Glossary
What is a launch badge?
A launch badge is a small image a directory or launch platform gives you to put on your site, usually linking back to your listing. Some badges are awards, like Product of the Day. Others are the price of a free listing: no badge on your site, no listing or no followed link.
Two kinds of badge
Award badges mark a result: Product of the Day on Product Hunt, #1 of the week on a smaller platform, Featured on a directory. They are optional. Founders add them as social proof near a pricing table or in a footer.
Required badges are a condition of the listing. The directory checks your homepage for its badge or link, and only then publishes the listing, approves it faster or upgrades your link from nofollow to dofollow. That arrangement is a badge exchange.
How common they are
Of the 352 directories we checked, 83 (24%) ask for a badge or a link back in some form, and 216 list you without one. Requirements are most common on small launch platforms and AI directories: 40% of launch platforms and 19% of AI tool directories in our catalog ask for one.
The biggest directories rarely ask. Product Hunt, G2, Crunchbase and AlternativeTo all list products without a badge.
Should you add it?
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Award from a big platform | Add it, it's real social proof |
| Required by a directory with real traffic | Fine, on a page where it fits |
| Required by a tiny or unknown directory | Usually skip that directory |
| Ten badges already in your footer | Group them on one "As featured on" page |
Common mistake
Adding every badge to the site-wide footer. A sitewide block of outbound links to small directories looks like a link exchange, adds clutter and is easy to forget when a directory dies. Put required badges on one page you control, check them every few months and remove the ones from directories that no longer exist. Our list of directories that need no badge is a good place to start if you'd rather avoid them.
How directories check for the badge
Most read your homepage HTML at approval time and look for their link or image. Some look only for the image file, others require the exact link with no nofollow attribute. A few recheck on a schedule and quietly switch your listing to nofollow if the badge is gone. If a directory rejects you for a missing badge, check that the badge is in the HTML the server sends, not only added later by JavaScript, and that it is on the page the directory checks.
FAQ
Do I have to keep the badge forever?
Most directories check only at approval. Some recheck and downgrade the link or remove the listing if the badge disappears. Read the directory's terms.
Does a badge link hurt my SEO?
One or two are harmless. Dozens of sitewide links to low-quality directories can look like a reciprocal link scheme, so keep them on a single page.
Can I add the badge with a nofollow link?
Some directories accept it, many require their link to be followed. If they require a dofollow link back, it's a link exchange, so weigh whether the directory is worth it.
Where should I put directory badges?
On one page you control, such as an "As featured on" or press page linked from your footer, rather than in a sitewide footer block.
Do badges send traffic?
Very little. Few visitors click a directory badge. Award badges are worth it as social proof; required badges are a cost you pay for the listing.
Sources
Data
- Launch directory statistics 2026: 352 directories checked by hand
- AI tool directory statistics 2026: 122 directories checked