Internet Classified Ads Double Since 2005

2009-05-29T16:14:00.016-05:00

According to the latest Pew Internet Research study nearly 50% of all Internet users are using online classifieds. Forty-nine percent of online adults surveyed said they have visited sites like Craigslist, Kijiji and Oodle, up from only 22% in 2005. The study says that 9% of Internet users visit these sites on any given day, compared with 4% four years ago.

Online classifieds are particularly popular with 25 to 44 year old Internet users, more than half of whom use Internet classifieds, while just under half of 18 to 24 year olds and 45 to 54 year olds 49% and 48%, respectively use online classifieds.

Those figures fall for users over 55 with 35% of 55 to 64 year olds using classified websites, while 26% of Internet users over 65 do.

Use of classified sites also increases with income and education, with online adults earning $50,000 or more, as well as college graduates, considerably more likely to have visited them. The Pew Research study highlights the growing importance of online classifieds to Internet users and reflects the changes in the audience for classified ads in terms of those who place them and those who make purchases using online classified websites which devastated a key revenue source for traditional newspapers.
Craigslist is by far the most used website in the United States. In March 2009 all classified websites averaged 53.8 million unique visitors, up 7% from February. Craigslist alone had 42.2 million unique visitors in the month of March (out of the total 53.8 million total users). Newspaper classified revenue fell from 17.4 Billion to $10 billion over the same period with real estate classifieds down 52% since their peak in 2006. Total Internet ads revanue for newspapers in 2008 was $3.1 billion according to the Newspaper Association of America.

Just as past studies of online users have shown, adults living in households with incomes of $50,000 or more a year are significantly more likely to visit and use classified ads sites than lower earners. More than half (56%) of higher income Internet users use sites like Craigslist, compared with 47% of those making $30,000-$49,999 and 42% of those making less than $30,000 a year. In addition, online adults making $50,000 or more are more than twice as likely as those earning less than $30,000 a year to use online classified ads on a typical day.

The Internet continues to be the strong point in business and live with the numbers clearly showing adaptation by the average user.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
www.BuilderConsulting.com
913-814-8844 Office

Being Posative Leads to Success...in Business & Life

2009-05-29T13:59:00.000-05:00

I have considered writing about this for several weeks though until today I felt it was more of a personal mission than a Blog worthy message. When I arrived at work today there was an email from a builder in Texas inquiring about website services and online marketing. The email had the company name, website address, phone number, name and details of when the builder wanted a new website launched (60 days) so I picked up the phone and called him to find out more about his business and how we may assist.

The first questions I ask anyone is "how did you find our company?" to which his reply was "another website company trying to sell me a website gave me your name". He further elaborated that the sales person from the other website company had been so persistent and gone on for weeks about Builder Consulting that he simply had to go look us up on the Internet and find out what would cause someone to be so insecure they had to name another company, by name, as someone they "better not work with..." although he had never heard of our company or mentioned our name previously.

After spending a few minutes online researching website development firms and specifically our firm since he had been told by a sales person NOT to contact us he was comfortable enough to send an email request through one of the 12 websites he found pertaining to our company to speak with someone himself. When we spoke he was clear about his business needs and goals, inquired if we knew the other company (at which point I shared I knew who they were but would rather speak about how Builder Consulting can provide solutions than gossip about another firm) and we proceeded with a 30 minute conversation about his business.

By the end of the conversation the company on the other end of the phone became a customer requesting an agreement to begin working with Builder Consulting. He stated openly that the other company he had been speaking with was so negative and focused on why he should not work with other companies, while our conversation was simply about his business needs and what Builder Consulting would do to assist him.

The culture of a business or individual shows clear to others, short term gains may be made through negative marketing or slanderous claims about companies that may be considered competitors but those gains will never last. When a company we have never spoken with contacts us and becomes a customer simply because someone was so scared of trying to sell their work based on quality, service, results and innovation then it becomes quite clear that happiness in business and life ultimately determines success.

If an individual or business needs to say bad things about another to sell their products or services then they simply must not have a good enough product or service to be sold on its own standing - most companies are smart enough to realize this.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
http://www.BuilderConsulting.com
913-814-8844 Office

Building Better Websites and Technology Solutions Since 1995

Builder Designs & Website Development

Internet Classified Ads Double Since 2005

Being Posative Leads to Success...in Business & Life