Classifieds in 1.8

Ummmmm. I'm really not happy about the new classifieds system. These are no longer what I would call Classifieds, but something more along the lines of a Google AdWords bidding system.

The new system seems to me to discourage the placement of ads. It is difficult to compete when an ad that succeeded in 1.7 will now cost 1,000L to get the same placement in 1.8. That's not an affordable fortnightly spend for a new or small business, and I'd like to see all businesses given a fair opportunity to grow in each arena that can be used to attract customers.

Is this just me being whingey? Or does anyone else feel similarly?

The old system cost 250$ for 2 weeks. The new system costs just 50$ for 1 week (or 100$ for 2 weeks). How is the new system unaffordable compared to the old when its 150$ cheaper? Sure the people with more money can get their ad above yours, but under the old system the person with more spaces or special characters could get their ad above yours. To me its no different than a larger company being able to afford more air time on radio and tv during prime hours. I have yet to see an equal cost system that wasnt abused/gamed. Maybe this will give incentive for smaller owners to work together and place a common ad for all their shops in one? I dont know what else to do. About the only other thing would be to set a higher standard set price for ADs and sort them by posting date. But under that system the rich can afford more too.

Because the ads are ranked by who paid the most to place their ad. This system is less than a day old, and look at the prices people are paying to get ad placements.



Umm, yes, and that system got gamed, but at least the gaming was open to all. This system disturbs me on a very basic level.

If LL is comitted to going down this route (and I understand LL is a business that's there to make money, so rock on) I would prefer to see a dual system like Google's in place - natural search results in one column and premium paid results in the other. But that's just me.

The problem with being open to a ton of people at a very cheap is that you get a ton of crap. And eventually you get tired of using the system because its worthless. I have yet to see a system a system without a major issue or 2 with it.

I didn't try the old system - I'm unlikely to try the new - I've found that word of mouth and trying to make the best stuff you can usually pays off...

Sure I'm no Lindenairre - and I don't have a ton of junk on the market either - but I do comfortably with what I have and the sales that come from it.

I'm sure someone who could be arsed more than I can to put stuff in multiple locations (I have 2) - and be a bit more productive in second life (I spend 90% of my time clowning around) could enjoy a lot of success without having to spend a billion on the classifieds.

On a bright note - those that DO spend billions on the classifieds are junking money outta the economy - thats supposed to be good for something, but I can't remember what that is.....

Siggy.

Not quite. AdWords uses AdRank to determine relevance for a given listing. This is more like Overture, which will take as much of your money as you want and list you accordingly.

I'd prefer a relevance and spend-ranked system to a purely spend-ranked system, but I think this is a pretty good step in the right direction. No matter what, you will show up for search results and the minimum spend is next to nothing -- L$50. I think it's a win for everyone, but folks will disagree with me becausse Sense of Entitlement is a powerful force.

I still think it should be random.

It's good for inflation.
I hope many shop owners end up spending a good part of money from their sales on ads ; that'd be a good money sink.

Ah. That's quite cool. I've never used classifieds before, but maybe I will now they're sorted in order of "People who obviously don't need my L$"

I almost never look at classifieds. When I need something, I use FIND. Classifieds are not filtered through Find. Find is only L$30 a week. Start with Find and some grassroots word of mouth and go from there.

Pls correct me if I am wrong.. as I hire place in a mall at Doyle - I cant use find as a marketing tool???

I need my own land to do that.. and as I own land in Dreamland I cant open my business at my home...

Tina - Owner of the brand [EXAKT] - right now only to find via Classified.... or my profile...

This thread inspired me to look at classifieds for the first time today. Does anyone really read that jumbled assortment of self aggrandizement? I know I dont.

Its a confused list of clubs, businesses, land barons, stores, casinos, all mixed up into a list in the order of who wants to spend the most to feel important.

Then LL places classifieds as the first tab in the find window, as if that will make it more useful and desirable. I think members should come first on the find tabs, and in the minds of LL.

All that will result will be the same people throwing away the same money on the same ads that no one reads. We need a useful advertising system, not more pissing contests between members provoked by another odd LL system of bizarre competition.

I occasionally browse the classifieds - since most people are posting their ad in the appropriate section I can actually filter out stuff I'm not interested in. Though if "land for sale" ads continue to crop up in every single section, browsing will be less and less fun. What is the correct protocol to handle ads that have been obviously misfiled? Is there a specific Linden in charge of that whom I should IM?

Good question. It would be neat if the ads had a "Report" button to alert Lindens to spam.

