What each tier genuinely gets you here
Stated plainly, because the whole point of this page is that the difference should not be mysterious.
- Free: a permanent listing page, a place in the free rotation, inclusion in your category, and a real click counter. No expiry, no card, no account.
- Paid: all of the above, plus a weighted entry into the draw for one of eight sponsored slots on the rotation page, and a Sponsored label.
- Neither tier: any search-ranking benefit. Both tiers are nofollowed. Paying changes your visibility and nothing about your rankings.
A decision rule that works
Run the free listing for a month and read the click counter. Multiply the clicks by your realistic conversion rate and by what a customer is worth. If that number comfortably exceeds the slot price, paying is rational. If it does not, paying is a donation.
The reason this works is that it uses your own numbers from this specific directory rather than someone's case study from a different one.
When paying is clearly wrong
- Before you have any click data at all. You are guessing, and the guess is usually optimistic.
- When you are buying it for SEO. It does nothing for SEO. If that is the goal, keep the money.
- When the slot price is a meaningful fraction of your runway. Directory placements are a marginal channel, not a growth strategy.
- When your landing page is not ready. Paid clicks to a page that does not convert is just a faster way to learn that.