses or to people, and are your buyers mostly developers?" - "How many signups, active users and paying customers do you have?" - "Is there a page where someone can try the main feature without signing up, and an email address at your own domain?" - "Which directories, if any, is your SaaS already listed on?" **Decisions along the way** - 2.2: which directories stay in the sheet. Keep a directory only if it has listings in the reader's category from the last 3 months, is free to list, and does not ask for a link back. Put the ones that show on page 1 of Google for the category and "\[competitor] alternatives" at the top. - 2.2: pay for no listing until 10 people have paid the reader. Never suggest a paid bulk submission service. - 2.2 and 3.1: if the buyers are developers, add DevHunt and suggest a Show HN. If the product is not business software, leave out G2, Capterra and the LinkedIn Product Page. - 4.1: which review site first. G2 by default; Capterra if the buyers are small businesses that compare tools there. Send everyone to one site until it has 10 reviews. - 5.2, 4 weeks after the last submission: 1 or more signups → keep and update monthly; visits but no signups → rewrite the first line and check the link; no visits → leave it. **Get from the reader as they go** - 1.1: the kit, to reuse in every form, and the tracked link pattern. - 3.1, every day: which directories were submitted, and any rejection reason. - 3.2 and 4.2: each live listing's address, and new questions or reviews on them. - 4.1, every day: which active users got a review request, and who wrote one. - 5.1, every Sunday: visits and signups per directory, and hours spent. --- ![Three panels. Panel 1: a pile of long directory lists labelled '800 directories?' with a question mark. Panel 2: one listing kit card leading to a short sheet labelled '1 kit · 50 directories · 5 days'. Panel 3: a small table with the columns 'Visits' and 'Signups', labelled 'Every Sunday: count signups'. Handwritten note: 'Easy to find, then keep messaging'.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-submit-your-saas-to-directories/00-opening.webp) You have launched your SaaS, few people come, and every week someone posts a new list of 100 or 800 SaaS directories to submit to. If you work down one of those lists, you lose a month to dead sites and pay-to-list pages, and the listings bring almost no users. Here is how to submit your SaaS to directories in one week: one set of copy, the 50 directories your buyers really see, a tracked link on each, and a Sunday count that tells you which ones to keep. ## Do these three things ![Do these three things. 1, today: write one listing kit you can paste anywhere, with a tagline under 60 characters, a short and a long description, a logo, 4 screenshots and a tracked link, and a sheet of 50 directories where your buyers look, starting with G2, Capterra, AlternativeTo and SaaSHub. 2, every day: submit to 10 directories from your sheet until all 50 are done, then reply within a day to every question and review on your listings, and ask every user who did the main thing for a review. 3, every Sunday: count visits and signups from each directory, keep the ones that sent signups, and stop spending time on the rest.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-submit-your-saas-to-directories/01-three-actions.webp) About 3 hours today, 1 hour a day for 5 days, then 15 minutes a day and 20 minutes each Sunday. Keep sending your 100 messages a day: directories make you easy to find, and messages bring the users. Judge each directory after 4 weeks. - **Today:** write one listing kit you can paste anywhere: a [tagline](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-write-a-value-proposition) under 60 characters, a short and a long description, a logo, 4 screenshots and a tracked link. Then make a sheet of 50 directories where people who fit [who your SaaS is for](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile) look, starting with G2, Capterra, AlternativeTo and SaaSHub. - **Every day:** submit to 10 directories from your sheet until all 50 are done. After that, reply within a day to every question, comment and review on your listings, and ask every user who did the main thing for a review. - **Every Sunday:** count visits and signups from each directory, keep the ones that sent signups up to date, and stop spending time on the rest. ## 1. Write one listing kit you can paste into every directory Write every piece a directory asks for once, in one document, before you submit anywhere. Then every form takes 6 minutes of pasting, and your SaaS is described the same way on every site. ![A listing kit drawn as one page with labelled parts: 'Name', 'Tagline · under 60 characters', 'Short description · 160 characters', 'Long description · 150–300 words', 'Logo', '4 screenshots', 'Demo video · 16:9', 'Tracked link'. Arrows lead from the kit to five small directory forms.