Classified advertising

{{Short description|Form of advertising}} {{pp-semi|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}} thumb|Classified advertisements in a newspaper

'''Classified advertising''' is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used by businesses,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title = Building a Mail Order Business: A Complete Manual for Success |last = Cohen |first = William A. |publisher = John Wiley & Sons |year = 1996 |isbn = 9780471109464 |location = New York |edition = 4th |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/buildingmailorde00cohe}}</ref> although display advertising is more widespread.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title = Advertising: Principles and Practice |last1 = Wells |first1 = William |publisher=Prentice Hall |year = 2006 |isbn = 9780131465602 |location = New Jersey |pages = 217 |edition = 7th |last2 = Moriarty |first2 = Sandra |last3 = Burnett |first3 = John}}</ref> They were also commonly called "want" ads, starting in 1763,<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781135949068/chapters/10.4324/9781315062754-31 |title= The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising |last= Danna |first= Sanny |publisher=Routledge |year= 2002 |isbn= 9781135949068 |location= New York |pages= 349–373 |chapter= Classified Advertising |doi= 10.4324/9781315062754-31 }}</ref> and are sometimes called '''small ads''' in Britain.<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of small ad|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/small%20ad|website=Merriam-Webster|access-date=6 April 2021}}</ref>

==History== [[File:17040424 Boston News-Letter p2 - classified ad.jpg |thumb |What is believed to be the first newspaper classified ad in America (''The Boston News-Letter'', April 24, 1704)<ref>{{cite web |title=Advertisement. |url=https://collections.americanantiquarian.org/earlyamericannewsmedia/exhibits/show/news-in-colonial-america/item/116 |publisher=American Antiquarian Society republishing classified advertisement from The Boston News-Letter (newspaper) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260115032113/https://collections.americanantiquarian.org/earlyamericannewsmedia/exhibits/show/news-in-colonial-america/item/116 |archive-date=January 15, 2026 |page=2 |date=April 24, 1704 |url-status=live}}</ref>]] Handwritten classified ads, written by scribes and nailed to posts, began appearing in England in the 1600s.<ref name=CBC_20200213/> They were called ''si quis''—meaning "if anybody knows of"—similar to notices posted in ancient Rome.<ref name=CBC_20200213/> In America, a 1704 ad in the first issue of ''The Boston News-Letter'' was written by the publisher: "To all persons who have any houses, lands, tenements, farms, ships, vessels, goods, wares or merchandises to be sold or let, may have the same inserted at a reasonable rate."<ref name=CBC_20200213/> The very earliest ads in the ''News-Letter'' were for lost anvils, stolen clothing, and Oyster Bay, NY real estate.<ref name=CBC_20200213/> "Lost and found" sections soon became common.<ref name=CBC_20200213/> By 1765, 11 of 13 colonies hosted 23 weekly newspapers whose back pages carried classified ads.<ref name=CBC_20200213>{{cite web |title=This was the first classified ad ever published in North America |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/this-was-the-first-classified-ad-ever-published-in-north-america-1.5462237 |website=CBC.ca |publisher=CBC Radio (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260208115144/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/this-was-the-first-classified-ad-ever-published-in-north-america-1.5462237 |archive-date=8 February 2026 |date=13 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Newspaper classifieds == thumb|A classified advert selling ukuleles Advertisements in a newspaper are typically short, as they are charged for by the line or word, and are one newspaper column wide.

Publications printing news or other information often have sections of classified advertisements; there are also publications that contain only advertisements. The advertisements are grouped into categories or ''classes'' such as "for sale—telephones", "wanted—kitchen appliances", and "services—plumbing", hence the term "classified". Classified advertisements generally fall into two types: individuals advertising sales of their personal goods, and advertisements by local businesses. Some businesses use classified ads to hire new employees.<ref name=":0" />

One issue with newspaper classified advertising is that it does not allow images,<ref>{{Cite web |title= 10 Tips for Unleashing the Power of Classified Ads |url= http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/172774 |website=Entrepreneur |date= 9 January 2007 |access-date= 2016-01-29 }}</ref> even though display advertisements, which do allow images, can be found in the classified section.<ref name=":0" />

== Developments == In recent years the term "classified advertising" or "classified ads" has expanded from merely the sense of print advertisements in periodicals to include similar types of advertising on computer services, radio, and even television, particularly cable television but occasionally broadcast television as well, with the latter occurring typically very early in the morning.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Used Buy And Sell |url=https://www.streetdirectory.com/etoday/used-buy-and-sell-eoawfc.html |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=streetdirectory.com}}</ref>

Like most forms of printed media, the classified advertisement has found its way to the Internet, as newspapers have taken their classified advertisements online and new groups have discovered the benefits of classified advertising.<ref name=":0" />

{{ecommerce}} Internet classified advertisements do not typically use per-line pricing models, so they tend to be longer. They are also searchable, unlike printed material, and may foster a greater sense of urgency as a result of their daily structure and wider scope for audiences. Because of their self-regulatory nature and low cost structures, some companies offer free classifieds internationally. Other companies focus mainly on their local hometown region, while others blanket urban areas by using postal codes. Craigslist.org was one of the first online classified advertisement sites, and has grown to become the largest classified source, bringing in over 14 million unique visitors a month according to Comscore Media Metrix.{{citation needed|date=October 2010}} The sex advertisement section of the site was probed by authorities until it was shut down indefinitely.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/technology/04craigslist.html | title=Craigslist is Subpoenaed over Sex Ads | newspaper=The New York Times | date=3 May 2010 }}</ref> A growing number of sites and companies have begun to provide specialized classified marketplaces online, catering to niche market products and services, such as boats, pianos, pets, and adult services, among others. Facebook marketplace provides classified-style services but prohibits the sale of firearms.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.kotatv.com/2021/10/01/people-are-using-code-words-sell-firearms-via-facebook/ | title=People are using code words to sell firearms via Facebook | website=Kota Territory | date=2 October 2021 | first=Miranda | last=O'Bryan }}</ref>

A number of online services called aggregators crawl and aggregate classifieds from sources such as blogs and RSS feeds, as opposed to relying on manually submitted listings.

Additionally, other companies provide online advertising services and tools to assist members in designing online advertisements using professional advertisement templates and then automatically distributing the finished advertisements to the various online directories as part of their service. In this sense these companies act as both an application service provider and a content delivery platform.

== Statistics == In 2022, the digital classifieds market generated around $21 billion in worldwide revenue, according to a report by Statista.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classifieds: market data & analysis |url=https://www.statista.com/study/38849/digital-advertising-report-classifieds/ |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=Statista |language=en}}</ref>

Newspapers' revenue from classifieds advertisements is decreasing continually as Internet classifieds grow. Classified advertising at some of the larger newspaper chains dropped by 14% to 20% in 2007, while traffic to classified sites grew by 23%.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Diaz |first1=Sam |title=On the Internet, a Tangled Web of Classified Ads |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/30/AR2007083002046.html?hpid=sec-tech |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=13 June 2019 |date=31 August 2007}}</ref>

As the online classified advertising sector develops, there is an increasing emphasis toward specialization. Vertical markets for classifieds are developing quickly along with the general marketplace for classifieds websites. Like search engines, classified websites are often specialized, with sites providing advertising platforms for niche markets of buyers or sellers.

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{Commons category inline|Classified advertising}}

Category:Advertising publications by format