Craigslist is ranked the 41st largest in the world by Alexa. This means that millions of people visit this website every month. Classifieds stay posted on Craigslist for 45 days, plus these classified ads sometimes find their way into Google search results!

Posting ads on Craigslist regularly can be a great help in getting your website indexed and drive traffic to your website.

Follow these simple rules and you can drive traffic to your site regularly.

1. Do not post multiple times in the same category or the wrong category.

2. Do not post to multiple cites.

3. Do not post too many ads too quickly.

4. If you post multiple ads, use different titles for each ad and modify the body. If possible try and change any links to your site within the ads.

5. Opportunity type ads are only accepted under small business services.

6. Another suggestion is to use different email addresses for each ad. If you have your own domain this should not be a problem. Just use different prefixes for your domain and you will then be able to approve each posting confirmation email.

7. Post only a few ads a day, then wait a few more days to continue. This will drive traffic to your site and prevent you from getting banned.

I am Not suggesting that you spam Craigslist. They have many safeguards in place to prevent spamming, but why not take advantage of what they do allow?

If you follow these tips your website will get indexed quickly which could help it move up in the rankings. Just remember that your IP address can be blocked by Craigslist if you do not follow the rules.

What is the best way to use Craigslist effectively?

1. Target your audience.

Know who you are trying to attract to your business! Once you do know your target audience you can then aim to reach that audience by posting in the correct advertising category on Craigslist. Even though Craigslist claims to have over 4 billion hits a month, what really matters is that your business is in the right place to be found by the right people.

Reaching your target audience is much more important then reaching a large audience. Craigslist offers advertisers the opportunity to promote their business through a number of different sections and categories. This makes it easier for people to find the information they need, which should be your information!

2. Marketing strategy.

Not only can you drive traffic to your website by placing ads in Craigslist but you can also participate in the discussion forums. Just make sure you provide useful information and accurate answers to questions relating to your business. Do not forget to place a link to your website in your signature and be careful when posting that your messages are not mistaken for spam.

Creating a successful online business costs money and advertising it does not have to cost you more. Take advantage of Craigslist and other similar websites that are free for you to use.

Here are some other free advertising resources that can be used to promote your online business.

- Trade-pals dot com is a directory of business professionals that provides leads to its members.

- MySpace dot com can be used to join in on business group discussions.

- Ziggs dot com gives you a detailed profile that is placed into categories that can be searched on by people seeking your services.

- Pr dot com is a press release website.

- Linkedin dot com is a business networking site.

It is worth your time to take advantage of these free services.

Why not let them provide free advertising for your business 24 hours a day?

Copyright 2007 Joe Rispoli