After you have your website online and have submitted it to the search engines and web directories, there are other measures you can take to help promote your website and hopefully drive traffic to it. Among these additional measures, one of the more popular is the use of free online classifieds.
Online classifieds are like the classified advertisements found in your local newspaper. These are short advertisements categorized by topic that are presented to perspective customers. Unlike most print classifieds that usually involve fees, many online providers allow classifieds to be run for free on the idea that the more comprehensive their site, the more traffic it will receive. Without the limitations of available print space, a website can carry an almost infinite number of classifieds.
In the United States, the two largest providers of free classifieds are Craigslist and USFreeAds, but there are many others as well. Other countries tend to have their own free classified websites that are more popular. For example, in the United Kingdom the two most popular are FreeAds and JustOneUK. A basic Google search for “free advertisements (country)” will help you find the most popular websites for your target market. Keep in mind that you should only post free classifieds on websites that are relevant to your product. There are many specialized websites that also offer free classifieds, but if you are selling a betting system it would not be appropriate to put a classified on a website focused on gardening products. You may, however, be able to locate websites that do emphasize your market or niche that also allow free classifieds and these are well worth using.
It is also important to use different pitches and hooks in each classified advertisement because you never know which one will be successful and which one will not be. The best idea is to use different appeals each time and track how successful each one is. If one advertisement is very successful, you can use it and variations on the same theme in a lot of other online advertising. Conversely, if an advertisement fails to draw any traffic, it is a good indication that this particular pitch or hook is a dud and should not be used further.
Bear in mind that classifieds generally have a limited time span and are only included on a website for a brief period, usually about a week or so. This means that is important to not only keep track of how successful the advertisement is, but also when it was posted and when it will be removed. Carefully tracking the success rate of your free classifieds can be an incredibly helpful tool for determining the future tone and direction of your advertising.
