10 Free Dofollow Backlink Directories for Startups
Launching your startup on directories is a good way to give your SEO a boost. Here is a list of 10 directories that actually give you a dofollow backlink for free.
Backlinks are still one of the most important ranking factors in SEO in 2026. So don't sleep on them.
For founders, startup directories are a great way to get these backlinks. The problem is that there are a lot of directories out there. Many are bad, some are very difficult to get launched on, and plenty of the rest hand out nofollow links that Google doesn't count toward your ranking anyway.
So here's the short list of 10 free directories that hand out dofollow backlinks, pulled straight from LaunchPanda's directory roadmap.
What is a dofollow backlink and why does it matter?
To give you a bit more context first, a backlink is a link from one website to another. A dofollow link passes authority to your site and lifts your Domain Rating. A nofollow link doesn't, so Google barely counts it toward your ranking. For the full breakdown, see dofollow vs nofollow links.
So when you build backlinks for SEO, you want dofollow links from the highest-DR sites you can get on. Free directories that hand out dofollow links are one of the best and easiest ways for a new domain to get a head start.
Free dofollow directories list
These are the first 10 directories LaunchPanda surfaces in the Growing stage, the highest-DR free dofollow directories in our catalog. Start at the top, work down. One link from a DR 85 site is worth more than ten from DR 10 sites, so don't skip the top of the list because the form takes a couple extra minutes.
Your First 10 Free Dofollow Backlinks
Complete all 10 and you can realistically expect to climb to a Domain Rating of around 10 or higher. That's already big strides for a brand-new domain, and you're working on the same backlink foundation that took our own product, LaunchPanda, from DR 0 to DR 28 in 30 days.
Why these directories
I picked these directories for a number of reasons, one of the biggest being how easy they are to launch on.
The quick-win directories are platforms like EasyLaunch and EasyDoFollow. Both hand out a free dofollow backlink, and you can get listed in under a minute, no long review queue, no back and forth, just an instant launch the moment you submit your info. When you're starting from DR 0, that kind of fast, guaranteed link is exactly what you want.
LaunchPanda, the site you're currently on, also lets you launch your tool. At the time of writing, LaunchPanda's DR is 50, giving you a lot of SEO juice.
VerifiedDR is more than a backlink. On top of the free dofollow link, it tracks your Domain Rating over time, so you can actually watch the number move as your other submissions land. We've partnered with VerifiedDR, and every DR figure we show across LaunchPanda is backed by their data.
How do you install the badges?
Most directories require you to publish their badge on your site in return for a free launch. On one or two that's fine, but once you're launching on 10 directories or more it quickly becomes overwhelming. Here are a few tips to keep it from taking over your site.
On LaunchPanda we keep our badges in a carousel in the footer, take a look. It's a great way to show a lot of badges without taking up much space. Here's the exact embed we run:
Normal carousel preview
Want the full breakdown, including the other carousel styles and how to check your badges are still live? Read how to install directory badges without wrecking your site.
See your DR grow over time
Once your 10 submissions are in, you should see results relatively quickly, often within a week as the first approvals land and get picked up. That said, it depends heavily on indexing: sometimes it takes longer, closer to a month, before the new backlinks are crawled and your DR starts to move.
Either way, don't judge it by the first few days. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. The links you build now keep compounding, and the real payoff shows up as they mature over the following weeks.
What DR growth can you realistically expect?
Your domain rating growth takes time. The graph below gives a good picture of how that usually looks. What's good to know is that DR gets harder to grow the higher your number goes, because the scale is exponential. Growing from 1 to 2 is a lot easier than growing from 30 to 31.
Want to know more about what to expect? I break down the full curve and what moves it at each stage in what domain rating is and how to increase it fast.
Frequently asked questions
Do directory backlinks still work in 2026?
Yes. Backlinks from vetted, dofollow directories still move your Domain Rating, it's the exact playbook that took LaunchPanda from DR 0 to DR 28 in 30 days. What no longer works is blasting hundreds of low-quality directories, so stick to curated lists like this one.
How do I check if a directory gives dofollow links?
Open any listing on the directory, right-click the outbound link, choose Inspect, and look for rel="nofollow" on the anchor tag. No rel attribute means the link is dofollow. Faster: paste the listing into our free backlink checker and it tells you instantly.
How long before directory backlinks show up?
Most of these directories publish your listing within a few days, and Ahrefs usually picks the link up 1 to 3 weeks after it goes live. Domain Rating updates in waves, so expect visible DR movement after 3 to 4 weeks, not overnight.
How many directories should I submit to?
Start with the 10 on this list, that alone can take a brand-new domain to around DR 10. For bigger jumps you need volume, our 250+ directory playbook covers the full sequence.
What's next?
Launching on the 10 directories I just mentioned is a strong start, but they won't take your Domain Rating to 10, 20, or higher on their own. That kind of growth comes from more volume. The founders who actually get their DR to double digits launch to a lot more directories.
So treat this list as step one. Once your first 10 are in, keep going with the full 250+ directory launch playbook. LaunchPanda's directory roadmap has over 260+ vetted directories all lined up in the right order, so you always know where to submit next without hunting for good ones yourself. Work through them, keep the links compounding, and your DR climbs from there.
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