The best thing I did for my company right before we launched was submit our web app to as many directories as possible. This really put us on the map! Within a few days we went from 15 beta users to 400. This got my entire team fired up to deploy the product as soon as possible.
My main objective was to be better ranked on Google. Not only were we better ranked within 2 weeks but a bunch of bloggers reached out to us asking for interviews.
I compiled a list of the best and easiest web directories you can submit your web app to. It should take 6-8 hours to submit your site to the entire list but it is totally worth it. I promise.
Top 4* Directories:
* Based on the total amount of traffic it brought me. Your experiences might differ.
The Rest:
- Killer Startups
- Listio
- Mashable
- Springwise – not a directory but if you “wow” them they will write about you
- CrunchBase
- StartupMeme
- 101 Best Websites
- LaunchFeed
- WebDev 2.0
- On The App
- DIY Startup New
- * Stumble Upon
- * Startups Sub-Reddit
- * Hacker News
- * Delicious
- * ProductHunt
- AppUseful
- Startup Booster
- Submit Startup
- Netted
- Minisprout
- Startuplift
- KickoffBoost
- Side Projectors
- The Startup Pitch
- Erli Bird
- Angel List
- Startup List
- Fire Spotting
- Web Menu
* Only submit if you have an active presence on these sites already. Best case scenario someone that has a ton of followers will submit your site for you.
Please note: I didn’t pay to submit my website to any of these sites. Feel free to skip the directory that asks you to pay.
Did this list work for you? Let me know in the comments.
Update 1 5/13/2011: Removed 2 non-working directories (thank you Christopher!). Added top 5 directories people should focus on.
Update 1 5/23/2015: Updated this listing based on request – thank you Ankit! Removed 3 non-working sites and added 8 more!