Get a do-follow backlink without paying.
Embed the CitedIndex badge on your site and your free listing's outbound link upgrades from nofollow to do-follow. Automatic. Re-verified every day.
What the badge looks like
Light
Dark
Mono
Three variants, two sizes. Pick the one that matches your site. The actual embed code lives on each tool's own badge page (linked below).
How it works
- Get listed. Submit your tool if it isn't already on the index. Free tier costs nothing if your tool meets the scope rules.
- Grab your embed code. Each published tool has a per-tool embed page at
/badge/your-tool-slugwith HTML, React, and Markdown snippets ready to paste. - Drop it in your footer. The snippet wraps an SVG in an
<a>with adata-citedindex-badgeattribute. The footer's the simplest spot — every page renders it, including your homepage, which is what we crawl. - First check is on you.Hit the "Verify badge" button on your tool's badge page once you've embedded it. We fetch your homepage, find the attribute, flip your link to do-follow within minutes.
- Daily re-checks are on us. Every 24 hours we re-fetch and confirm. If the badge ever goes missing, we'll email you, and if it stays missing the link eventually reverts. Re-install it any time to restore.
Why this exists
Most directories give free listings nofollow links and call it a day. We think free listings should have a path to do-follow that doesn't require paying.
The trade is honest: you embed the badge, your visitors see CitedIndex and some of them click through. We get referral traffic. You get the do-follow you'd otherwise pay $15 for as Certified. Both sides win, neither side hides it.
If the badge isn't a fit for your site (legal, design, you just don't want to), Certified at $15 once gets you the same do-follow without it.
Frequently asked
How often do you check?
Once every 24 hours, automatically. The first successful check upgrades your listing within minutes. Every check after that just confirms the badge is still there.
What happens if I take the badge down?
We'll email you when a check fails. If the badge stays missing, the listing's outbound link eventually reverts to nofollow. Re-install it any time and the next check restores the do-follow.
Where should I put the badge?
Site footer. We always crawl your homepage, so anything in the footer is guaranteed to be checked. Other locations like an About or credits page may also work as long as the snippet is on the homepage itself, but the footer is the simplest answer for everyone — install once, never think about it again.
I'm on a paid tier. Does this affect me?
No. Certified ($15 once), Verified ($49 once), and Premium ($49/mo) listings already have do-follow outbound links by tier. The badge program exists so free listings have a no-payment path to the same. You're welcome to embed the badge anyway as a trust signal, but it doesn't change anything for your listing.
Why do you do this?
Two reasons. One: every listed tool should get something back, even on the free tier. Two: a founder who embeds the badge sends real referral traffic our way. It's a fair two-way trade. We don't hide it: it's a deliberate growth mechanic, and you're a willing participant or you're not.
Ready?
Find your tool's badge page or submit a new listing.
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