Free Advertising - If It Is Really Free - Can It Have Any Real Value?

The real question is how to utilize the free classified ads to make a profit without being overloaded with the e-mail confirmations you will receive when you post the free ads. With these confirmations will come advertisements, which is how those organizations still make money providing a site for your free classified ads.

You certainly will want to quickly delete all the many confirmations you will receive. Also, your e-mail will be stripped from your online ads and you will receive junk mail which you may be able to turn into an opportunity. Respond with your own ad and ask them for more information.

I didn't believe there could really be any free ads, and even if they were free, would they actually have any real worthwhile value? When you Google free ads you will be surprised, as I was when I did, at the variety of free advertising available.

You have one line ads, classified ads, ads for cars, business opportunities, jobs, whatever you are selling. There is actually every subject imaginable.

The many sites offering free advertising are making money a variety of ways. Some offer the free ads with a limited exposure or limited features and options. Often these free ads will run for free for 30 days. Then you have to start paying for them.

In other cases paid display advertising is along side your free classified advertising.

The idea is that everyone is doing it for the money. So, free advertising is free long enough or generates enough traffic for you to make some money. Then, when you want to expand the amount of money you want to make by expanding your advertising exposure to generate even more buying traffic, you have to pay for greater exposure.

What could be more perfect that proving without any risk on your part that this particular source of advertising or your particular ad content will actually pull enough traffic to make a profit? A free test before buying. You limit your risk of getting started, so therefore you are eager to try out the advertising source. This is a win-win for you and the site you are advertising on.

Many of these free advertising sites also offer affiliate programs where you get paid for driving traffic to their sites when those free advertisers start buying ads for more exposure and more profitable sales.

Free they are, and certainly they are worth it because trying before buying is always a smart move, a great way to build trust.

Online Classifieds Tricks and Tips

Ad posting in Online Classifieds is the best way to start your internet marketing journey. Here are some important tips to fully exploit your classifieds posting, and display them aggressively to invite huge traffic to your ads. Follow the pointers below carefully and I can guarantee you good traffic with great exposure to your ad.

1) Choose a relevant Headline (eg. Make Money Online, Maid Wanted:, Garage Sale: ). Headline with strong powerful words always make an impact. As classified users view hundreds of ads in a day, catchy headlines is all you need to attract immediate attention.

2) Post as many ads as possible, this is to attract more backlinks to your site. Good Classifieds Site are regularly indexed by Google and major search engines. Below are some recommended sites.

3) Correct spelling and punctuation is critical. A badly, punctuated; ad, with wlrong speeling can reealy be a nuisance. You think so too?

4) Include photos all the time, and include as many as you possibly can. Use it. As the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words.

5) In no circumstances should you condemn a competitor in your ad description. It is not up to you to decide if your products or services are better than competitor A's, or not. Today's buyers are unlike yesteryears'. They are smart, and they will know it if you are trying too much to hard-sell your stuff.

6) Lastly, plan your Ad. Give some thoughts in the description and headline, pull out a note book, and scribble on it. Search for the best photo to accompany your ad. Read out loud. Put yourself in the position of your buyer. Refine and perfect it. Do NOT rush into typing your first ad without a plan, your ad will Fail eventually.

"Bullet Advertising" - Online Classifieds

Recommended Classified Sites are your best weapon and I will call them "Machine Guns" (spray the bullets to all relevant categories, as many as you can). Every Ad is a bullet and every potential visitor is your target. Armed with the most versatile weapon in the world, you are now ready to put it on "Auto" mode. Each bullet has deep penetration (ie. well written description about your product/services with photos) and targeted visitors will come swarming to your website/blog/product/affiliate page. Its easy, low cost and best of all, it is on "AutoPilot".

