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How to Verify a Dofollow Backlink for a Free Listing

Free listings are reviewed like every other listing. A successful badge check controls dofollow treatment; it does not buy approval or guarantee a search result.

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SubmitForBacklinks
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The verified follow window is 60 days.

The window starts when a free listing is both published and successfully verified. Verification completed before publication remains pending until the listing goes live. Verified free badges are rechecked daily. Transient network or server failures retain the verified state and retry after 15 minutes, one hour, then six hours. Definitive missing or invalid markup changes the listing to nofollow. A successful later verification can restore only the time remaining in the original window; removing and replacing the badge never resets or extends its expiration date.

Verify the issued badge

  1. 01

    Submit a free listing

    Acknowledge that badge verification is required for dofollow treatment and reserve an available launch week.

  2. 02

    Copy the issued badge markup

    Issue the badge from the founder workspace, CLI, REST API, or MCP tool and copy one exact returned markup theme. The token identifies the listing and must not be edited.

  3. 03

    Install it on a public HTTPS page

    Place the badge on a stable, crawlable page of the submitted product site. Do not hide it behind authentication.

  4. 04

    Run verification

    Provide the public badge page through the workspace, CLI, REST API, or MCP tool. Verification checks the issued destination and badge assets rather than accepting a screenshot.

  5. 05

    Keep it reachable

    Keep the verified markup available for the 60-day window. The service rechecks verified free badges daily. Transient network or server failures keep the verification active and retry with bounded backoff; definitive missing or invalid markup changes the listing to nofollow. A successful later verification restores only the time remaining in the original window.

Complete badge verification from the terminal

The commands return the same owner-scoped badge state as the dashboard. The CLI uses the credential stored by domain setup, so no environment variable is needed. Use the submission ID returned by the draft or submission command.

Issue, verify, and inspect the free badge
export SFB_BADGE_ISSUE_KEY="$(node -e 'console.log(crypto.randomUUID())')"
./submitforbacklinks badge-issue 00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000 \
  --idempotency-key "$SFB_BADGE_ISSUE_KEY"
# Install one exact markup theme returned by the command.
export SFB_BADGE_VERIFY_KEY="$(node -e 'console.log(crypto.randomUUID())')"
./submitforbacklinks badge-verify 00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000 \
  https://yourproduct.com/partners \
  --idempotency-key "$SFB_BADGE_VERIFY_KEY"
./submitforbacklinks badge-status 00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000

Common verification failures

Private or unstable target

The verification page requires a login, blocks automated retrieval, redirects unexpectedly, or is unavailable.

Changed token or URLs

The issued token, badge image URL, or listing destination was edited after copying the markup.

Rendered only after interaction

The badge is injected only after consent, a click, or a client-side state that the verifier cannot reach.

Badge missing during re-verification

A later verification cannot find the previously verified badge on the saved public target page, so the listing changes to nofollow.

Related documentation

Submission Guidelines

Review authorization, content, media, and moderation requirements.

Read the guidelines

Agent submission quickstart

Create a free draft or explicitly send a reviewed listing from the terminal.

Open the quickstart

Pricing and link policy

Compare free badge verification with the one-time Featured option.

Review pricing

Authenticated support

Ask for help with an issued badge or a failed verification.

Open support