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What do you typically expect from a PH launch?

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Hey folks - I'm curious what is the primary reason you launch on PH.
Is it to get initial traction, or is it feedback? I've launched a couple of products on PH and I've definitely seen an SEO benefit, my search rankings went up both the times and I got new backlinks.

I've not yet seen high intent users coming through, is it dependent on the launch category positioning?

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I’d say PH is better for initial boost, but only if you've built a ready supportive community beforehand. Don't use PH as a metric for the success of your idea. Use other marketing channels.

The SEO/backlink bump comes up a lot in these threads. What I haven't seen anyone measure is whether that backlink still pulls weight once the launch page drops off the front page a week later.

 easy to test that by checking when backlinks were received. I typically use Ubersuggest.

Honestly, the last three launches have changed my perspective.

When I first launched , the goal was traction. I wanted to validate the idea and see whether people genuinely cared about a tool like this. The launch was successful, and the project gained a lot of attention.

What surprised me most, though, was the quality of the comments. Users shared thoughtful feedback and practical ideas for improving the product. That feedback directly shaped the v2 release and, later, the launch of the desktop apps.

Now, when we launch on Product Hunt, the goal is not simply traction. It is meaningful user engagement and honest feedback. That feedback does more than validate the idea. It helps define the roadmap for the next version.

The most recent launch generated some incredible suggestions, and many of them have already been incorporated into the upcoming v2.2 release.

 did you get feedback directly on PH, or from the signed up users. Curious

 for me the feedback has been through comments on PH during the launch and post launch.

I used to expect Product Hunt launches to be a real signal of product quality and genuine early user interest. Lately, it sometimes feels like visibility depends more on how many communities a founder can activate and how many people they can ask for comments or upvotes, even when many of them haven’t actually tried the product.

That creates a bad outcome: products with real value and real users can get buried, while launches with stronger promotion networks move to the top very quickly.

I think Product Hunt needs a stronger anti-spam and launch-quality system — not just counting engagement, but looking at whether comments are meaningful, whether users actually tested the product, and whether activity looks coordinated. Otherwise the rankings risk becoming a measure of distribution tactics rather than product quality.