Online Classifieds VS Pay-Per-Click

As we all know, PPC is one of the most common advertising method used by almost all internet marketers. Google's Adword claims supreme in this playground. However, do you know how much $$ one has to spend on PPC to get targeted/genuine results? Do you know there are keywords with obscene bid price? Statistics shows 20-35% of PPC are fraud clicks and Google is keeping quiet, basically, they can't do much. Paid Classifieds advertising is only a fraction compared to PPC which one has to pay through his pants. Most paid classifieds do not go by clicks but time period (eg. per week/month).

Online Classifieds VS Forums

No doubt, Forums are a good source of traffic building, but frankly, forums are not for everyone. Firstly, one must be "pro active" in forums, which means you will need to spend hell lot of time, every single day, walking through all treads, understanding the culture and last but not least, posting a "sensible new tread" or a "reply", and trying to get "Popular"... No Spammy messages or you will be shot down by forum's moderator, and to the extent of banning your account.. Online Classified eliminates all the above, and best of all, giving "Autopilot" advertising which forums cannot provide.

Online Classifieds VS Articles

Well, as you can see, I am not a good writer and I should say, 85% of all internet marketers share the same sentiment. If you are an avid writer, Article Directory is a great source of exposure to harness good traffic. But article writing may not be suitable for everyone, your content must be rich, original, unique, up-to-date and lastly, NO BS. Many so call Articles are outsourced to freelance writers, which you have to pay a price. Also, you must be thinking daily, producing fresh and interesting topics for your articles(do you have the time?). Once again, Online Classifieds eliminates all the above and well, "Autopilot" advertising still stands.

Online Classifieds VS Traffic Exchange Programs

If you are new to traffic exchange programs, let me tell you this, 95% of the traffic driven are NOT Targeted and the other 5% doesn't exist. Basically, traffic exchange programs are playing the numbers game and not conversion. Online Classifieds will send targeted traffic to you and not loads of irrelevant clicks, choking up your bandwidth!

Online Classifieds VS Organic Search Results

Achieving good standing (first page) in major search engines like Google and Yahoo will be an outstanding achievement in any standard. You will attract natural traffic to your site, Free of Charge. Nevertheless, to reach the first page in Google or Yahoo, is NOT an easy feat especially with popular keywords (SEO training required). Recommended Online Classifieds indirectly, can help in providing lots of Backlinks as they are indexed by Google/Yahoo more frequently. "Inbound" links are critical in determining your search engine position.

Online Classifieds VS All The Above

The picture above seems to be bias, which I am not trying to imply. All the above advertising strategies are good and subjective to individual's interest, talent and time. Online Classifieds is a good start for any internet marketers - new or advance users, simply because it is the easiest and cheapest form of "AutoPilot" advertising, if you play the right cards. I will strongly encourage everyone to look into it seriously and you will not regret it. I promise.

Below are some recommended classified sites where you can start posting immediately (both Free and Paid). The Alexa Ranking is up to the date of posting. Good Luck and Best Wishes!

Craigslist.org


Craigslist is the Grand Father of online classifieds. Offering classified postings in all US States and various countries, they have the biggest traffic offering an amazing community of classified advertisers. They are strict in spam posting so try not to use any automated bots in any case.


Alexa Ranking: 45

USFreeads.com


USFreeads has been providing high traffic, high response Free Classifieds since 1999. A family safe classified ad website. No adult classifieds accepted. Active buyers and sellers, over 200,000, worldwide.


Alexa Ranking: 4090

Ablewise.com Classifieds


Ablewise.com provides free online classifieds in 10 Countries around the world with categories such as automobile, real estate, merchandise, services, business opportunity, personals, pets and more! Ablewise.com is currently the rising star of online classifieds with rich features (esp Social Bookmarking) and tremendous traffic.


Alexa Ranking: 21,260

Adlandpro.com World Classifieds


Adland is one of the oldest online classifieds offering postings to many countries. They have one of the biggest business community to date. Adland comes with other traffic features like Email Marketing, Banner Ads and a Networking Workshop.


Alexa Ranking: 3374