Classified Ad Posting

[this was a recent piece I had published on a popular article site]


I use several tools when promoting my websites - as many of you do as well. However, while all the talk is social media, blogs, SEO and more (and those are all important) - one of the best tools you can use is a free classified ad posting site... all free.

We all know Craigslist and some others, but I find them limiting personally and don't you hate that "code" that you can barely read as you try to figure out the letters to put in the box? I know it's an anti spam thing to limit classified ad posts but Craigslist also limits the posts per day and if you have more than a few things to promote - that's annoying too. Plus they make you pay for job ads. But I'm not writing this to bash them. Online classified ad posting is a good thing and there are good ones.

Linking

One of the main reasons why I post and use free classified ad sites is for the linking to my product, affiliate and/or website. The best ad sites allow you to write a nice size ad and let you place a link in the ad. A phone number or address doesn't work great for me if I'm in New York and the visitor is from Miami Austin Charlotte Cleveland etc. I want them to read the ad and click the link. I also want Google to read that link coming from a piece that is on topic to my niche. I should also note that I am a Search Engine Optimization Consultant. So, I've tried it all and linking through ads works.

Google Ranking With Classified Ad sites

Here's the cool part with using the right classified ad site for posting. If you write the ad well with keywords, the ad itself will show up on Google or Yahoo etc. I'm not just playing for the people on the ad site itself. I'm writing ads on a classified ad site that shows up on Google and gives me a visitor.

Optimizing An Online Ad

The first thing you want to do is create a short title with your keywords in it. Let's assume I am a plumber in Chicago and I am looking for business and hits to my website (if I have one). I advise not to just put "plumber for hire" or even worse "plumber". While I may get hits and views from the people on that particular online classified posting site, what I'm really looking for is a good Google ranking for the ad itself. A better title for search engine optimization would be "Chicago Plumber For Hire". This way, someone in the Chicago area can find a local person (hopefully them) through a Google search, without even being on that classified ad site.

2nd thing is to write at least a paragraph. Google hates one sentence or 2 ads of copy. Search yourself and you'll see that full copy is what they like. So, you want your ad to be of decent length, have your keywords -yet read well to the reader. Not just gibberish. This also goes for blogging.

Linking With A Classified Ad Post

This is most important and I won't lie - I have my own successful free classified ad website (it is in my bio) that charges nothing and goes for 120 days an ad and lets you post to 3 categories. BUT, I made sure my customers can link to their site without limitation. It is also SEO friendly, so if you word your ad correctly, you could very well see your ad on Google for 4 months. Linking is huge. You can then copy the ad on other sites as long as they allow the following features that my site and others do and you don't repeat the same exact ad on the same site. Just mix it up. I want your ad noticed and keep posting.

Promote yourself for free and it's easy! Best of luck!

Nick Hunter is a Search Engine Optimization Expert and owns a popular classified ad site Nicks Classified Ads, which offers 120 day ads, free job ads, links and multi category posting. He also has an SEO online marketing company Nick's SEO World for people looking for more SEO advice, products and a free newsletter