From time to time we’re asked about the value of posting to various free local classified ads as part of an SEO strategy. Like anything else, if you’re in a small market or a niche market with little competition, classified ads – done properly – can impact search engine results.
However, since the Google Panda update in early 2011 many of these sites have been down-graded as link farms and rarely provide much more than a low quality backlink.
Generally speaking, unless you are selling a highly defined product or service for a pre-defined price then these sites have little value in light of the time it takes to manage the listings. In our experience, the idea of using classifieds to create what amounts to being a landing page or microsite simply doesn’t result in any tangible benefit to your SEO strategy.
But since you want to try everything anyway, here is a list of the most popular online free classified listing sites:
The issue is that there are literally thousands of free online classifieds websites. How do you know which ones have at least a small chance of working – and which ones are simply link fodder?
As we’re fairly certain that we do not know everything, please let us know if your experience is different or if you have found a site not listed here that actually works on some level.
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