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-submit-your-saas-to-directories/step-1-write-one-listing-kit-you-can-paste-into-every-d.webp) Put these in one Google Doc: - **Name:** your product's name only. No tagline or domain in the name field. - **Tagline, under 60 characters:** the result your user gets, the same way your homepage headline says it. Leave out the tech stack and the AI model. - **Short description, up to 160 characters:** who it is for, and what it does for them. - **Long description, 150 to 300 words:** the problem, who has it, what your SaaS does in 3 steps, and what it costs. Use your buyers' own words from your [customer interviews](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-do-customer-interviews). - **Categories:** 2 or 3, in the [words a buyer would search](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-find-keywords-for-seo), such as "bug tracking", not "developer productivity". - **What it replaces:** the 3 kinds of tool or habit people use today instead of yours. You will use them on alternatives sites in step 3. Your [competitor analysis](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-do-a-competitor-analysis) already has them. - **Price in one line:** plan names, prices and the free trial or free plan, matching your pricing page. - **Images:** a square logo, 4 screenshots of the product doing the main thing (the first one shows the result), and a 1-minute demo video, landscape (16:9), on YouTube. You can cut it from the clips in your short videos. - **The link:** your demo page, a landing page where a visitor can [try the main feature without signing up](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-people-to-try-your-product). Add [UTM parameters](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/utm-parameters) so each directory shows up by name in your analytics. - **Your email:** one at your own domain, such as . Review sites check that you work at the company. Let AI do the cutting. Paste your long description into ChatGPT or Claude and ask for versions at exactly 60, 160 and 300 characters. Read each one and fix anything that is not true. It is also worth adding "Directory" as an answer to "Where did you hear about us?" on your signup form. That is [self-reported attribution](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-reported-attribution), and it catches signups your analytics miss. **The tracked link for each directory** ```text https://[yoursaas.com]/[demo-page]?utm_source=[directory-name]&utm_medium=directory&utm_campaign=listings Example for G2: ?utm_source=g2&utm_medium=directory&utm_campaign=listings ``` - **Tool:** Google Docs, ChatGPT or Claude, and your phone or a screen recorder for the video. - **Time:** about 2 hours. Add half a day if you have no demo page yet. - **You will have:** one document with every field a directory asks for, and a link pattern for tracking. - **It worked if:** you show the tagline and the first screenshot to 3 people who have never seen your SaaS, and all 3 can say what it does and who it is for. - **Common mistake:** writing a new, longer description on every site, or a tagline about how it is built. The other mistake is linking to a signup form: most visitors from a directory leave before they see the product. > **Example (made-up business: Bugmoth): Bugmoth's listing kit** > > Bugmoth is a made-up bug-reporting tool for small web teams. It costs $19 a month per team, with a 14-day trial. > > | Field | What Bugmoth wrote | > | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | > | Tagline (46 characters) | Clients click the bug. You get the screenshot. | > | Short description | Bug reports from your clients with the screenshot, browser and steps. For small web studios. | > | Categories | Bug tracking, website feedback | > | What it replaces | Screenshots by email, long client calls, bug spreadsheets | > | Price | $19 a month per team, 14-day free trial | > > *Why it works: Every line says what the user gets, in words a small studio would search, and the price is on one line.* ## 2. Pick 50 SaaS directories where your buyers look Choose 50 directories that your buyers see when they search for your kind of tool, and put them in one sheet. Do not download a list of 800 and work down it: most of those sites have no visitors. ![A Google search box reading '\[your category\] software' and a second reading '\[competitor\] alternatives', with arrows to a results page where three directory results are circled. Beside it, a sheet with the columns 'Directory', 'Kind', 'Cost', 'On page 1?', 'Keep?'. A crossed-out tag reads 'Pay to list'.