Best Startup & SaaS Directories by Domain Rating (2026)

Domain Rating (DR) is a metric developed by Ahrefs that measures the strength of a website's backlink profile on a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100. It looks at how many unique domains link to a site and the quality of those linking domains. The higher the DR, the stronger the site's link authority.

For startup founders, DR matters because when a high-authority directory links back to your website, search engines treat that as a vote of confidence. A backlink from a DR 80 directory carries significantly more SEO weight than one from a DR 20 site. Over time, accumulating backlinks from high-DR sources helps your own domain grow in authority, improving your rankings for competitive keywords.

DR is not the same as Moz Domain Authority (DA), though they measure similar concepts. DR focuses purely on backlink strength, while DA uses a broader model that also considers predicted ranking potential. Checking both gives you a more complete picture of a directory's authority.

Keep in mind that DR is a third-party metric and not used directly by Google. It's a useful proxy for understanding relative authority, but it should be one factor among many when deciding where to submit your product.

A high Domain Rating is a good starting point, but it shouldn't be your only criteria. The best directory submission strategy balances authority with relevance, link type, and audience fit. Here's what to consider:

Dofollow vs. Nofollow Links

Directories that give dofollow backlinks pass SEO authority directly to your site. Nofollow links still drive referral traffic and brand visibility, but they don't directly boost your search rankings. Ideally, target a mix of both. Our top dofollow directories for SEO list focuses specifically on link-passing directories.

Audience Relevance

A general directory with DR 90 might send less qualified traffic than a niche directory with DR 40 that serves exactly your target market. If you're building a developer tool, a listing on a dev-focused directory will convert better than a generic startup listing site. Browse our full directory database to filter by category and find the best match for your product.

Free vs. Paid Submissions

Many high-DR directories offer free submissions, though some charge for faster review or premium placement. Start with free directories to build initial traction, then consider paid listings on directories where the audience is a strong fit. Paying for a listing on an irrelevant directory rarely delivers ROI regardless of its DR.

Submission Strategy

Don't submit everywhere at once. Start with 5-10 high-priority directories, track which ones drive actual traffic and signups, then expand. Quality listings with complete profiles, good screenshots, and compelling descriptions will always outperform rushed bulk submissions. If you want to save time, our submission service handles the process for you across 100+ vetted directories.

Short answer: yes, but in different ways depending on the search engine. Directory submissions build your online presence across multiple platforms, which benefits both traditional and AI-powered search.

Google Search

Google still relies heavily on backlinks as a ranking signal. When a high-DR directory links to your site, it passes link equity that strengthens your domain authority over time. This is especially valuable for competitive keywords where backlink profiles often determine who ranks on page one. Beyond direct SEO, directory listings create additional indexed pages that can rank for your brand name, increasing your overall search presence.

ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Search Engines

AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and others pull answers from web content they consider authoritative. Being listed on well-known directories increases the chances that AI models encounter your product during training and retrieval. When someone asks an AI "what are the best tools for X?", products with strong presence across multiple reputable sources are more likely to be recommended.

Building Topical Authority

Both Google and AI systems favor brands that appear consistently across trusted sources. Each directory listing is another signal that your product exists, is legitimate, and belongs in a specific category. This "entity building" helps search engines understand what your product does and when to surface it. The more high-quality mentions you accumulate, the stronger your topical authority becomes.

What This Means for Your Strategy

Focus on directories where your product description will be detailed and accurate, as AI models use this text to understand your offering. Prioritize directories with high domain authority since both Google and AI systems weight authoritative sources more heavily. Consistent NAP (name, description, URL) across listings also helps search engines connect all your mentions to one entity. Think of directory submissions not just as link building, but as making your product discoverable across every way people search today.