App launch glossary

A page listing credible substitutes for a specific product, targeting the bottom-funnel query pattern "alternatives to X" with a buyer already behind it.

Also called alternatives to X, substitutes page

The dated moment an app is publicly released or presented to a new audience, together with the coordinated activity around it. An event, not a piece of software.

Also called product launch, launching an app

A program that finds and starts other applications, such as a desktop launcher, a Spotlight replacement, or an Android home screen. Unrelated to an app launch.

Also called launcher, application launcher, desktop launcher

Editorial selection by Apple or Google for placement on a store’s curated surfaces, awards or collections. Not purchasable, and driven by craft rather than downloads.

Also called featured on the App Store, Editors Choice, Google Play featuring

App Store Optimization: improving an app’s visibility and conversion inside the App Store and Google Play through metadata, creative assets, ratings and update recency.

Also called app store optimization

An inbound link from another website to yours. The count matters less than the number of distinct domains linking, their quality, and whether the links pass ranking signals.

Also called inbound link, incoming link

A copy-paste snippet, usually an image wrapped in a link, that a maker installs on their own site to show they were featured on a directory.

Also called launch badge, embed badge, award badge

An editorially curated roundup answering "best X tools", with stated selection criteria and a last-updated date rather than an unranked dump of listings.

Also called roundup, best tools page, listicle

The single preferred address for a piece of content, declared with a link rel=canonical tag so search engines consolidate duplicates onto one page.

Also called rel=canonical, canonicalization

A dated, public record of what changed in a product, written for the people who use it rather than for the people who built it.

Also called release notes, what is new

Software operated from a terminal through typed commands. A distinct platform with its own distribution channels, discovery patterns and listing requirements.

Also called command line tool, command-line interface, terminal app

A URL that opens a specific screen inside an app rather than its home screen, or the website equivalent when the app is not installed.

Also called universal link, app link, deferred deep link

Link attributes that tell search engines whether to pass ranking signals to the destination. Dofollow is the default; nofollow asks engines not to count the link as an endorsement.

Also called rel=nofollow, follow link, link attribute

A third-party score, usually 0 to 100, estimating the strength of a site’s backlink profile. Useful for rough comparison, and routinely oversold by directories as a product.

Also called DR, domain authority, DA

A listing selected by a directory’s editorial team rather than by community voting, usually carrying placement, a badge, and any benefits that votes would otherwise unlock.

Also called editors choice, editorial pick, staff pick

A rule that keeps a generated page out of search indexes until it holds enough content to be worth landing on, most often a minimum number of listings.

Also called indexation threshold, noindex gate

A developer who builds and runs small software businesses independently, usually solo or in a pair, funded by revenue rather than investment.

Also called indie maker, solo founder, bootstrapper

A site where makers submit new products for review and publication, usually combining a dated feed of recent launches with permanent, browsable listing pages.

Also called launch platform, product directory, startup directory

The fixed period during which a listing is live and competing for attention and votes, after which it becomes a permanent listing that no longer moves in the feed.

Also called launch period, launch day

The page summary in a meta tag, used by search engines as the snippet under a result. Not a ranking factor, and a strong influence on whether anyone clicks.

Also called description tag, snippet

A small software-as-a-service business serving a narrow niche, run by one person or a tiny team, deliberately kept small rather than scaled.

Also called microsaas, micro saas

Monthly recurring revenue: the predictable subscription revenue a business earns in a month, normalized so annual plans are counted one twelfth at a time.

Also called monthly recurring revenue, ARR

The image declared by the og:image meta tag, rendered as the preview card whenever a URL is shared on social platforms and chat apps. Standard size is 1200 by 630.

Also called open graph image, social preview image, social card

A go-to-market model where the product itself drives acquisition, conversion and expansion, typically through a free tier, self-serve signup and in-product upgrade paths.

Also called PLG, product led growth

Generating many pages from a single template and a structured data source, so each combination of values becomes its own indexable page targeting a specific query.

Also called pSEO, programmatic pages

A distinct website that links to yours at least once. Counted per domain rather than per link, which makes it a far better measure of a link profile than backlink count.

Also called linking domain, referring domains

Submitting an existing listing for a second launch window, normally after a version significant enough to justify presenting the product to the feed again.

Also called re-launch, relaunching

Software you run on infrastructure you control rather than consuming as a vendor-operated service. A deployment model, and on this site a first-class platform.

Also called self hosting, on-premise, on-prem

Releasing a product quietly, to a limited audience or market, to gather data and fix problems before a full public launch.

Also called limited release, staged launch

A single positive vote on a listing during its launch window, used by most directories as the primary ranking input and frequently as a gate on other benefits.

Also called vote, upvotes

A signup form collecting interest in a product that is not yet usable. Widely rejected by launch directories, which require a live product.

Also called early access list, coming soon page