# App marketplace SEO: VS Code, JetBrains and Wix

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://workpods.ai/llms.txt)

App marketplace SEO means listing your product where its users already install things, so the listing page ranks for your name and links back to you. The VS Code Extension Marketplace has the most ranking listing pages, and the Wix App Market gave us the cleanest link of any marketplace: followed, and in the server HTML.

## Which app marketplaces are worth it?

The VS Code Marketplace is worth it for ranking listing pages, the Wix App Market for a followed link every crawler can see, and the JetBrains Marketplace for followed links on a smaller audience. Automation platforms bring reach inside your users' workflows, though most don't link back.

| Marketplace | Search terms its listings rank for | Link to your site |
|---|---|---|
| VS Code Marketplace | about 57,000 | `nofollow` until you're a verified publisher |
| JetBrains Marketplace | about 3,500 | Followed, added by JavaScript |
| Wix App Market | about 2,100 | Followed, in the server HTML |

Google's AI answers mention the VS Code Marketplace about 8,100 times in the sample we pulled and JetBrains about 950, so a developer tool listed in either sits in pages AI answers already read.

## Does the VS Code Extension Marketplace help SEO?

Yes, for ranking: VS Code Marketplace listing pages rank for about 57,000 search terms in the US, such as "plantuml", where one extension's listing is second on Google. The links to your site stay `nofollow` until you become a verified publisher, which takes six months on the marketplace and a DNS TXT record.

The listing is built from your README and `package.json`, so write the README like a landing page: the task in the first line, then what the extension does, then setup.

```json
{
  "name": "your-extension",
  "displayName": "Your Product: the task it does",
  "description": "One sentence with the task, in the words people search.",
  "publisher": "your-publisher-id",
  "homepage": "https://example.com/your-product",
  "keywords": ["the", "words", "people", "search"]
}
```

```bash
npm install -g @vscode/vsce
vsce package
vsce publish
```

## Does the JetBrains plugin marketplace link back?

Yes. On live JetBrains Marketplace listings we checked, description links have no `rel` value and the Documentation link uses `noopener noreferrer`, so both are followed, though JavaScript adds them.

A JetBrains plugin has no "website" field, so use Contacts & Resources, then Documentation URL, and point it at your product page. If the plugin relates to your business, you declare yourself a trader, and JetBrains verifies your business and banking details before approving the plugin, even when it's free. EU consumer law requires the check, and JetBrains shows a trader's name, email, address and phone number publicly, so have those ready before you upload.

## How do I get approved on the Wix App Market?

Write the description as prose with measured claims, keep it under 1,200 characters, and leave the platform's own name out of it. The Wix App Market review includes an automated check of the description, and bulleted or step-by-step descriptions don't pass it.

The app's ID becomes the listing URL, so the address isn't readable, and new listings take a while to appear in the market's own search. The link makes up for it. Ours, "Visit our Website", has no `rel` and sits in the server HTML on a page set to index, as one curl command confirms:

```bash
curl -sL -A "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) Chrome/147.0 Safari/537.36" \
  "https://www.wix.com/app-market/b9407962-67b2-43c6-a0cf-3c9ed465a527" \
  | grep -o -E '<a [^>]*href="https?://(www\.)?workpods\.ai[^"]*"[^>]*>'
```

![Wix App Market listing for Agent Ready Website Audit by WorkPods, an app marketplace page with a followed website link](wix-app-market-listing-dofollow-link.webp "Our Wix App Market listing. Its link to workpods.ai is followed and in the server HTML; checked 11 Nov 2026.")

## Do automation platforms link back?

Mostly not. On live vendor listings we checked, Zapier linked with `nofollow`, Make and Composio showed no link to the vendor's site, and Pipedream gave a followed vendor link.

An automation listing gives you reach. Your product appears where people build workflows, and each workflow that uses it keeps them using you. List there for your users, not for the link.

## Where should I start?

Start with the marketplace inside the tool your users already work in, then add the ones that rank or give a followed link. A developer tool starts on the VS Code Marketplace and then JetBrains; a website add-on starts on its builder's app market; a product with a public API starts on the automation platforms its customers use.

If you have an MCP server, start with Claude, ChatGPT and the MCP Registry instead, covered in [MCP servers for SEO and GEO](https://workpods.ai/guides/mcp-distribution). To learn what a marketplace gives before you apply, check an existing vendor's listing with the method in [dofollow vs nofollow backlinks](https://workpods.ai/guides/saas-distribution/dofollow-vs-nofollow). For browser extensions, read [Chrome Web Store SEO](https://workpods.ai/guides/saas-distribution/chrome-web-store-seo), and for every venue side by side, the [SaaS directories guide](https://workpods.ai/guides/saas-distribution).

Before visitors arrive, check your landing page with [Agent Ready](https://workpods.ai/tools/agent-ready), or have us handle the listings through our [agent platform listing work](https://workpods.ai/axo/agent-platforms).

## Sources

- Ranking search terms and AI citations: DataForSEO Labs ranked keywords for listing URLs and LLM mention data, US, English, November 2026; sampled, so read them as signals.
- Link statuses: our own Wix App Market listing and other vendors' live listings, read in Chrome and with curl, 5 to 11 November 2026.

## Questions buyers ask

### What is app marketplace SEO?

Writing and structuring a marketplace listing so its page ranks in Google and AI answers describe it accurately. The listing title, the first lines of the description and the README do most of the work.

### Is the VS Code Marketplace link dofollow?

No. VS Code Marketplace links to your site are `nofollow` until you're a verified publisher, which takes six months on the marketplace and a DNS record.

### Does the JetBrains Marketplace give a dofollow link?

Yes. Description links and the Documentation link on a JetBrains Marketplace listing are followed, though JavaScript adds them.

### Why does JetBrains ask for banking details?

If you declare yourself a trader, EU consumer law requires JetBrains to verify your business, and it collects payout details in the same step, even for a free plugin.

By Prateek Tomar · Reviewed by Shefali Munjal · Published 2026-11-12

---

Source: https://workpods.ai/guides/saas-distribution/app-marketplaces · WorkPods.ai, updated 2026-11-12