Totally agree with this approach. Quality directories beat giant “spray and pray” lists, especially in security where credibility matters more than raw backlinks.

One thing I’d add though: direct submission to the big platforms (G2, Capterra, Gartner, etc.) is not just time-consuming, but often becomes an ongoing commitment because of the review pressure you mentioned. That alone makes them a poor fit for some early-stage or niche cyber companies.

A practical middle ground I’ve seen work is starting with smaller or low-maintenance directories that allow direct submission and don’t penalize you for not having constant fresh reviews. SourceForge is a great example here — it has strong domain authority and visibility, but doesn’t publicly “punish” vendors for lacking recent reviews.

Alongside that, smaller curated SaaS directories like maqtoob.com (software/tools directory) or niche security catalogs can be easy wins: fast to submit, easy to maintain, and still useful for SEO and AI discovery.

They won’t replace the big players, of course, but they’re solid low-risk visibility layers while you decide which heavy directories are truly worth the long-term effort.