I would like ideas on how best to market a classifieds site. My site was launched on April 22nd 2009 with a press release. There have been very few ads and forum discussions posted on the site.
Try to find something that separtes you from all the rest. I think the niche has been domintated by inet giant and craigslist if you could offer something they don't perhaps you will have more luck.
You can catch your clients on other classified ads websites. At least they have the same interest. Post in newspaper and other classified ads websites. This market is probably saturated and you need to make something special to draw the attention of people. Try to find a niche market with classified ads. For example, luxury car classified ads. Be more specific.
Article Marketing, PPC......and so-on... Submit more than 1 Press Release though. you can submit 4 per month... Helps out alot..
Check my signature. Use Ping A Site after your site has been updated. My Buy Sell Rent Ads has only been promoted on real estate best of type sites and thats why there are lots of re ads. The ads themselves start to get indexed and gain momentum via the search engines. You can always buy adwords Free Classified Listings. Oh and then u can also submit your site to the guys that have autoposter sites and software.
It takes a LOT of traffic to turn business these days because of the sheer volume of businesses and websites online. You can't underestimate this. We have several sites and have figured out that it takes us about 250 people a day to just get 1 sale. You should have better results since you're giving something away for free. Just thought this might shed some light on it for you. Also; get some text in that site so Google can find it through different search results and don't forget link exchanges. This will help you get your PR up, which further increases chances of you being found. - Good luck!