@scottlinklater So great you were able to share. So, my advice after reviewing this would be no, do not pay for this. It is totally fine to pay for advertising, so long as it is disclosed as paid advertising. If it's not disclosed, that is where you would have concern like those you mentioned in your original post.

While I am unfamiliar with this directory (I don't know very much about SEO in Australia) there are a few things about the site that are causing me a bit of concern. Among them is this language:

"Guaranteed Exposure Directly Off Google Page 1"

I'm assuming they mean "on" Google Page 1 and I am not sure how any company can guarantee search engine rankings of their pages, since none of us control Google.

There are other signals that are concerning that I won't go into, but at the end of the day, I would recommend building out your listings on free directories that area relevant to your customer base and saving your ad budget for disclosed advertising.

@scottlinklater Hi Scott, are you able to share the identity of the directory so our community can give opinions? Without that information, it's a bit of a guess.

@fslpso Good morning! Good for you for wanting to improve your online visibility. If your business is virtual (looks like online tutoring) then the Google local packs are not the right direction for you, as those are for physical businesses that serve clients locally in person. If I'm understanding your model right, then what you need to study is organic SEO. Here are some great options for you:

The Beginner's Guide to SEO is one of the most popular, free, longstanding resources here at Moz: https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo

You might also like to enroll yourself in Moz Academy for exceptional training: https://academy.moz.com/

I hope these offer you a great start!

@yuvrajsindhal Moz does not have the ability to shut down websites. That is likely through your hosting provider.

If there is an area of the Moz tool that you're having trouble with, I can definitely help you there!