Free Classified Sites are all over the internet. Perhaps the most successful is Craigslist, but EZ Classifieds, Stumble Here, Classifiedads.com, Kijiji, and Web Classifieds are all popular as well, primarily in the United States and Canada. There are several sites specific to Australia such as FreeAd, Ozfreeonline and a localised Alexa page.
These sites receive a lot of traffic, mainly because there is no cost to list an ad, buy, or sell items or services. The savvy internet marketer can use this to her or her advantage, but there are some cautions you need to take to avoid getting banned.
About Internet Classified Ads
Much like an ad placed in a newspaper or other periodical, an online classified ad is a small space with a headline and a short description of the item or service being offered. On some sites, photos can be included, as well as links to an external site. Buyers can often contact the seller through an “anonymous” email system.
Online classifieds are usually free. The sites are able to offer ad postings at no charge because they receive high volumes of traffic and this increases their page ranking. At times, free classified sites will show up at the very top of search results for key phrases that include the words “buy” and “sell”. Sometimes the sites earn revenue by selling banner ads.
Why Post A Classified Ad?
The largest benefit of posting a classified ad at a free site can be summed up in one word: traffic. The increased online traffic to your site is not only great for page ranking, but visitors are targeted. These people are visiting your site because they are interested in what you are offering. Consequently, the conversion rate is much better than that from random traffic.
The benefits of posting an online ad can be multiplied by utilising several different classified sites. The more places on the internet your ad shows up, the greater the increase in qualified traffic. Those sites with the highest page rankings will do your business the greatest amount of good.
If your marketing budget is small, or even nonexistent, online classified advertising is a great, no-cost way to find new customers.
Dos And Don’ts Of Classified Advertising
Remember that the people scrolling through a classified site online are looking for products or services to purchase. You don’t want to place an ad that is a blanket compilation of everything your business offers. You do want to offer a specific item.
Do write a good headline that creates interest in what you have to offer.
Do read the terms of each site carefully. Some sites, such as Craigslist, do not allow the poster to include affiliate marketing links and doing so will get you banned.
Don’t give up if your initial ad is not producing any results. The longer you stay with a site, the more familiar you and your business will become to regular visitors.
Do test different ads, with different copy, and for different products. There is no point wasting time posting ads that are not effective.
The beauty of utilising online Classified Sites lies in their ability to drive traffic. Because they are free, there is no downside as long as you play by the rules.
About Sean Rasmussen
Thanks Sean for this great tip! I will definitely look into this.
@ David
Yes, I am agree with you that Sean post useful tips and suggestions as well as do and don’ts too. I like this post too.
Sean
Will it be an effective strategy to use it more like social media? That is say invite people to check you out?
I haven’t had any success with them yet but will keep perserving
Hi Sean,
I’m still working on this area. I need to improve my copywriting skills so that I am writing more headlines that people want to click on. I’ve had a couple of clicks on my links but no sales. Still, now that I’ve seen your blog posts about how to write great copy, maybe I’ll do better.
No matter how good we are at anything, we can always work on improvement Jazz.
Hi Sean
I haven’t thought about advertising in this way, however it is really good to know about using classified adds to build traffic and I may possibly sue this facility in the future. At least I know about it now.
I have seen those little adds on people’s sites and I never stop to read them as they don’t appeal to me visually. I did take note that you cannot include affiliate marketing links in the poster.
Thankyou.
Hi Elly,
The ads don’t appeal to me either. I submit ads though and surprisingly, people read them. I get a few questions but no sales yet. I figure that’s okay because the more questions I get; the closer I get to making a sale.
I find it’s just another way of marketing your affiliate products.
Any place to go out and get youself known is great..and free is better. An example of free offline classifieds that generated alot of traffic is the Quokka in WA. It basically stole all the Sunday Times classifieds, and as a result the West Australian had to buy them out to keep a market share.