It’s Raining Classifieds

No, we are not going to list the top 10 sites but we will surely tell you how to identify one or become one. So, what are classifieds? Ideally, the term means to categorize anything that you sell. And that is all there is to it. There are thousands of websites (It’s raining classifieds !!!) that claim to be truly local classifieds and claim to be the best. We will not contest their claims. Beauty lies in the eyes of the ad-poster. We surveyed a lot of websites and liked a lot of them. Below are the few things that are quintessential for Generation Z classifieds websites. Look up Wikipedia for the term Generation Z Do’s: Email Updates It becomes more and more important than before for ad-posters to keep track of their ads and expiry dates. Periodic updates on dates, purchases, contacts, messages etc make it a better user experience. Analytics: Number of visits, Conversions etc definitely help user understand the significance of the posting and traffic generated along with the interest in product. Scope: The classifieds site should give ample options for rogue posters to find their way in. If you can’t stop it, divert it. Craigslist got frustrated with sex ads and they had to resort to creating an entire new category. Picture is worth thousand words: Website should allow a decent amount of pictures to be added and should have a way to display them aesthetically. Ad posters should always use good quality pictures to make their ad stand out. Automatic Payments: Users should be able to pay either online or onsite through a cell phone for the items bought or sold. User Verification: If you tried Google Apps login recently, you would notice a cell phone text verification. A definite must to reduce spam and multiple accounts. Don’t’s: Adwords: About 90% of the websites online aim at milking money while it lasts. One or two Ads is fine just to keep the ball rolling but inundating the entire website with termite like adwords is just not right. While it works for the website revenue generation, it frustrates the users. Users advised to stay away from such sites. Social Media: We are opposed to the idea of using Facebook or any other social media site to sell something and share the entire Personal profile with it. It will mean sharing your pictures, address, friends and families and personal discussions. Do you really want to do that? Clutter: SEO is good and you should enhance your site with keywords but you should respect the user at the same time. You do not wish to post the same keyword pointing to the same link all across your site JUST BECAUSE Google likes it. Clean it up. Hot listing, New Listing, Featured Listing, Unfeatured listing. C’mon give us a break. Keep it simple. Allow users to sort it out at their end. Spam: Spams and duplicate postings hurt both the spammers and the website. Some people just don’t’ get it. If you do see one, correct it immediately.