Craigslist – What is it?

You have a massive number of options available to promote your website and your business. Knowing which way to turn can be confusing. Display ads, classified advertising, linking, search engine optimization (SEO), and other methods are all excellent opportunities to help people learn more about what you have to offer.

One of the hottest websites for buying and selling today is Craigslist. This is a tremendous website that offers opportunities to advertise for job openings and to create classified ads to buy and sell. It is a much more cost-effective option than traditional classified ads in newspapers and it reaches a much broader audience.

When you mention online classified ads, the first site most people think of is Craigslist. This phenomenal website was created and started by Craig himself! Craig Newmark decided it was time to introduce classified advertising to the Internet in a big way. His incredible foresight and innovation has resulted in the most popular classified advertising site online today.

Community structure

This website is built around communities and people can post classified ads in a particular geographic region. But it also reaches out to more than 500 cities in over 50 countries across the globe. Whether you’re looking for jobs, products, services, furniture, or appliances, you can find them on Craigslist. And, whether you live in San Francisco, Chicago, or Tampa it doesn’t matter either. This website is based around communities but it reaches out to the world.

Posting ads

Posting classified ads on Craigslist is typically free and it is quick and easy. That makes it attractive to thousands of people every day. The site attracts millions of visitors each month with billions of page views, offering a tremendous opportunity to promote products and businesses. Craigslist is moderated, although it is not as highly moderated as most other commercial sites. With the thousands of classifieds posted daily, it is almost impossible to keep up.

Revenue generation

Revenue generation from Craigslist comes for its help wanted ads and millions of people have posted job openings on the site. It continues to be a major player in the field of employee recruitment, especially for the 40 and under crowd. Since the costs are low, they are extremely competitive and usually less than any other online job posting site.

Business promotion

But they’re not just about job postings. In addition to classified advertising for jobs, the site has also proven successful with classified ads for products, services, personals, and a huge variety of other items and purposes. Craigslist also has a huge listing of forums from adoption to yoga, and everything in between. These forums are a great place to learn what people are searching for and what they’re talking about. Not only can you make a potential sale here, but you can enhance your products to meet your target audience’s preferences and needs.

Craigslist allows you to list your business and post your URL which makes it attractive for online entrepreneurs. It’s a good opportunity to promote your brand or business name and attract people to visit your website. Listing your classified ad in the “Services Offered” category is an excellent way to increase your brand and website exposure.

Although Craigslist is a good site for consideration when promoting your products, there are some things you should know.

Controversy surrounding Craigslist

Craigslist has been the center of controversy for inappropriate classified ad postings over the years. Since the site is ‘lightly’ moderated, many postings can slip through the cracks. In 2005, it was discovered that a prostitution ring was using the website as a way to promote their business! The forums and message boards may include some unflattering comments and language so it’s important to steer clear of unethical practices and uses of the site.

The best way to truly understand how Craigslist works is to visit the website and peruse some of the classified ads, message boards, and forums. Find out what people are talking about and what they’re searching for. Evaluate this option as part of a multi-faceted marketing strategy for your business.

With free classified advertising on Craigslist, what do you have to lose?