How to promote your app for free: the channels that still work
Promote an app for free by making it findable in search and AI answers first, then free launch sites, communities and content that answers buyer questions.
LLaunchScaler·Published ·8 min read
To promote your app for free, start by making it findable: indexed by Google, fast, and showing a proper preview wherever its link is shared. Then add the channels that bring people to it, in order of effort per result: free launch platforms and directories, communities where the problem your app solves is discussed, and articles that answer the questions your buyers search.
It is tempting to start with the last three and skip the first, but a good launch day on a site nobody can find leaves nothing behind. A launch sends visitors for a day. An indexed site with good pages answers searches, and AI questions, every day after.
Which free channels work best for promoting an app?
The free channels that still work are findability in search and AI answers, free launch platforms and directories, communities, content, and direct outreach to your first users. They differ in effort and in how long the result lasts. Rank them by effort per lasting result and findability comes first, because it is a one-time fix that keeps paying.
Rank
Channel
Effort
First result
How long it keeps working
1
Be findable in search and AI answers
An afternoon of fixes
Weeks, as Google finds and indexes the site
As long as the site stays healthy
2
Free launch platforms and directories
Questions, answered
What people ask about this
01
How can I promote my app for free?
Make the app findable first: indexed by Google, fast, with link previews that work. Then list it on free launch platforms and directories, join the communities where its problem is discussed, and publish articles that answer the questions buyers search.
Outreach is last here only because it does not scale, not because it fails. For your first handful of customers it can be the most direct route, and how to get your first 100 users covers it in detail.
How do you make your app findable in search and AI answers?
An app is findable when Google can crawl and index its site, the pages load fast on a phone, and the content is readable as text in the HTML. Google's documentation says AI Overviews and AI Mode have no extra requirements: a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. So the same fixes make you findable in both places.
Google's own list of why new sites get missed is a good checklist. Its "Get your website on Google" page names five reasons: no other sites link to yours, the site is too new (it can take a few weeks for Google to notice it), the design makes the content hard to crawl, Google hit an error such as a login page or a block, or Google simply missed it.
Work through it:
Search site:yourdomain.com in Google to see what is already indexed.
Open your site in an incognito window. If you cannot reach the pages without signing in, neither can Google.
Check yourdomain.com/robots.txt for a Disallow: /, and view source on your homepage for content="noindex".
Make sure the main content is text in the HTML, not only images, video or content that appears after JavaScript runs.
Add the site to Search Console, submit your sitemap, and request indexing for the homepage.
Add Open Graph tags (og:title, og:image, og:url, og:type) so every shared link shows a title and image.
Test the homepage on a phone for speed and layout.
The first reason on Google's list, no links from other sites, is also why the next channel matters: a listing on a launch platform or directory is often the first link a new site gets. For the AI side specifically, how to optimize for AI search covers crawler access, rendering and what answer engines quote.
Which free launch platforms and directories are worth it?
The free launch platforms worth your hour are the ones that keep a permanent page about your app and link to your site. Ranked for a maker with no budget who wants that page and link without a months-long wait, the free options are LaunchScaler, Product Hunt, Show HN, Uneed's free line and SaaSCity's free plan.
1. LaunchScaler: a free scan and a free listing from one URL
LaunchScaler leads for a zero-budget maker because the free route gives you both a readiness check of your site and a permanent listing, and the only input is your URL. The free readiness scan runs 156 checks across 6 of 7 categories with no account. The free launch gives you "your listing from the day the queue reaches you": a permanent listing in category and search, and an About section and pros and cons written from your own site. It asks for LaunchScaler's badge on your site or a one-time fee to skip it, and the one dofollow link to your site is earned by passing the readiness scan.
2. Product Hunt: free, one day in Pacific time
Product Hunt says launching is 100% free. The best time to post, by its own guide, is 12:01 am Pacific Time, when the day starts. You cannot ask people directly to upvote; ask them to visit and comment instead. Not every product is featured on the homepage.
3. Show HN: free, for apps people can try right now
Show HN is for "something you've made that other people can play with." The guidelines ask you to make it easy to try, "ideally without barriers such as signups or emails," and not to ask friends to upvote or comment. Landing pages and sign-up pages are off topic.
