This Is How I Got My App from 0 to 28 DR in Just 30 Days

Most builders ship a product, post once on Product Hunt, get crickets, and decide "directory launches don't work."

Here's proof that launching on directories does work:

What we did

Since launching the beta of LaunchPanda, we started submitting the app to launch directories. Using our tailored roadmap — which focuses on backlink-oriented directories first — we got to around 45 submissions. All of them completely free.

The result at the 30-day mark:

• Domain Rating: 28 (up from 0)
• Organic impressions showing up in Google Search Console
• 0 clicks so far (it's a competitive space, more on that below)

"But there are no clicks?"

Yeah, fair point. Impressions are not the same as traffic, and at the time of writing the increase in impressions has not resulted in substantial clicks yet.

But this is just the start, and it also depends heavily on your niche. The more focused you are on a single niche, the bigger impact your backlinks and Domain Rating will have.

The directory space we're in is very competitive, so even with a DR climbing past 28 we are still nowhere near the first page for the queries that matter.

But backlinks are a long game and they compound over time. Our strategy after the directory launches is as follows:

• Phase 1: Build the foundation (DR + indexed pages) — this is where we are at the time of writing
• Phase 2: Layer on content that ranks for niche keywords
• Phase 3: Climb to broader, more competitive queries

Without phase 1 nothing else works. Skipping directory launches is like trying to rank a blog before the site itself has any authority.

The "directories are dead" debate

My experience on X is that a lot of builders love to argue about directory launches. One side says "directories don't bring real users." The other says "they're free SEO juice."

The honest answer is both are right. SEO takes time, and you shouldn't expect immediate results overnight. It's a long game, and it's not magic.

• Build something good. You need a good app that people actually want to use.
• Earn Google's trust. Show you're legit with quality content on your website.
• Target the right keywords. Make content that matches what your audience is searching for.
• Let it compound. Once you have a strong DR paired with good content, wait and see things starting to take off.

How LaunchPanda fits in

We built LaunchPanda because submitting to 45 directories manually is brutal, especially when you also have to research and choose the right ones yourself.

So we created a simple, free tool that lets you manage all your launches in one place, with a clear roadmap of where and when to submit.

Prefer to skip the grind entirely? Our Done-For-You plan handles all submissions within 7 days.

Either way, the takeaway is the same: 45 directories in 30 days got us to DR 28, and it's still climbing.