Dofollow marketing directories, in short
A dofollow link passes ranking signals to your domain, which is why most people work through a list like this at all. Relevance still matters more than the rating: one link from a directory in your niche is worth several from a general one.
Dofollow backlink sites, defined
A dofollow link is an ordinary link: one without a rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored" attribute telling search engines not to pass ranking signals through it. Every link is dofollow by default, so "dofollow directory" really means a directory that has not added the attribute.
You can check any listing yourself in about five seconds: open the page, view source, find the link to your site, and look for rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored" on it. Browser extensions will highlight them for you if you are checking many at once. Do not take the directory's word for it, because the attribute frequently differs between the free and paid tiers.
By the numbers
These 9 directories have a median rating of DR 43. The strongest is Dang.ai at DR 82, the weakest at DR 32. 1 of them accept a submission for nothing, and 2 charge for every listing.
That is 15 points below the median for the full list of 175 directories, which sits at DR 58. By band that is 1 rated 80 or above, 3 rated 60 to 79, 1 rated 40 to 59 and 4 rated below 40. 3 of them have no traffic estimate at all, which usually means too little to measure rather than none.
What a listing actually gets you
Marketing buyers research in public, on comparison pages and in listicles, and a directory listing is how you get into the pool those articles are written from. Writers assembling a "best email tools" piece start from directories more often than they start from search.
The listings also rank for the long-tail comparisons you would never build yourself, the "X vs Y for small teams" pages that convert at the point of decision.
Submitting without wasting the evening
Lead with the outcome and the number attached to it. Marketing directories are read by people comparing three tools with a budget already signed off, and the listing that says what changes after you buy it wins over the one that lists integrations. Visible pricing helps more than it hurts here, because the alternative is being filtered out of every comparison table the directory builds. Name the integrations that matter, because integration is the most common filter on these sites.
Common mistakes
Treating link count as the goal, which leads directly to submitting everywhere regardless of fit. Using the same keyword-stuffed anchor text on every listing. And paying for dofollow upgrades on directories with no traffic, which buys the signal without the substance behind it.
Where to start
By audience size, the biggest here are Dang.ai, Toolfolio and ProductFame, led by 194K visits a month. The highest-rated one you can use without paying is BuildVoyage at DR 43. 2 approve quickly, Dofollow Tools and Startup.sx among them.
Questions people ask
How many are there, and what do they cost?
9 directories match on this page. 1 take a submission for nothing, 6 run a free tier with paid upgrades, and 2 charge for every listing.
Which should I submit to first?
By rating, Dang.ai (DR 82), Dofollow Tools (DR 73) and AIStage (DR 71). By audience, Dang.ai is the largest at 194K visits a month. Relevance beats both: a directory that actually covers what you built will do more than a stronger one that does not.
What is a dofollow backlink?
A normal link that passes ranking signals to the page it points at. Links are dofollow unless the publisher adds rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored", so the term describes the absence of an attribute rather than the presence of one.
How do I tell if a link is dofollow?
View the page source, find the link to your site and check for rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". An extension can highlight them in bulk. Check after your listing goes live, because the attribute often differs between free and paid tiers.
How many dofollow directory links are safe?
There is no number, but pace and relevance matter more than volume. A handful from directories that cover your category, added over weeks, looks like what it is. Eighty in a weekend does not.
Are directory backlinks still relevant?
As one modest input among many, yes. As a strategy on their own, no, and they have not been for a long time. Treat the good directories as a traffic and discovery channel that happens to leave a link behind.
What is a business directory listing?
An entry describing a company or product in a curated index, usually with a category, a description and a link. For software the useful ones index tools by what they do; the general business ones index companies by location and industry, and send a very different kind of visitor.
Are marketing directories worth paying for?
Sometimes, because the audience arrives with intent and a budget. Check the traffic column first: a paid listing on a directory with no measurable traffic is an advert nobody will see.
Is there a free business directory worth using?
Several, and the free tiers on the marketing-specific ones are usually enough to test whether the audience matches yours before you pay for placement.
Every figure quoted above is read off the table on this page, so it moves as the list does. Domain rating and traffic are third-party estimates captured in September 2026: useful for ordering a shortlist, not precise figures.