ToolIndex
Free SaaS & AI Tool Directory
A few weeks ago I posted here about getting tired of waiting 2-4 weeks for a backlink and building ToolIndex instead: free to submit, live in minutes, real dofollow backlink, no paywall for the basic listing.
Wanted to come back with the honest numbers, because half the value of these threads is seeing what actually happened after launch day, not just the pitch.
Where it stood at launch: a handful of listings, a DR 86 domain, and a bet that "submit and go live now" would beat the wait-2-weeks-or-pay model most directories run on.
Where it stands now:
1259+ products indexed
Founders are finding it through other directories and submitting organically, nobody's paying for that traffic
Claim flow is live: any founder can verify ownership of their listing and add their own logo, description and screenshots
Paid placement tiers went live too (Daily Boost, Weekly Feature, Premium Listing), starting around $9, for people who want more visibility than the free tier gives them
The part I didn't expect: once claiming became possible, it created a second, quieter growth loop. People who'd never heard of ToolIndex were discovering their own product already listed (pulled in automatically from other launch platforms) and claiming it just to control how it looked. A decent chunk of new signups now come from that path, not from submitting fresh.
What I'm still working on:
A "New Today" and category-filtered browsing experience, because the thing that kills most directories isn't launch day traffic dropping off, it's that nobody comes back to browse once the initial wave fades
Sponsor slots with a hard cap (max 3 concurrent) so featured placement stays meaningful instead of turning into another wall of ads
Better data hygiene on the automated import pipeline, since pulling in listings from other launch platforms means occasionally pulling in duplicates or stale info too, and I'd rather catch that early than let it erode trust in the listings
If you run a SaaS or AI product and you're tired of the wait-2-weeks-or-pay model, still happy to have you check it out and tell me what's missing: https://strategicflow.tech/tools
Happy to answer anything about the backend, the claim/verification flow, or what I'd do differently starting over.
I built a free SaaS directory because I was tired of waiting weeks to get a backlink
A few months ago I was submitting my other product (a SaaS conversion diagnostic tool) to a bunch of directories, trying to get some backlinks and early visibility.
Most of them had the same pattern: submit, wait 2-4 weeks for manual review, and if you wanted it faster, pay $30-80 to skip the queue. A few were free but the free tier took months to even get looked at.
So I built ToolIndex. The rules I set for myself:
- Free to submit, no paywall for basic listing
- Goes live almost instantly, no review queue
- Every listing gets a real dofollow backlink
- Claim your listing anytime to add your own logo, description, and screen
shots
I also added a search bar front and center, category filters, and sections like "New Today" and "Startup of the Week," because most directories turn into a dead list the moment the launch-day traffic fades. I wanted something people would actually come back to browse, not just a one-time backlink drop.
It's a July launch, still early, but it's already picked up organic listings from founders finding it through other directories, which has been a fun signal that the "submit and go live now" approach resonates.
If you're tired of the wait-2-weeks-or-pay model, would genuinely appreciate you checking it out and telling me what's missing: https://strategicflow.tech/tools
Happy to answer anything about how it's built or what's next.
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The organic submissions are a good signal for the “get listed quickly” side.
Are you seeing any evidence yet that people come back to browse the directory itself, rather than founders mainly treating it as another place to get their own product listed?
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Fair question, and honest answer: too early to prove real return browsing after just a few weeks. The strongest signal so far is what Muhammad flagged, founders finding it organically without me reaching out. I'd rather show you real numbers in a month than guess now.
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The "submit and go live now" part is what stood out. After dealing with those week long queues myself I can see why that would appeal to founders.
It also feels like this could be getting a lot more organic traffic than it probably is right now. Since you're still early those extra people would probably teach you a lot about how the directory evolves.
Have you had the same feeling or is it tracking about where you expected?
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Honestly tracking close to where I expected, maybe slightly ahead. The signal I care about most right now isn't traffic volume, it's that a handful of founders found it organically through other directories and submitted without me reaching out. That tells me the "go live now" positioning is doing some of the work on its own.
Still too early to say much about long-term retention or repeat visits, but that's exactly the thing I'm watching closest over the next few weeks.
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That makes sense. Organic submissions without outreach are usually one of the strongest early signals.
Reading your post and your reply, I noticed a few organic search opportunities that could help ToolIndex attract more founders over time, beyond directory submissions alone. If you're curious, feel free to reach out at mumar [at] growwithmumar [dot] online. Happy to share a few ideas—no pitch, just observations.
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5 Comments
Good question. So far it's mostly still on the founder side, claiming gets them control over how the listing looks, not necessarily a push into the paid tiers yet. I haven't seen a strong correlation between claiming and upgrading to Boost/Feature/Premium, but the sample size is still small enough that I don't want to read too much into it either way.
What I have noticed is that claimed listings tend to look better maintained (real logos, actual descriptions instead of the auto-imported placeholder text), which probably helps browsing conversion indirectly even if it's not showing up yet as a direct claim-to-upgrade path. Will have a clearer read on this once there's more volume through the funnel.
Agreed, will keep tracking it. My guess is it'll show up first in return visits to claimed listings rather than a direct upgrade path.