Classified Advertising on the Internet

With the many millions of people accessing the Internet every minute of the day and night, it's no wonder that online classified advertising has become so popular. More and more people are turning to the Internet to buy products and services, knowing that they can access a huge variety of ads direct from their home or work, comparing and contrasting the products on offer with just a few clicks of the mouse. With thousands of categories and sub-categories of services and products, it's easier than ever for people to find what they want.

For the seller, online classified ads also offer a range of advantages over traditional print ads. Rather than having to post classifieds in multiple publications to reach different geographic regions, sellers can advertise across the country (or even the globe) with a simple online advertisement, thus reaching a much broader audience. Online directories may also be used, which syndicates the classified ad to major online directories such as Google, eBay, kijiji, and many more sites, increasing the ad's exposure. Online classified advertising is one of the most cost-effective methods of advertising available, and it gives both small and large Internet businesses an opportunity to reach a massive target audience with their products.

As Internet classified ads do not generally use per-line pricing models, they tend to be longer. Some companies provide online advertising services and tools to help members design their online ad using professional ad templates, before distributing the finished ads automatically to the various online ad directories. Other companies (such as Craigslist, Kijiji and Gumtree) offer free classifieds; Craigslist.org has grown to become the largest classified source, bringing in over 14 million unique visitors a month.

Advertising Rules

There are a few general rules that online advertisers must follow on all reputable classified ad placement sites to protect the advertising site and potential customers:

• Black hat SEO, keyword stuffing and spam indexing are prohibited.
• Pyramid schemes are unlawful and prohibited for advertising.
• Any ad that infringes on patents, copyrights, trademarks, or other legal rights of an entity or individual are prohibited.
• Unlawful, obscene, abusive, threatening, deceptive, and similar types of ads are strictly prohibited.