The classified ad as you know it is dead.  Like many of its offline advertising counterparts, its outdated.  What's replacing it?  A wholly digital option.

ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS.

Billions of people each year are logging on, using online classifieds to purchase everything from professional services to used toys.  

And as a small business, the best part of this shift is that almost all online classifieds are free.  

So what's better about posting online classified ads?

If people are willing to shift, there has to be a reason.  For the buyer, the reason is pretty simple – instant access to thousands of options at no charge.  And did we mention that it is much easier to find what you are looking for online thanks to search functions and pictures... no wonder the print classified is a dying breed.  

However, as it turns out, online classifieds are also better for the seller.  Why?  They are free – a big plus.  They are also able to drive instant action – a click to your website or an email.  And beyond these two wonderful features, there are quite a few additional nice to haves.

• They can be searched.  No longer do buyers have to wade through tons of other classifieds to get to yours.  Just be sure you optimize them for the right keywords... Yes, SEO even plays a role in classified ads.  
• Did we mention they are free.   Try and get a free classified in a newspaper.
• They can reach well beyond your local borders.  It just might happen, thanks to the global nature of the internet.
• The can help you build you websites rank.  Most online classified sites are pretty popular places – think craiglist.com.  Having a back link from a popular site to yours can never hurt and can only help your organic search engine results.  
• Best of all they can be tracked.  Want to try ten different versions to see which one works best?  Go right ahead – they are free.  You can then assign each ad to a separate email address and see which one gets the most hits... interesting, huh?

Using online classifieds to market your local business

This should be a no-brainer.  Classified ads, even online classified ads, are local by default.  Just look at the way sites like craiglist.com are organized – by state, then by city or region.  Should be pretty easy to reach a local audience.  

However, the local nature of most online classified ads presents challenges as well.  You need to ensure you match your ad to your local area of services.  And if you service more than one local area, you need to submit your ad under each geographic area.  If you want global reach using online classifieds, you are going to try that much harder – perhaps not using region divided sites like craigslist.com.  Further, you are going to have to optimize for broader search terms – non geographically specific.  

So how do I post an online classified ad?

First, find an online classified site that has a few ads related to what you are looking to sell and which covers your local area – if you are local.  There are a few listed below that you can start with.  Other than that, we have compiled some guidelines, also listed immediately underneath this sentence.  

• Create a headline that hooks.  You only have a few second to catch attention.
• Keep it short.  People scan online.  Focus on one killer benefit and call to action.
• That said, don't forget to include a call to action.  What is it that you want them to do.
• Don't forget to include your name or your companies name.
• Include a phone number, email address and a link to your website.
• Make what you have to sell at least sound interesting and compelling.
• Tailor your ad to the geography you serve – use local words.
• Include keywords.  People search online using similar words – find the ones that will drive the most traffic to your ad.

Here's a few free online classified ad sites to get you started.

While there are hundreds of classified sites online, there are only a few that receive enough traffic to warrant your attention.  Here they are:

www.craiglist.com
www.kijiji.com
www.backpage.com
www.usfreeads.com
www.oodle.com
www.gumtree.com

A few final things to keep in mind as you begin to use online classified ads...

Focus on high traffic classified sites.  
Post in as many subcategories as possible, its free after all.
Check your ads position frequently.  Older ads fall lower in the search results.  
Resubmit your ads often to maintain a top spot.

And the number one rule.  Don't SPAM the classified sites with multiple duplicate ads in the same category.  You'll be blacklisted and banned for life.