• Bad Marketing Ideas
• Bad Marketing Examples

Free For All Links Sites and Free Classified Sites

There is no good that comes to you from these sites. No matter how many people tell you there is a benefit in submitting an ad to one, don't believe it - point by point, these types of sites are a pure loser for startups.

Free for All Link Sites and Free Classified Sites are defined specifically as sites which contain nothing but ads or links, and which do not screen the ads, nor monitor them in any way.

They have some standard operating norms:

• You can post your ad, but you have to surrender your email address as hostage to do so.
• Your ad is posted in the order it is received, with new ads being added at the top, and old ones scrolling off the bottom.
• Some may be categorized, but posters may or may not pay attention to the categories.

So what is the big deal? Free ads, free exposure, what could be bad about that? You may be told that this is a way to get your ad in front of people, that it is a way to increase your pagerank through accumulating inbound links, or that you can build your business this way. The truth is though, that these sites do not accomplish any of those goals, and in fact give no benefit, and the potential of significant harm to the people who use them. Here is why:

• Nobody is looking. People come to them to advertise, not to look for items to purchase or use. Do YOU read ads on those sites?
• Most ads are very spammy and low quality. If you are reading them with a look of disgust or skepticism on your face, then other people are reading your ad with the same attitude!
• The sites quickly fill with auto-posts from spammers of the lowest order. Porn listings, fraud listings, and links to banned sites are so prevalent that you rarely see a legit ad on them.
• Because of the rapidity of auto-posting, your ad will scroll off the bottom within an hour or so on some sites. Within a day on others.
• Because of the auto-posts and scummy URLs all over the site, it will get banned from the search engines. This means it gives you NO benefit for pagerank.
• The site does not exist to help you. It exists to take advantage of you. Your email address will be sold to spammers, and your inbox will fill with the worst sorts of trash.
• Some of them require a link back to that site. If you place a link on your site to what the search engines consider to be a "bad neighborhood" (and these sites ARE), then your site is in danger of getting banned.
• There are always some of these in the search engines, because it takes time to weed them out after the posts on them accumulate trash. But they don't stay there long, they quickly get banned.

So why would you want to even go there, just to waste your time and invite spam into your inbox?

Of course there are some big name sites with free classified listings - nearly all the major search engines have them. They work a bit differently, your ad won't scroll off, but they have their own limitations. Ads there may have a small chance of being effective, but usually they have a limit on the listing of 30 days or so. Frankly, for the amount of traffic they return (VERY little), having to relist every 30 days is an annoyance that I can live without. There are still more sellers than buyers in such an arena, so the value of a listing is pretty small.

There are other things you can do that are actually effective, and which do not cost to do. Remember, legitimate free marketing tactics will generally be permanent, and will help you gain a good reputation over time, and will build power and momentum over time. Here are some alternatives:

• Directory Listings - Directories are NOT the same thing! Many allow you to list free, but there is almost always a REAL person behind the scenes reviewing the listings for quality. That feature makes all the difference. This type of listing can often give you all the benefits you sought in the first place.
• Link Trades - Make sure they are on sites that are similar to yours in topic, and that the sites are high quality. Never trade with someone whose site is banned, or whose site is poor quality. Their link on your site will hurt your reputation.
• Signature Lines - Leave a short signature line at the end of every email, and every post you make online. Obey the rules of forums and don't spam them. Just participate sincerely, and leave a signature line when you do.
• Article Marketing - This is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. Done well, it helps you establish credibility, helps you target the traffic that comes to your website, it is viral and expands beyond what you can imagine, and it helps your pagerank by getting your link out there. There is no down side to this tactic if you do it right.
• There are MANY more legit free and low cost marketing methods, both online and offline. Look for tactics that help you build a relationship with people, and which place your information before people who want it, in a way that gives the viewer the choice about whether to use it or not.

Steer clear of FFA and Free Classified sites. Learn to recognize them, and get out fast. They have nothing of value to you, and your business will not benefit from them in any way.

Contributors: Laura Wheeler