I'm working on a car classifieds site, but I'm really stuck on this question. I was thinking of doing it on cars here in the Midwest (USA) instead of the entire USA. I came up with a list of props and cons, but I really want to hear some feedback.... cons: less cars, less money less traffic pros: appeals to a certain niche (not sure if this is good or bad) sell advertising for regional car dealers Another pro that I had was since it was a specific area, they may go to my site instead of, say autotrader.com or modifiedcartrade.com I want to make some decent money off of this website, both by selling car ads and dealer advertisements. I'm really stuck on WHO I should really try and target. So, the question remains, Midwest or entire USA?
You mentioned the name of a giant on this market, now keep in mind that it'll be extremely hard to get even close to autotrader.com and I suggest that you start the website regionally, adding one new state at a time as the business grows. I wouldn't consider inserting all the states unless I can populate them all with listings right away, otherwise it will look like a huge directory with no listings to search through.
if you can post enough cars you have a good chance. good thing is you have to spend less on marketing. regardless its a tough niche with so many good sites already in.