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-submit-your-saas-to-directories/step-2-pick-50-saas-directories-where-your-buyers-look.webp) Start with the search your buyers do. Search Google for "\[your category] software", "best \[your category] tools" and "\[your best-known competitor] alternatives". Write down every directory or review site on the [first page of results](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/serp). Those are the pages buyers read when they compare, so they go at the top of your sheet. The same searches show which alternatives pages rank for your competitors. Then fill the sheet to 50 from five kinds of directory: | Kind | Start with | Why | | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Software review sites | G2, Capterra | Buyers of business software compare there. Both are free to list. | | Alternatives sites | AlternativeTo, SaaSHub | People search "\[tool] alternatives", and these pages rank for it. | | Your own profiles | A LinkedIn Product Page, Crunchbase | Free, and they show your SaaS where people check a company. | | Launch sites | Peerlist Launchpad, Uneed, DevHunt if you make developer tools | One launch day or week each, with a crowd that tries new products. | | Category directories | Lists for your kind of tool, your buyers' industry, and the tools you connect to; the places your buyers talk often link them | Smaller, but everyone who browses them wants what you do. | In early 2026, G2 bought Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice from Gartner. Capterra's vendor page now says "powered by G2 Digital Markets". So G2 and Capterra are one company, and you list on both. Product Hunt and Hacker News are bigger than any directory; they have their own guides, [a Product Hunt launch](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-launch-on-product-hunt) and [a Show HN](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-post-a-show-hn-on-hacker-news). The directories of the apps you connect to, such as the Slack or Zapier app directories, are their own job too: integration marketplaces. Keep a directory in your sheet only if all three are true: 1. **People use it.** It has listings in your category added in the last 3 months, with comments, reviews or votes on them. 2. **It is free to list.** Our rule: pay for no listing until 10 people have paid you, the same rule as for ads in [how much to spend on marketing as a SaaS startup](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-much-to-spend-on-marketing-as-a-saas-startup). BetaList, for example, now says "All submissions are paid. There is no free submission option", so it waits. Many AI tool directories charge too. 3. **It does not ask for a link back.** Skip any site that lists you only if you put its badge or link on your site. Google's spam policies name "Excessive link exchanges ('Link to me and I'll link to you')" and "Low-quality directory or bookmark site links" as link spam. Never pay a service to submit you to hundreds of directories. Google counts "exchanging money for links" as link spam too, and a good backlink comes from a site people read, not from a list. - **Tool:** Google search and a Google Sheet with the columns Directory, Kind, Cost, On page 1?, Submitted, Live, Listing link. - **Time:** about 1 hour. - **You will have:** a sheet of 50 directories that pass the three checks, with the ones buyers see on Google at the top. - **It worked if:** at least 10 of the 50 showed up on the first page of your searches. - **Common mistake:** choosing directories by their "domain rating" score. A high score does not mean your buyers go there. The first page of Google for your category does. > **Example (made-up business: Bugmoth): The top of Bugmoth's directory sheet** > > | Directory | Kind | Cost | On page 1? | Keep? | > | ---------------------- | ------------ | --------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | > | G2 | Review site | Free | Yes, "bug tracking software" | Keep | > | Capterra | Review site | Free | Yes, "bug tracking software" | Keep | > | AlternativeTo | Alternatives | Free | Yes, "\[screenshot tool] alternatives" | Keep | > | SaaSHub | Alternatives | Free | Yes, "\[screenshot tool] alternatives" | Keep | > | LinkedIn Product Page | Own profile | Free | No | Keep: studio owners are on LinkedIn | > | Crunchbase | Own profile | Free | No | Keep | > | BetaList | Launch site | Paid | No | Skip until 10 paying teams | > | A new "all tools" site | General | Free with a link back | No | Skip | > > *Why it works: Each row says why it stays or goes, and the paid and link-swap sites wait instead of eating the week.* ## 3. Submit your SaaS to 10 directories a day until all 50 are live Submit to 10 directories a day, from the top of your sheet, until all 50 are done. Paste from your kit, use the tracked link for that directory, and write each listing's address into the sheet. ![A five-day strip labelled 'Day 1' to 'Day 5', each day holding 10 small form cards. Above day 1, a label 'Slow queues first: G2, Capterra, AlternativeTo'. Beside the strip, a sheet column 'Listing link' filling up. Label: '10 a day · 50 in 5 days'.