You pick up the phone and there is a friendly voice on the other end. Apparently your listing has an error, apparently it is about to expire, apparently there is one place left in the premium position in your category and it costs nine thousand. A decision is needed before the call ends.
I am writing this because every company knows that call and nobody publishes an answer to it. Directories write about themselves, and so do the agencies selling links. In short: paying is sometimes worth it, but almost never for the reason the voice on the phone gives you.
Short answer
- A listing in a large directory is worth having for the people who use it, not for search ranking.
- Google's spam policies explicitly name buying links and links from low quality directories. A package of “500 links for 5,000” is exactly that.
- In the Czech Republic the local engine Seznam holds around an eighth of searches. Not the main channel, but not zero either, especially among older customers and in some fields.
- Paying for advertising is fine. The link in it has to be marked as paid, otherwise you are breaking the search engine's rules, not the law.
- The best backlink is the one that brings a person. A link nobody arrived through in a year is worthless to crawlers too.
What the voice on the phone is actually selling
The offers fall into three groups and each deserves a different answer.
- Renewal or correction of a listing you never ordered. The most common and most aggressive kind. Usually a separate company merely alluding to a directory you have heard of. Answer: pay nothing and ask for everything in writing.
- A paid position in a large national directory. A legitimate product that makes sense in some fields. Answer: have the offer emailed and decide calmly against the price of advertising elsewhere.
- A package of backlinks for SEO. Hundreds of links from directories nobody uses. Answer: never pay. It is not merely wasted, it can do harm.
A practical rule that works on all three: never decide on the phone. Anybody selling something of value will put it in writing and wait until tomorrow.
Where people search in the Czech Republic
Composition in per cent
- Google87%
- Seznam12%
- Others1%
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| 87% | |
| Seznam | 12% |
| Others | 1% |
What does what
The table is ordered by value for money as I see it at clients. The last row is the only one I recommend never.
| Channel | What you actually get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Google business profile | The most of anything for a local service. Maps, calls, reviews | Free |
| Basic listing in a large national directory | Visits from the people who use it, mainly trades and services | Free or low |
| Trade association or sector directory | Few visits but qualified ones. Decisive in some fields | Depends on the field |
| Paid position in a directory | Works as advertising, not as SEO. Budget it as advertising | Thousands a year |
| A link from a supplier, partner or customer | The best ratio. Brings people and search engines take it seriously | One email |
| A mention in media or a sector article | Strong, but cannot be bought. Can be earned with content | Time |
| A package of hundreds of directory links | Nothing. Named as spam in the search engine's own policies | Money thrown away |
How to check whether a listing brought you anything
This is the whole answer to whether to renew a paid listing. It cannot be estimated, it can be measured, and measuring takes minutes.
- 1Add campaign tagging to the link in your listing. Appending the parameters to the end of the address is something anybody technical can set up, and from then on your analytics shows that the visit came from there.
- 2Where the listing cannot be edited, use the other method: keep a notebook for a week and ask every caller where they came across you. At a small company that is more accurate than any tool.
- 3Compare it against the cost. A listing at nine thousand a year has to bring in at least nine thousand in margin, otherwise it is a donation.
- 4Look at whether people are arriving or only crawlers. A visit that leaves within three seconds is not a visit.
- 5Decide after all that, not on the phone. And when you decide not to renew, expect them to keep calling.
A company paid nine thousand a year for three years for a premium position in a directory because “we have to be there”. Nobody ever measured how many people came from it. When we did measure, it was four visits in six months and no enquiries.
Another company put the same money into its free Google profile and into photographs of its own work. Within a year it had twenty more reviews and calls from maps had tripled. In the directory it kept only the free listing.
When it is worth paying
So that this does not read as being against everything with a price on it. There are situations where a paid listing makes sense; the decision is just made differently from how the phone call frames it.
- When your customers genuinely search in that directory. One question to five customers settles it: where did you look for us?
