# How to get listed on G2 and Capterra, and get the first reviews

You want a fast path onto the pages that rank for best software and that assistants cite. Here is how to create a G2 and a Capterra listing, get the first real reviews, and use them without breaking the rules.

Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/guides/get-listed-on-g2-and-capterra

## Why G2 and Capterra matter beyond referrals

Their category pages rank for best X software and X reviews. Buyers start there. As of 2026, AI assistants also read and cite these pages.

A clean vendor profile puts you on those pages and on your rivals’ comparisons. You get a trusted place for reviews that you do not control, which buyers value.

Capterra belongs to Gartner Digital Markets with GetApp and Software Advice. One listing feeds the three. That multiplies your surface area from one setup.

## What you need ready before you sign up

- A short product name, a one liner, and a concise description
- A logo on a square background, and five to eight screenshots that show real product screens
- A short demo video or a GIF, optional but persuasive
- Clear notes on pricing model, free trial, and free plan if any
- A list of key integrations and target industries or company sizes
- Deployment and support info: cloud, on prem, email, chat, SLA if you have one
- Links to docs, security, privacy and terms pages

Create a page on your site that sends buyers to your review pages. For example, yourproduct.com/reviews linking to G2 and Capterra. You will use it in emails.

## Create and verify your G2 vendor profile

1. **Create a vendor account** Sign up on G2 as a vendor. Use a work email at your domain to speed verification.
2. **Claim or add your product** Search for your product. If it exists, claim it. If not, add it with name, website and a short description.
3. **Pick the right categories** Search categories that fit your use case. Choose the narrowest that matches buyer intent. Avoid over broad or unrelated categories.
4. **Complete product fields** Add logo, screenshots and a clean description. Add pricing notes, deployment, support, and integrations. Link to docs and policies.
5. **Add competitors and alternatives** List the products buyers compare you with. This puts you on comparison pages buyers read.
6. **Verify ownership** Follow G2’s verification steps. Expect an email check and simple proof that you control the domain.

A good G2 profile looks like a trimmed product page. It shows what it is, who it is for, how it is priced, and real screens, all in one scroll.

## Create your Capterra listing, and reach GetApp and Software Advice

1. **Start a vendor account on Capterra** Use your work email. Fill in company and product basics.
2. **Pick categories that match buyer queries** Search by your main use case. Choose a primary category that aligns with what buyers type, like best time tracking software, not a vague bucket.
3. **Fill product details** Add logo, description, screenshots, video, pricing notes, deployment and support. Add integrations and target users.
4. **Publish and complete profile prompts** Capterra prompts for missing fields over time. Complete them. Your listing also populates GetApp and Software Advice.
5. **Verify ownership** Respond to the verification email and provide any requested proof of control of the product and site.

A good Capterra listing answers a buyer’s first six questions without a scroll: what it does, who uses it, key features, price model, trial, and integrations.

## Choose categories and keywords buyers actually use

This choice decides who sees you. Category pages rank, so match how buyers search. If buyers type best payroll software, do not pick HR suite if payroll is your product.

- Check how your closest rivals are categorised on G2 and Capterra
- Open Google for best X software and X reviews, see which category pages rank
- Avoid edge categories no one browses, unless your niche is that narrow
- Add secondary categories only when you can serve that use case well

If in doubt, start narrow. You can widen later. A precise fit beats a broad, low intent bucket for a young product with few reviews.

## Fill your profiles to convert neutral readers

- Lead with the one liner buyers repeat, not a slogan. For example, TimeFox tracks time and sends invoices.
- Use screenshots that show outcomes: a filled invoice, a chart with real data, a settings page that shows integrations.
- State pricing model in plain words: per user per month, free plan, free trial length. Link to your /pricing.
- Name your top five features in buyer words, not internal names. For example, Timesheets, Approvals, Invoicing, QuickBooks sync, Mobile app.
- List your integrations. Start with the ones buyers search with your tool, like QuickBooks, Slack, HubSpot.
- Add a short video walk through if you have it. Keep it under two minutes.
- Add who it is for by company size and roles. For example, agencies with 5 to 100 staff.
- Link to docs, API, security, privacy and terms. Buyers scan these before they book a demo.
- Add alternatives buyers compare you with. This gets you onto their comparison pages.

Rewrite until a stranger can skim and repeat what you do. If a field is optional but helpful, fill it. Sparse profiles underperform in these markets.

## Get your first reviews within the rules

Reviews from verified users are the currency. You need real customers, not friends. Both G2 and Capterra let you invite users and may run their own campaigns.

1. **Make a clean ask to active customers** Start with customers who used the product in the last 90 days. Aim for 10 to 20 reviews to begin. Use your /reviews page with links.
2. **Use neutral language, not only happy-path prompts** Do not pre screen. Ask for honest feedback. For example: Could you share an honest review on G2 or Capterra? It helps buyers pick well.
3. **Time the request** Ask after a visible outcome: a project shipped, a month closed, a support case resolved. Avoid same day of sign up.
4. **Decide on incentives by the platform’s rules** Both platforms allow incentives under their policies. Use their flows where offered. Do not pay for a rating and do not condition on stars.
5. **Invite from inside the product and by email** A banner for all users, not only promoters, and a short email sequence to power users. Keep it simple and optional.
6. **Follow up once** One reminder one week later is fine. More looks like pressure. Stop if the customer declines.