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-submit-your-saas-to-directories/step-3-submit-your-saas-to-10-directories-a-day-until-a.webp) Do the slow ones on day 1. Review sites check every product by hand, and some launch sites have a queue, so start them first: - **G2:** find your product on G2 first; if it is not there, fill in G2's request form from "Create a profile" ("Get Started"). G2 says it verifies a new product "in about 3-5 business days" before placing it in a category. Then claim your listing, which it reviews "within 1-3 business days", and add your screenshots, video and pricing. It is free. - **Capterra:** click "Get Your Product Listed" on Capterra's vendor page. Its rules, updated May 2026: the product must be off-the-shelf software, "publicly available, with a call to action" such as "a trial, demo, or request for more information", and named on your own website. A product in beta can be listed if it has a working website and gets at least one review in its first year. - **LinkedIn Product Page:** it sits on your company Page, next to your founder posts on LinkedIn. From the Page's admin view, click "+ Create", then "+ Add a product", fill in each field and click "Submit for review". After approval, click "Publish product". It is open to Pages in business-to-business software. You cannot change the name or logo after publishing, so paste them from the kit. - **Alternatives sites:** on AlternativeTo and SaaSHub, add your app and list it as an alternative only to the tools it really replaces, from the "what it replaces" line of your kit. People who search "\[tool] alternatives" find you there. Approval can take a while, so do these on day 1. - **Launch sites:** Peerlist Launchpad's launch window "opens on Monday every week", so pick a Monday. Uneed's free option puts you in a queue of up to 5 months, and its link only stays if your launch gets enough votes. Join the queue now and forget it until the date comes. Then work down the sheet, 10 a day. For each one: open the submit page, paste from the kit, set the link to that directory's tracked link, submit, and write the date in "Submitted". Ask ChatGPT or Claude to cut your description to a form's exact limit when it has an odd one, such as 80 or 500 characters. Each submission takes about 6 minutes. Every Sunday, open each submitted directory and search for your product. When a listing is live, paste its address into "Listing link". Those addresses are also where your reviews and answers go in step 4. - **Tool:** each directory's submit page, your kit, ChatGPT or Claude, and your sheet. - **Time:** about 1 hour a day for 5 days. - **You will have:** 50 submissions logged, each with its date and tracked link. - **It worked if:** after 4 weeks, at least 30 of the 50 are live. If fewer than 20 are, check your rejections: the usual reasons are a product people [cannot try](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-people-to-try-your-product), a [waitlist](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-build-a-waitlist-before-you-launch) instead of a working product, or a category that does not fit. - **Common mistake:** submitting from a personal Gmail address, or before the product can be tried. Review sites reject or cannot verify both. The other mistake is listing yourself as an alternative to tools you do not replace; it brings visitors who leave. ## 4. Get reviews and answer every question on your G2 and Capterra listings Every day, ask each user who did the main thing your SaaS is for to leave a review, and reply within a day to every question, comment and review on your listings. A listing with no reviews gives a buyer nothing to compare. ![A review site listing card with empty star rows and a counter '0 of 10 reviews'. An arrow from a message card reading 'Could you write 2 lines about \[the main thing\]?' fills the counter to '10 of 10'. A speech bubble on the listing reads 'Replied within 1 day'.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-submit-your-saas-to-directories/step-4-get-reviews-and-answer-every-question-on-your-g2.webp) Ask only users who did the main thing, such as sending their first report or finishing their first project. Your activation numbers tell you who they are. People who signed up and never used it cannot say anything useful, and they are the ones who ignore you. Pick one review site first, and send everyone there until it has 10 reviews. G2 shows a product on its category's Grid report only when it has "at least 10 reviews in the corresponding category". Ten reviews in one place do more than two reviews each on five sites. If your buyers are small businesses that compare tools on Capterra, start there instead. How to ask, when