Is classified advertising dead?

For more than a century, the classifieds business was dominated by newspapers. In the offline world of the now forgotten and forgotten days, it was tremendously lucrative and accounted for a significant portion of the revenue from the publishing business. There were even numerous independent classifieds publications, free or paid, that attracted both readers and advertising benefits.

Everything changed in 1995, on the eve of the digital revolution. It was that year that Craigslist was launched. It is estimated that today this online classifieds giant costs tens of millions to run, while generating hundreds of millions in revenue at the same time.

While the online post has sucked dollars out of the pockets of offline classified posts, it was good news for an average classified user. Since the cost of publishing on the internet is very low, online classified ad websites can allow users to post and reply to ads free of charge.

The real problem with free classifieds today, for both classified ad website owners and their users, is not the overhead, but the problem of “being found” among the myriad of free ads in the jungle. which is the Internet today. And it is a big problem!

The solution to this growing “get found on the internet” problem seems to elude even the most hardened internet marketers and offline advertising experts. That led some to proclaim the death of the classifieds business model. However, they were probably too quick to dismiss them.

Online ads certainly have some significant advantages over offline ones. They are not charged for the line, they can be longer. Once published, they are generally published almost instantly. Unlike their printed counterparts, they are searchable.

What can we expect from classifieds in the future? Well, they have yet to respond to social media, something that is changing the internet before our eyes. Giving ads a “social layer” could infuse new blood into the old industry. An important advantage that online advertising has over traditional, but has not yet been fully exploited, is real-time performance monitoring.

In recent times, a growing number of new classifieds have emerged, some offering hyperlocal listings, while others cover globally. Niche classifieds offer everything under the sun, specializing in anything from business or personal opportunities to boats or pets.

Despite the growing pains, the world of online classifieds seems to be thriving! Classified advertising has a long history, and it’s definitely not … history.