Field notes
How to Track Directory Submissions: Columns, Statuses and Review Times
How to track directory submissions: the columns to keep, a status flow, real review times from 65 directories (63% promise 48 hours or less), why the dofollow column needs re-checking, and a 20-minute weekly routine.
To track directory submissions, keep one sheet with one row per directory and ten columns: directory and submit URL, route (free, badge or paid), status, date submitted, date live, live listing URL, link attribute, login used, description version and UTM link. Use a fixed set of statuses (planned → submitted → pending → live, or rejected / needs you / blocked) and add a "next check" date, because review times range from 24 hours to four weeks or more.
Below are the columns and why each matters, the status flow, what our own catalog shows about review times, and how to keep it current.
The columns
| Column | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Directory + submit URL | Uneed – uneed.best/submit-a-tool | Where you went |
| Route | Free / Badge / Paid $29.99 | What it cost or required |
| Status | Pending | Where it stands |
| Date submitted | 2026-10-06 | To chase stale reviews |
| Date live | 2026-10-20 | Review time, for planning next time |
| Live listing URL | uneed.best/tool/yourapp | Proof, and where to check the link |
| Link attribute | dofollow | What SEO value you got |
| Login used | launch@yourapp.com | So you can edit later |
| Description version | v2 (Oct) | Which copy you used |
| UTM link | ?utm_source=uneed… | To measure referrals |
| Next check | 2026-10-13 | When to look again |
Status flow
planned → submitted → pending → live, with three side exits:
- rejected: note the reason (common reasons)
- needs you: a CAPTCHA, an email verification, a payment or a missing fact is blocking it
- blocked: the site is down, behind bot protection, or the form is broken
Only mark live when the public listing URL loads. "Submitted successfully" messages don't mean published.
How long reviews take
Directories that state a review time in our catalog most often say 24 hours (19 directories) or 48 hours (18), with others ranging from 72 hours to 2 weeks, 30 days and 1–4 weeks. Some free queues are much longer: Uneed's free line assigns dates up to five months out, and StartupBase and Launch Llama quote about 4–5 and 4 weeks.
Put together, of the 65 directories in our catalog that state a review time, 41 (63%) promise 48 hours or less and 57 (88%) promise a week or less. Only eight quote two weeks or more. Set "next check" to the stated review time plus two days. If there's no stated time, check after a week.
Friction you'll hit
From our catalog of 394 active directories:
- 23% (of those we know) require an account before the form
- 15% show a CAPTCHA on the form
- 30% (of those we know) require a badge on your site for the free route
- Google sign-in is offered on at least 69 and GitHub on 38
These end up as needs you in the tracker. Batch them into one session rather than doing them one by one.
Why the link column needs re-checking
The "link attribute" column is the one people fill in once and never touch. Our October 2026 checks of live listings show why it needs a second look:
| Directory | What changes after you're live |
|---|---|
| Launch Llama | The link is nofollow until about 20 upvotes, on every plan |
| TinyLaunch | Recent launches were followed; older free launches outside the top 3 were nofollow |
| StartupBase | 15 of 18 listings were nofollow; only Premium is promised the followed link |
| Uneed | The followed link depends on your upvote score on the free line |
| Hacker News | nofollow until a post earns roughly 20 points |
| DevHunt | Free listings nofollow, paid launches followed |
So check rel twice: when the listing goes live, and again a week or two later (after the launch week or leaderboard closes). Record the date of each check in the tracker. A listing marked "dofollow" from launch day can turn into a nofollow one.
A weekly 20-minute routine
- Filter for "next check" this week. Open each listing; update status and date live.
- Re-check
relon anything that went live 7–14 days ago. - Clear the "needs you" pile in one sitting: sign-ins, email confirmations, CAPTCHAs, payments.
- Look at referral traffic by source for anything live over 30 days, and mark directories that sent signups.
- Add the next five directories from your shortlist.
Keep it current
- Weekly: check everything in pending or needs you
- Monthly: confirm live listings still load and the link attribute hasn't changed
- Quarterly: update descriptions and pricing across live listings (how)
Spreadsheet or tool?
A spreadsheet is fine up to about 50 directories. Beyond that, statuses and logins get messy. AgentLaunch keeps this tracker for you: it records each submission's status, live URL and link check, and lists the "needs you" steps (CAPTCHAs, payments) in one place.
What a mature tracker looks like
Once you're past 30–40 directories, add these to your sheet as well:
- DR and monthly traffic at the time you submitted, to judge which listings were worth it
- Cost, so you can compare paid listings against referral sign-ups later (budget guide)
- Rejection reason if rejected, which shows patterns across directories (common reasons)
- Referral sign-ups (30 days), filled in from your referral report
A sample row
- Directory: TinyLaunch · Route: free · Status: live
- Submitted: Oct 6 · Live: Oct 13 · Next check: Jan 6
- Live URL: tinylaunch.com/launch/… · Link: dofollow (top 3)
- Login: launch@ · Copy: v2
Keep it boring and consistent. The tracker's value is that six months from now you can answer "where are we listed, what does each listing say, and which ones sent customers?" in a minute.
Related
FAQ
How do I keep track of directory submissions? One row per directory, with status, dates, the live URL, link attribute, login, description version, UTM link and a next-check date.
How long do directory submissions take to go live? In our catalog, the most common stated review times are 24 and 48 hours, but some take weeks and some free queues take months.
When is a directory submission "done"? When the public listing URL loads, not when the form says "submitted".
How long do directories take to approve a listing? Of 65 directories in our catalog that state a review time, 63% promise 48 hours or less and 88% a week or less. Free queues on launch platforms can be much longer (Uneed up to five months).
Why did my dofollow link become nofollow?
Several launch platforms change the link after launch: some only keep it followed for the weekly top 3 or above an upvote threshold. Re-check rel a week or two after going live.