What is Classified Advertising?

Classified advertising is a form of simple advertising that enables private individuals (rather than companies or corporate entities) to solicit sales for services and products. However, businesses can also use classifieds to sell their services, and also to recruit for available job opportunities. Events classifieds provide people with valuable information about concerts, art exhibitions, local fairs and shows, book previews, film openings, and social events.

Classified ads are common online and in newspapers and other periodicals, where they are generally grouped under headings classifying the product or service being offered; for example Cars, Livestock, For Rent, Jobs etc. The ads are contained within a particular section of the periodical, which makes them distinct from display advertising, which is more commonly distributed throughout a publication adjacent to editorial content.

Classified advertising is usually text only, although it may contain a small photograph - especially for more costly items such as cars (this is known as classified display advertising). Printed classified ads are generally just a few column lines in length, and they are often written using abbreviations to save space and money. The advert can consist of as little as the name of the item being sold and a telephone number to call for more information, to a more detailed ad containing a full description of the product, along with contact details.