Classified Ads – 7 Major Don’ts!

The world of Internet marketing offers a variety of options for promoting your website and your products. You can’t expect to drive traffic to your site if you don’t take steps to make it visible to your target audience. Search engine optimization (SEO) and the use of keywords to attract an audience are great. But they’re not the only ways to bring traffic to your website.

Classified advertising has become more popular with online advertising as more and more website owners are seeking to find new audiences. Although classifieds may not bring in as much traffic as some of the other methods, it also does not carry the high cost of some other methods. That makes classified advertising a viable option for many small business owners who otherwise wouldn’t have the budget to get started with online advertising. There are also free classified advertising options in addition to paid ones.

One of the good things about free classified advertising sites is that they can be highly effective when it comes to attracting visitors. Paid or unpaid – classified sites are available in a hundreds of different niches and on a variety of subjects. This helps to ensure that they attract the audience for that particular niche and your classified ad is reaching the people you want to reach.

There are a few don’ts when it comes to using classified sites:

Don’t post multiple listings within a short period of time or the site may ban you from using their site.

Don’t include hyperlinks within the content of your ad unless the site specifically allows you to do so.

Don’t use profanity or inappropriate language that may be offensive to others. If in doubt, leave it out!

Don’t discriminate in your headlines and content or you will likely be banned from a site. At a minimum, you will turn away visitors and create a poor reputation for your website and your brand.

Don’t post ads on sites that are not relevant. Not only will you waste your time (and money if it is a paid site), but you will cause user dissatisfaction to that site.

Don’t ‘trick’ potential customers into visiting your website. Including claims, offers, and give-aways in ads that you can’t fulfill once they get to your site will only turn them away forever – and they’ll likely share this information with their friends!

Don’t include your ad in an inappropriate category. If you do, your ad is useless and ignored. Review the categories and sub-categories and take time to determine the best category for your ad.

If you’re planning to use classified advertising as part of your promotional strategy, be sure to adhere to the rules of the classified listing site. Don’t ignore the rules and take time to create ads that accurately communicate the benefits and value of your website and products.