to ask and what each site allows are in how to get G2 reviews. Do not offer anything in return for a good review. Send each request yourself, by email or in the chat inside your product, not in your automatic onboarding emails, with one line about what they did. AI can draft them from your user list; you add the true line. Everyone who says something kind but does not write a review has given you a testimonial: ask if you can quote it on your site. A user with a clear before and after is your first case study. Every day, open your live listings and reply to every question, comment and review. Thank people for criticism, answer the point, and say what you will change. Every question is also feedback from your first users: write it in your sheet. On a launch site's day, message the people you know and ask them to try it and say what they think in the comments. Never ask for votes: launch sites filter them, and the comments are what other visitors read. That is the same rule as for [a Product Hunt launch](https://scout7.ai/academy/launch/how-to-launch-on-product-hunt). **The review request** ```text Subject: 2 lines about [product]? Hi [first name], [One true line: what they did with the product, such as "You've sent 14 reports through [product] since March."] Would you write 2 or 3 lines about it on [G2 / Capterra]? The most useful thing for other [kind of team] is what you used before and what changed. Here is the direct link: [review link] It takes about 5 minutes. Thank you either way. [Your name] ``` - **Tool:** your email or in-app chat, your list of active users, and your listings. - **Time:** about 15 minutes a day. - **You will have:** a review request sent to every active user, and every question on your listings answered within a day. - **It worked if:** about 1 review comes back for every 4 requests, and your first review site reaches 10 reviews before you ask for reviews anywhere else. - **Common mistake:** asking every signup, including people who never used it, or sending the same request twice in a week. The other mistake is leaving a critical review unanswered: buyers read your reply as much as the review. > **Example (made-up business: Bugmoth): Bugmoth's review request** > > ```text > Subject: 2 lines about Bugmoth? > To: Priya, who runs a 3-person web studio and uses Bugmoth every week > > Hi Priya, > > You've had 23 bug reports from clients through Bugmoth since you set it up in August. > > Would you write 2 or 3 lines about it on G2? The most useful thing for other small studios is how clients sent you bugs before, and what changed. > > Here is the direct link: [review link] > > It takes about 5 minutes. Thank you either way. > > Sam > ``` > > *Why it works: It names what she really did, asks for a small thing, and tells her what other studios want to know.* ## 5. Count signups from each directory every Sunday Every Sunday, write down the visits and signups each directory sent you. After 4 weeks, keep the directories that sent a signup up to date, and stop spending time on the ones that sent nobody. ![A table with the columns 'Directory', 'Visits', 'Signups', 'Decision'. Three decision tags: '1 or more signups → keep', 'Visits, no signups → fix the first line', 'No visits → leave it'. Label: 'Every Sunday · judge after 4 weeks'.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-submit-your-saas-to-directories/step-5-count-signups-from-each-directory-every-sunday.webp) Get the numbers from three places: - **Google Analytics 4:** go to Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition, and set the table to "Session source". Your tracked links show each directory by name. Add signups as a conversion if you have not yet. - **Your signup form:** count the people who answered "Directory" to "Where did you hear about us?", and ask them which one. - **Google Search Console:** the Links report shows "Top linking sites". It is a sample, not every link, but it shows which listings Google has found. Write one row per directory with this week's visits and signups. Four weeks after your last submission, give each directory a decision: - **1 or more signups:** keep it. Update the listing once a month with your newest screenshots and prices, and send review requests there once your first site has 10. - **Visits but no signups:** rewrite the first line of the listing so it says the result, and check the tracked link opens your demo page, not a signup form. If many visitors from everywhere leave without signing up, the problem is your page: fix the page they land on. - **No visits:** leave the listing as it is and spend no more time on it. Be honest about what the whole job brought. In August 2026, one founder listed a SaaS on G2, Capterra, AlternativeTo, Peerlist and about 15 other sites, plus 22 AI directories, and wrote: "Directories… produced zero signups I can trace." What brought