> Do not write, edit, or gate reviews. Fake or filtered reviews get removed and can harm your listing.

A good first batch looks mixed but positive. Examples: five detailed five star reviews, three four star with caveats, one three star with a reason you can fix. That reads real.

## Use badges and quotes without overpromising

Both sites award badges based on reviews and category reports. They let you display badges on your site if you follow usage guidelines. Read their terms before you add them.

- Host badges on a reviews strip on /pricing and /
- Link the badge to your listing page so buyers can verify
- Pull short quotes from reviews with a source credit
- Keep claims precise. Do not say number one unless the badge itself says that
- Update badges when the season or year changes

A fixed page might show a badge row under social proof on /pricing and two short quoted lines with the reviewer’s first name and company size if shown on the site.

## What paid placement buys, and what it does not

Both G2 and Capterra offer paid placement. It increases exposure in category lists and on their sites. It does not change your review content or your rating.

- You can buy sponsored slots that place you higher where buyers browse
- You still need reviews to convert that exposure into clicks and leads
- You do not buy badges or awards. Those come from review data and reports
- Stop paid and the extra exposure stops. Your reviews and free listing remain

Test paid only after your profile is complete and you have a base of reviews. Otherwise you pay to send buyers to a thin page with too little proof to act on.

## Track what these listings change for you

- Check Google Search Console for brand plus reviews queries, like “yourproduct reviews”
- Watch referral traffic from g2.com, capterra.com, getapp.com and softwareadvice.com
- Search your category name in an incognito window to see your position among rivals
- Listen for mentions from sales calls. Add a field, How did you find us, with options for G2 and Capterra
- Search assistants with your product name and see which directory pages they cite as of 2026

If you need an outside view, Porteur runs a quick check from your URL and shows where review sites appear around you and who you compete with on them.

## Where to list next, and why

AlternativeTo is a crowd sourced directory of software alternatives. Anyone can submit an app. Its pages rank for X alternatives and are cited by assistants. Add your app and list your rivals so you appear on their pages too.

Product Hunt gives you a day of visitors and a long lived listing for your name. Launch there when you can support a day of replies. Asking for upvotes is against the guidelines.

Small launch sites with real audiences add surface area: Uneed, MicroLaunch, Dev Hunt, Launching Next, Peerlist launches, Fazier, SaaSHub. Each is a page and a vote that links to you.

Reddit works if you invest months first. Answer questions in the right subreddit, disclose who you are, and use allowed share threads. Promotion only accounts get removed or banned.

## Questions

### Is a G2 or Capterra vendor profile free?

Yes. A vendor profile is free to create on both. You can pay for more exposure, but you do not need to pay to appear or to collect reviews.

### How many reviews do I need to start seeing results?

Aim for 10 to 20 reviews to start. That is enough for buyers to take you seriously and for badges to become possible. More detailed reviews beat many thin ones.

### Can I copy reviews from one site to the other?

No. Ask the customer to leave a review on each site instead. Each platform has its own terms and verification. Copy pastes break trust and can be removed.

### May I offer a gift card for reviews?

Both platforms allow incentives under their rules. Use their campaigns or flows where available. Never condition on a rating or only invite happy users.

### Do paid plans improve my rating or badges?

No. Paid placement increases visibility. It does not change your reviews, average rating, or awards. Badges come from review data and category reports.

### What if I picked the wrong category?

You can request a change. Review where buyers search and where rivals sit, then move to the closest fit. A precise category usually works better for a new product.

## Read next

- [How to get listed on AlternativeTo and be named as an alternative](https://porteur.ai/guides/get-listed-on-alternativeto): How AlternativeTo works, how to submit your app, and how to be named as an alternative to your rivals so you climb the lists users and assistants read.
- [Startup directories worth an hour of your time](https://porteur.ai/guides/startup-directories): Where to submit your startup, what each place gives you, how to fill twenty forms in an hour, and which sites to skip.
- [Launching on Product Hunt: a checklist that fits a week](https://porteur.ai/guides/launch-on-product-hunt): What a Product Hunt launch is worth, how to prepare in a week, what to do on the day, and what to fix after to turn visitors into users.
- [Reddit for founders: how to talk about your product without being removed](https://porteur.ai/guides/reddit-for-founders): How to promote a startup on Reddit without removals: where launches are allowed, what to write, how to disclose, and how to build trust first.
- [How ChatGPT search picks and cites sources](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-chatgpt-search-cites-sources): See how ChatGPT search finds pages and cites them, what your page needs to be picked, and how to check if your site is named.
- [How to appear in Google’s AI Overviews](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-to-rank-in-ai-overviews): What overviews cite, which queries trigger them, and how to structure pages that get linked. Steps to find your openings and measure them.
- [When to hire for SEO, and for what](https://porteur.ai/guides/when-to-hire-for-seo): The signals that you have outgrown doing it yourself, what to buy first, the questions that reveal method, and a trial that answers within a month.

Paste your URL and get a free check in about thirty seconds that reads your site, the searches around it and rivals on them, and shows three findings whole. Free check: https://porteur.ai/