Why a high DR doesn't always mean a directory is worth it

Founders pick directories by their Domain Rating (DR), because it's the one number everyone can look up. But a growing number of directories raise their DR in a way that likely doesn't count for much with Google. Next to those sites we show .

What DR measures

DR is a score Ahrefs calculates from a site's backlinks: how many different websites link to it with a followed link, and how strong those websites are. Google doesn't use it. Ahrefs itself calls DR "merely a measure of link popularity", not "a good indicator of a website's quality or legitimacy", and suggests looking at traffic alongside it.

The backlink-for-listing trade

Many directories list you for free only if you link back to them, usually with a badge in your site's footer. Others list you for free but only make their link to you dofollow once you've added their badge. Every founder who accepts adds another website linking to the directory, so its DR goes up. Ahrefs counts these links like any other. The directory then advertises its DR to the next founder.

What Google says

Google's spam policies list both as examples of link spam: "Requiring a link as part of a Terms of Service, contract, or similar arrangement without allowing a third-party content owner the choice of qualifying the outbound link", and "Excessive link exchanges ('Link to me and I'll link to you')". Since 2016 Google mostly ignores links like these rather than penalizing anyone. So they likely raise the directory's DR without raising how much Google trusts it, or how much a link from it is worth to you.

What our data shows

We researched every directory on this list, including whether a free listing requires a link back. Comparing directories and launch platforms with a DR of 50 or more:

At about the same DR, the typical directory that asks for a backlink sits about 6 times further down the ranking of the web's sites. Their DR looks the same; far fewer people visit.

This doesn't prove that any one directory's DR comes from badges, and Similarweb's rank is an estimate too. It's a reason to look past DR.

What to look at instead

• Traffic. The bars next to DR show Similarweb's traffic estimate. A directory nobody visits sends nobody to you.
• The link you get. A dofollow link from a site Google trusts is worth more than a DR number.
• Exposure. Whether they feature you to an audience, or just add a page nobody finds.
• The badge itself. Google's policy covers links you give as well as links you get. A required link is fine if it's nofollow; a directory that insists on a followed link is asking for what the policy describes.

Disclosure: Submit.co is made by the founder of BetaList, a launch site since 2010 that has never required a backlink.