signups was posts in communities and one-to-one conversations. Their advice: do directories "in one batch session at the start and never again… they don't send you customers, they just make sure you exist when someone searches." AI answers work the same way. In a July 2026 test of 1,739 citations in ChatGPT and Perplexity answers about business software, all review sites together were 7.3% of the citations. Most came from independent articles and the software makers' own pages. You can track AI traffic the same way. To show up there, work on the best-of lists AI tools cite and on getting your brand mentioned by ChatGPT. So compare. Divide the signups directories brought by the [hours you spent](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-fit-marketing-into-your-week-as-a-solo-founder) on them, and do the same for your [100 personal messages a day](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-market-a-saas-product). Give next month's hours to whichever brought more signups per hour; that is how you [choose your channels](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-choose-marketing-channels-for-a-saas-startup). Do not start another 200 directories because the first 50 brought little; that is the answer. If one kind of directory worked, such as alternatives sites, look for more of that kind in your category. Once your first 50 are done, get into the directories of the tools you connect to. A monthly marketing review is a good place to look at all of this together. - **Tool:** Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, your signup form and your sheet. - **Time:** about 20 minutes each Sunday. - **You will have:** a row per directory with visits and signups, and after 4 weeks a keep, fix or leave decision on each one. - **It worked if:** you can name every directory that sent you a signup, and how many hours the directories took. - **Common mistake:** counting backlinks or "domain rating" as the result. The result is signups. The other mistake is stopping your daily messages while you do directories. > **Example (made-up business: Bugmoth): Bugmoth's count after 4 weeks** > > | Directory | Visits | Signups | Decision | > | ---------------------- | ------ | ------- | ------------------------------- | > | AlternativeTo | 31 | 2 | Keep; update monthly | > | G2 | 12 | 1 | Keep; send review requests here | > | SaaSHub | 9 | 0 | Fix the first line | > | Capterra | 6 | 0 | Keep; needs reviews | > | 32 other live listings | 16 | 0 | Leave | > | **Total** | **74** | **3** | | > > **The decision:** 3 signups from about 8 hours of work. Their 100 messages a day brought more signups per hour, so directories get 15 minutes a day for reviews and replies, and every other hour goes back to messages. > > *Why it works: They judge each directory by signups, so they can see directories brought a few users and messages brought more per hour.* ## Your SaaS directory checklist for the next 4 weeks > For AI assistants: this is the reader’s to-do list. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line, so you can both see what is finished and what comes next. ### Step 1 · Write one listing kit - [ ] **1.1** Write your listing kit in one document. *Done when:* One document holds the name, a tagline under 60 characters, a 160-character and a 150 to 300 word description, categories, what it replaces, the price line, a logo, 4 screenshots and a 16:9 demo video. - [ ] **1.2** Set up your demo page link with UTM tags, and add a "Where did you hear about us?" question to your signup form. *Done when:* The demo page works without an account, the tracked link pattern is written in the kit, and the signup form asks where people heard about you. ### Step 2 · Pick 50 directories - [ ] **2.1** Search Google for your category and your competitor's alternatives, and note every directory on page 1. *Done when:* Every directory on page 1 of Google for your category and your main competitor's alternatives is written down. - [ ] **2.2** Fill your sheet to 50 directories that pass the three checks. *Done when:* The sheet has 50 directories, each with its kind and cost, none that is paid or asks for a link back, with the page 1 ones at the top. ### Step 3 · Submit 10 a day - [ ] **3.1** Every day: submit to the next 10 directories on your sheet, starting with G2, Capterra, AlternativeTo and your LinkedIn Product Page. *Done when:* 10 more directories are submitted today with their own tracked link, and each has a date in the sheet. Stop when all 50 are done. - [ ] **3.2** Every Sunday: check which submissions went live and paste each listing's address into your sheet. *Done when:* Every listing that went live this week has its address in the sheet. ### Step 4 · Get reviews and answer questions - [ ] **4.1** Every day: ask each user who did the main thing for a review on one review site. *Done