news.ycombinator.com

Hacker News (news.ycombinator.com) is a community-driven platform owned by Y Combinator, focusing on computer science, entrepreneurship, and tech innovations. It's designed for developers, founders, and tech enthusiasts to submit, vote on, and discuss links, "Ask HN" questions, and "Show HN" product launches. Non-YC startups can submit posts, but YC-backed companies get prioritized placement for launches, making it a hub for early-stage visibility.

For SEO value, posts (not comments) provide dofollow links with high authority—estimated Domain Rating of 30 (via Semrush/Ahrefs metrics, strength ~30-40). High traffic from upvotes and discussions boosts exposure, though links in comments are nofollow. Successful posts correlate with comments (66%) and upvotes (53%), driving referral traffic and brand signals.

Tips for listing: Submit via the top "submit" link with a compelling, non-spammy title and URL—avoid marketing hype to evade moderation or shadowbans. Engage genuinely in comments for better karma and visibility; new accounts start green and face scrutiny. For max impact, aim for "Show HN" format if launching a product, and build karma (501+ for downvotes) through quality contributions first.