Because everything buying and selling has virtually been taken over by the internet, classified ads sites have taken the position of TV and print ads which were the primary ways through which businesses and service providers could advertise their products and services to broad audiences. The growth of technology saw a decline in the market share of these traditional advertising platforms; it cheapened the market and reduced the demand. Today, classified ads on the internet have taken over South Africa- they are popular, cheap, and effective.
Today, many marketers of products and services insist that there are online classified ads websites in the country that are as effective, or even better than print media and TV. Of course, the approach of every individual marketer will be different, and that would naturally produce different results, so if you want to market any products or services you would need to consider several factors first. However, to start your journey into the world of classified ads in South Africa, here are the top 10 free classified ads sites in South Africa.
Free Classified Sites In South Africa
1. Gumtree
Gumtree.co.za is the foremost free classified ads website in South Africa. This website is not just the foremost classified ads website, but it is usually the default website where people are directed from abroad when they search for products and services in the South African market. Alexa ranks Gumtree as the 13th website in South Africa by traffic.
When you visit Gumtree you find free online classifieds that include live listings. Gumtree is very search engine friendly; research has shown that 39.80% of the people who visit the site are directed by search engines.
Gumtree is also quite engaging because most users who land on the website spend some time before moving on to other websites. That shows that they must have found what they were looking for, and so spent time digesting the information. Statistics reveal that individual users spend about 8:35 minutes and view 7.86 pages per visit to Gumtree.
2. Junk Mail
Junk Mail is another South African classified ads website that is trendy and that supports the needs of advertisers and consumers alike. Junk Mail is quite popular in South Africa; many users go there directly to search for the products and services that they need. Alexa ranks Junk Mail the 52nd website in South Africa by traffic. One good thing about Junk Mail is the fact that most of the users that come to the website are local. This is because the website is well marketed in South Africa. Another important thing is the fact each individual user who visits Junk Mail spends a lot of time on the site; they spend an average of 5:53 per visit, which shows that the website is engaging and has a low bounce rate.
3. OLX
OLX is a well-known free online classified ads platform that provides not only for the market of South Africa but in other countries, especially in Africa. OLX is popular among ordinary persons who wish to sell their personal items, but of course, the website is also used by small businesses who want to take advantage of the chance to freely advertise their products and services.
Most of the users on OLX actually land on the website by intention, and then they search the products they want. OLX is the third most popular classified ads website in South Africa and the 89th website by traffic in the country. The average time individual users spend on the site is 3:25 minutes, and that shows that they usually find what they are looking for.
4. Ads Africa
Ads Africa is one of the top free advertising sites in South Africa, although it does not compare with the top 3 that we have already highlighted. Despite the general sounding name of the website, it is quite local to South Africa. Alexa ranks the website as the 527th in South Africa. However, other metrics are strongly in their favor. For example, the website is very search engine friendly; around 45.50% of their traffic comes from search engines. Typically, individual users spend about 12:10 minutes on the site, which shows that it is engaging and that they find what they are looking for.
5. Locanto
Locanto is a popular free online advertising platform in South Africa. This is the 546th website by traffic in the country, but is makes up for that lack of popularity by being very engaging: on average, users spend 9:25 minutes daily on Locanto, and the website has a bounce rate of 25.50%.
6. Public Ads
Public Ads is another interesting place where one can post and discover classified ads for the South African market. Once again this is one of the free classified ads websites that are still coming up; this website is ranked 3,141st website by traffic in South Africa. However, Public Ads show a lot of promise: for one thing, the website is very engaging. On average, a user spends 4:38 minutes on the website and the daily pageviews for each user is 4.30. That shows that the users find what they are looking for, and also that they are happy to explore the website for more options.
7. Howzit
Howzit South Africa has one of the most colorfully designed homepages among all free classified ads websites that we have highlighted. The website is still growing; it is still ranked lower than 5000 in South Africa. Averagely, a user spends 2:44 minutes daily on Howzit, and that shows that the website is engaging.
8. Booc
Booc is an upcoming free classified ad listing website that is already growing in popularity. This website allows users to list and find ads for free in a simplified manner. However, this is also a great place to optimize your ads; you will stand a far better chance of getting real value for your money. On average, the individual user spends about 3:59 minutes on the site and views 4.00 pages.
9. Afribaba
Afribaba is another great place to post and discover free classified ads in South Africa. The site is still growing, and there is still plenty of time before it becomes one of the more popular websites in the country, but for now, Alexa ranks Afribaba as the 25,881 websites in South Africa. The average user spends about 3:46 minutes on this site, which shows that the website is quite engaging.
10. Class Ads
Class Ads concludes our list of the top 10 best free classified ads websites in South Africa. With this website, there is a lot of ease when it comes to posting free ads. Currently, the site ranks 34308 in the country, but it makes up for this by being very engaging: a viewer can spend 2:46 minutes daily on the site, and users typically view 2.40 pages before leaving.
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Conclusion
Online advertising in South Africa is still evolving, and there is no gainsaying that this is not the final destination. Furthermore, businesses who use free classified ads services pay a lot of attention to web analytics, while others pay money to the ad websites to help push their ads to the top of results and thus gain more views. You may need to have a small budget in order to get the desired results.