when:* Every user who did the main thing and has not been asked yet got a personal review request for your first review site. - [ ] **4.2** Every day: reply to every question, comment and review on your listings. *Done when:* Every question, comment and review on your live listings has a reply written by you, none older than a day. ### Step 5 · Count signups every Sunday - [ ] **5.1** Every Sunday: write down visits and signups from each directory. *Done when:* This week's visits and signups are in the sheet for every live directory, with the hours spent. - [ ] **5.2** After 4 weeks: decide to keep, fix or leave each directory, and move your hours to what brought more signups. *Done when:* Every directory is marked keep, fix or leave, and next month's hours are split by signups per hour against your messages. ## Frequently asked questions ### Are SaaS directories worth it in 2026? As one week of work, yes; as your main channel, no. A listing on G2, Capterra or an alternatives site makes your SaaS easy to find when a buyer compares tools. In August 2026, one founder traced zero signups to about 20 listings. Do the 50 good ones, track each one, and keep your [daily messages](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-your-first-100-saas-users) going, because they bring more users. ### Do directory backlinks help SEO? A link from a directory people really use can help a little. Google's spam policies call "low-quality directory or bookmark site links" and paid links link spam, so hundreds of cheap listings can do more harm than good. For links that count, see which sites write about your category, and work on backlinks for a new website. ### Should I pay a directory submission service? No. Services that submit you to 100 or more directories for a fee mostly place you on sites nobody visits, and Google treats paid and low-quality directory links as spam. Submitting to 50 good directories yourself takes about 5 hours with a ready kit. Pay for no listing until 10 people have paid you. ### Is it free to list on G2 and Capterra? Yes. G2 lets you create and claim a product profile for free, and Capterra lists software that is publicly available with a trial, demo or way to ask for more information. Both sell paid extras, such as ads and lead programs, that you do not need. What makes a free listing useful is reviews: G2 needs 10 to put you on its category Grid. ### How many directories should I submit my SaaS to? About 50, chosen because your buyers see them on Google or browse them, and done in one week. More than that mostly adds dead sites. After 4 weeks, count signups from each one. If a kind of directory worked, find more of that kind; if none did, put the hours into [finding users one by one](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-market-a-saas-product). ## Sources - [Spam policies for Google web search (link spam)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies). Google Search Central, updated 28 August 2026, checked 29 September 2026. - [Create a profile](https://sell.g2.com/create-a-profile). G2, checked 29 September 2026. - [Research scoring methodologies](https://documentation.g2.com/docs/research-scoring-methodologies). G2, updated 26 August 2026, checked 29 September 2026. - [Capterra for vendors](https://www.capterra.com/vendors/). Capterra, checked 29 September 2026. - [Profile guidelines](https://www.capterra.com/legal/listing-guidelines/). Capterra, updated 4 May 2026, checked 29 September 2026. - [G2 to acquire Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp from Gartner](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/g2-to-acquire-capterra-software-advice-and-getapp-from-gartner-302673901.html). G2 via PR Newswire, 29 January 2026, checked 29 September 2026. - [Create and publish a LinkedIn Product Page](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a548627). LinkedIn Help, checked 29 September 2026. - [FAQ](https://betalist.com/faq). BetaList, checked 29 September 2026. - [Pricing](https://www.uneed.best/pricing). Uneed, checked 29 September 2026. - [What is Peerlist Launchpad?](https://help.peerlist.io/individual/launchpad/introduction). Peerlist Help Center, checked 29 September 2026. - [\[GA4\] Traffic acquisition report](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/12923437). Google Analytics Help, checked 29 September 2026. - [Links report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9049606). Search Console Help, checked 29 September 2026. - [23 days of distributing a SaaS. Here's exactly what happened.](https://www.indiehackers.com/post/23-days-of-distributing-a-saas-heres-exactly-what-happened-48bbe07158). Indie Hackers, 7 August 2026. - [I analyzed 1,739 AI citations. Here's what ChatGPT and Perplexity actually cite](https://growfusely.com/blog/ai-citation-analysis-b2b-software/). Growfusely, 28 July 2026.