4. Uneed: a free line with a vote threshold
Uneed's free waiting line assigns a launch date between 30 days and 5 months out. Free submissions are moderated and can be declined. On launch day, an upvote score of 20 keeps a dofollow link and 10 to 19 keeps a nofollow link.
5. SaaSCity: a free followed link in exchange for a badge
SaaSCity's free plan gives a dofollow link but requires its badge on your site, with an estimated 210-day review queue and free listings going live on a scheduled Monday drop. BetaList, often listed alongside these, has no free option: all its submissions are paid.
How do you promote an app in communities without getting banned?
Promote in communities by being a useful member first and mentioning your app only where it answers the thread. Every community sets its own rules, and moderators can remove posts or ban accounts that break them. Read the rules of each community before you post, every time.
Reddit's site-wide rules say it plainly: abide by community rules, "participate authentically in communities where you have a personal interest, and do not spam." Hacker News forbids asking friends to upvote or comment. Indie Hackers holds back posting access from new accounts until moderators see a pattern of real contribution.
What works in all of them:
Find where your app's problem is discussed, not where apps are advertised. Search the community for the problem in your users' words.
Answer questions for two weeks before you post anything about your app.
When you post, lead with something useful: a number, a lesson, a free resource. Put the link at the end.
Say that you built it, in the post itself.
Reply to every comment the same day.
For Reddit specifically, promoting an app on Reddit goes through how to read a subreddit's rules and what to post.
What content should you write to promote an app?
Write articles that answer the questions buyers search before they know your app exists: how to solve the problem your app solves, how the options compare, and whether a given approach is worth it. Each article is a page that can rank and be cited, so it keeps bringing readers long after you publish it.
Start from real questions, not guesses:
Questions from support emails and sales calls.
Questions from launch-day comments and community threads.
Searches that already show your site in Search Console's Performance report.
Google's guidance on helpful content is the test for each piece: does it give original information or analysis, would a reader leave feeling they learned enough to reach their goal, and would they need to search again elsewhere? Answer the question in the first two sentences, then give the detail. Link each article to the page where the reader can try the app.
What does not work when you promote an app for free?
Shortcuts that break a platform's rules do not work, and they often cost you the listing. Asking for upvotes on Product Hunt or Hacker News, posting the same link across dozens of communities, and paying other sites for links all fall into this group. Google's own "Get your website on Google" page warns that paying for links could be considered a violation of its spam policies.
Mass-posting also wastes the one asset you have at the start, which is your name in a few communities. Spend it on one good post in the right place instead of twenty in the wrong ones.
Check that your app is findable before you promote it
Every channel above sends people to your site, so check the site before you send them. LaunchScaler's free readiness scan needs only your URL and no account, and runs 156 checks across 6 of its 7 categories: search, AI visibility, security, compliance, speed and visual, and whether the site works. Its search and AI visibility checks read what this guide covers: robots.txt blocks, noindex tags, a missing sitemap, content that only appears after JavaScript runs, and AI crawlers blocked by robots.txt or a firewall. The same URL can then go straight into a free listing. Run the free scan and fix what it flags before your first launch or post.
For most apps it is being findable in search and AI answers, because it keeps working every day once it is done. Launches and community posts bring a burst of visitors; indexed pages answer searches for months.
03
Where can I list my app for free?
LaunchScaler, Product Hunt and Show HN are free to launch on, Uneed has a free line with a date 30 days to 5 months out, and SaaSCity has a free plan that requires its badge and a queue of about 210 days. BetaList has no free option.
04
Can I promote my app on Reddit?
Only within each community's rules. Reddit's site rules ask users to abide by community rules, participate authentically where they have a personal interest, and not spam. Read a subreddit's rules before posting a link.
05
How long does it take for Google to find a new app website?
Google says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site. Links from other sites, a sitemap and a Search Console property help it find the site sooner.
A SaaS launch checklist in three parts: site readiness the week before, platform timing on launch day and follow-up the week after, each with its guide.
