Classified ads play an imperative role in promoting your business through digital channels. However creating online classified ads which actually work can be difficult, especially when using free sites. When something is free it can be tempting to not take it seriously. However if you are advertising a product or service and you want it to do well, then the fact that the site is free to use should not mean you don’t try hard.
The most important thing is to focus only on using good online classified ad sites. Take a look around any site you find to advertise and ask yourself – “would I use this site to find something I needed?”
If the answer is yes, then that’s probably a good sign that it is a good online classified ad site. A good online classified ad site will help you to get amazingly fast results. Here are 7 simple steps to place great online classified ads:
1. Save yourself time and choose sites which don’t require registration
Presumably the reason you are choosing free online ad is to save yourself time and money. If a site is free, but requires registration then it is possible that they are going to send you a lot of emails, or sell your details on. In the end, dealing with all the extra admin of junk emails means that this free site will actually cost you a lot of extra time.
2. Restrict the length of your classified ads
Make sure your online classified ad is around eighty words. Users generally want to read the benefits and services quickly. Therefore you need to highlight the services and benefits as briefly as possible.
You should also use call-to-actions (such as Buy now!) which can help encourage users to do something. This is especially true if you add a call-to-action to the title of the ad. Whether or not you add a CTA, the title needs to grab attention – this is must when you are posting free online classified ads.
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3. Provide a detailed description
A detailed description will help your viewers to understand what you are advertising, so they can determine easily if it is what they are looking for. Make sure you are providing all relevant information of your item or services. If you skip any important details, you might get a lot of time-wasters responding to your ad, or worse – no-one at all.
4. Choose a relevant category
Find a relevant category for the services or products that you are promoting through classified ads. Make sure you are not spamming it into all categories. If you are going to use multiple postings to advertise the same thing, then you should choose tailored ways to put your ads in each of the categories. You can modify your title as well as content to be more appropriate to each category where free classified ads will be appearing.
For example if you were selling a kids bike, you could put it in the bike section under the title “Great Kids Bike for sale today” and under the toys section using the title “The original and best toy for kids – Kids Bike for sale today”.
5. Double check your ad before posting it
There may seem like there is nothing to improve on your ad, but it never hurts to double-check. It might be possible that you may find something better for your online ad, such as a missed option or setting the website provides.
Therefore, don’t forget to double-check the entire set up and all the information that you are providing. A single mistake can be the reason for negative results.
6. Always remember the sites guidelines
When you will start setting up an ad, you will generally be shown step by step guidelines. If you follow the guidelines, it will help you to save time and you can complete your task easily.
Besides this, when you add an image in your free online classified ads, you should check the size of your image is right for the site. It should be within limits which are mentioned in the guidelines. Otherwise, you may face issues like the image is not displayed properly and more. However, you can use different online tools to reduce image size and make it work.
7. Find good examples and copy their style
If you read some classified ads before starting making your own, it can be very beneficial to you. Find ads that make you want to respond to them, and think about what they are doing right. Do you like their layout? Do you like their wording or images?
Copy what works, and you’ll improve the chances that your ad will work too.
Conclusion
These are some simple and easy steps to place free online classified ads. Hopefully, you will find it helpful for your promotion.
Choose good online classified ads sites – ideally those which ask for the fewest personal details before placing your ad. The best sites for classified ads are often those not asking for subscription or a registration. Hence, go with such sites instead of those are asking for a registration.