- When it is a field where the directory replaces the market. Accommodation, trades, wedding services, garages. There a directory is not a supplement, it is where demand happens.
- When you budget it as advertising. Meaning a cost per enquiry, not a belief that it helps the website. Once you look at it as advertising you can compare it with search ads and the decision becomes easy.
- When the listing comes with membership you pay for anyway. Trade bodies and associations tend to be a cheaper route to a link search engines take seriously.
And when never: when the seller's main argument is better search ranking. No directory can promise that, and Google's own policies classify buying it as spam.
How we handle it
- We start with what is free. The Google profile, free listings, links from partners and suppliers. For most companies that exhausts what directories can usefully do.
- Paid listings are budgeted as advertising. That means measurement, a cost per enquiry and a decision after six months rather than a feeling.
- We do not buy links. Not for clients and not for ourselves. It is not only a matter of principle: the consequence lands on the client's website, not on our invoice.
- We set up measurement so it is clear where people come from. Without it, directories are a matter of opinion, and those phone calls depend on exactly that.
And the honest other side: backlinks are not nonsense. Links from relevant, genuinely visited sites still count towards what search engines weigh. The difference is in how they come about: through work and content somebody wants to link to, not through a purchase over the phone.
Frequently asked questions
A company is calling to sell me a directory listing. Should I pay?
Do not decide on the phone and ask for the offer in writing. Distinguish three cases: renewal of a listing you never ordered, a paid position in a large directory, and a package of backlinks. Do not pay for the first, judge the second as advertising with measurement, and never pay for the third.
Do directory listings help ranking on Google?
In themselves, practically not. Google's spam policies explicitly name buying links for ranking purposes and links from low quality directory or bookmark sites. A listing in a large directory is worth having for the people who use it, not for the crawlers.
Is the local Czech engine worth bothering with when everybody uses Google?
Yes, though less. Google holds roughly eighty five to ninety percent of Czech searches and Seznam roughly an eighth, with a higher share among older customers and in certain fields. A free listing is always worth it; paid positions are judged as advertising.
Can I buy an article with a link to my site?
You can, but the link in a paid article should be marked as advertising with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Without that marking it counts as buying links, which Google lists among prohibited techniques. A marked link still brings people, which is what a PR article is paid for.
How do I tell whether a listing brought me anything?
Tag the link in the directory with campaign parameters so it can be told apart in analytics, or spend a week asking every caller where they came across you. Then compare the return against the cost. A listing at nine thousand a year has to bring at least nine thousand in margin, otherwise it is a donation.
Which backlink is worth the most?
The one that brings a person. A link from a supplier, a partner or a satisfied customer, a mention in trade media, or an article somebody wanted to link to. A link nobody has arrived through in a year is worthless to search engines as well.
Summary
- Never decide on the phone. Anybody selling value will send it in writing.
- A directory is worth having for the people who use it, not for search ranking.
- Packages of hundreds of links are named as spam in Google's own policies. Do not pay.
- Budget paid listings as advertising, with a cost per enquiry and measurement.
- The local engine is a minority but not zero. A free listing is always worth it.
- A paid article with a link is fine when the link is marked as advertising.
- The best link is one somebody arrived through. The rest is statistics with no benefit.
Not sure whether to renew a listing you have paid for years
Write to me with where you are listed and what you pay. I will look at whether people are arriving from it and tell you what I would renew in your position and what I would not. If the answer is that you should stop paying, I will say so.
Sources
- Google spam policies, link spam section: buying and selling links, excessive link exchanges, low quality directory links
- Google on local ranking: ranking cannot be paid for
- Czech search engine shares: a synthesis of publicly available measurements for 2026. Individual sources differ by methodology, which is why the figures here are given as approximate
The example amounts are illustrative and come from what I see at clients rather than from any directory's price list. Prices vary by field and region, so always ask for a specific written offer.