I never 'browse' the classifieds, or the finder really. If I want something, I punch it into the search bar in one of the tabs and find a store that claims to have something like what I want, typically I'll jump around to 4 or 5 of them before deciding. I never paid attention to traffic numbers in the finder, especially these days, and I won't be paying any attention to bid amount in classifieds if I find myself using it. Appeal to me with your ad (Yeah, as a side rant, your store logos typically aren't appealing, I want to see product.) and description and I'm there, especially with our newly-reissued P2P. Otherwise, you get skipped, I don't care how much or how little you paid for it.

Haha I never looked at it that way, but I think the bottom and the top will be flooded with people who don't need the L$

Im inclined to let it run for a while .. maybe more than a day ... before I start drawing conclusions about its worth.

I've looked at it and run some searches (since the launch yesterday) .. and what I see is a handful of people spending a lot to be at the top of the list. Will be interesting to see if that continues ... 3000 a week is a lot just to be at the top of the list.

There are tons of ads at the 250 mark ... and I suspect they may be left overs and will expire in the next week or so. Hopefully having them in the pool now wont artificially "set the bar".

I placed a $50 ad, and will wait to see what happens.

You can click on the price paid label to reverse the order of the sort, seeing the bottom of the list first ... I routinely do this in circumstances like this. And when Im looking for something, I start at that end of the list. Sometimes there are gems lurking. I found some great gift boxes that way yesterday.

Bottom line, its my humble opinion that people who have dismissed classified ads out of hand are making decisions based on assumptions and rumor. I think the system deserves some study before deciding its worthless. Considering this is a significant change, any experience with the preceding system is not conclusive, nor definitive. Significant change is an opportunity to reexamine.

I took one look at the Classifieds today, and it is unlikely I will bother looking at them ever again. Certainly not with any hopes of ever placing an ad there. A L$50 ad gets you something like ten pages down on the list, and it's likely to get much worse over time. Except for a few nice-hearted souls who 'game the system' by looking the the bottom first, most would-be shoppers will never see ads that far down. To get anywhere close to the top, the going rate is now over L$1,000 per week, and that is obscene.

In a real-world economy, there are a variety of ways to advertize. Some are 'big money' routes, that only major corporations can afford, like an ad on TV during the Superbowl football game. But there are many more ways that are aimed at the little guys. The Lindens have an effective monopoly, and give us precisely two choices: The Classifieds, useful only to big spenders; and a listing in Find, usable only by land owners. The little business person who rents space has no way to advertize that is worth squat.

Second Life needs an equivilent of the 'Nickle Ads' - classified ads only for small, 'local' businesses, with dirt-cheap rates. Maybe the Lindens could spare a square meter near each of their precious infohubs for a free vendor for cheap ads? Ads that only can list stuff for sale in that sim, and the adjoining sims? I won't hold my breath on that one...

Personally, I agree with one person's assessment: Anyone who can afford to throw money at the Classifieds in quantities large enough to buy a first-page listing certainly doesn't need my few Lindens. And they are unlikely to ever get my business.

One thing people overlook is that you can SEARCH these ADs. So your $50 AD and a $5000 AD will both show up if I search for "peanut butter" and its in both those ads.

I must admit, I didn't see any way to do a detailed keyword search when I looked at them. I only saw a way to select broad categories, like 'Shopping'. I guess I will look closer next time I go in-world... Maybe I missed something obvious. But then again, I have to wonder how many others will also miss that.

If I could search for 'T-shirts', or for " 'Japan' and 'Furniture' ", that might be more useful than I supposed.

You're just clicking the tab. But you can click the tab and search within those tabbed listings. Obviously, a $50L ad that has magic keyword combinations will sometimes appear at the top of the list - a bunch of people may do ads for "butter" but many fewer will do ads for "peanut butter" so you'd do OK there.

Actually, I'm gonna try that when my current Classified runs out - I'll have a go at placing five very specific keyword phrased ads for $50L instead of one general one for $250 and see what happens.



You can. It won't take Boolean queries but you can search natural language phrases like "Japanese furniture". I have some in stock, actually, but it's listed under Oriental. C'mon down to Chez Petite

How about just being able to reset the damn ad from week to week instead of having to re-enter it each bleeding time!!

And yeah, search that sucker.. screw paying more than $L 50 for it.

Yes, I checked, and yes, I had missed a perfectly obvious search field.

Limited my search to 'Shopping', and searched for 'shirt' and then for 'eyes'. Each was only about a a page long. So I suppose with the right words in your ad, in the right fields, it isn't too terrible.

I definitely wouldn't pay more than L$50 for an ad, though.

From a marketing viewpoint, I think it is a bargain for the advertiser.

You get a bunch of keywords, well over 100, for only L$50 per week. Find - Places only allows for 10-20 words at L$30 per week.

Earlier, if you sold very diverse stuff, you had to split up your parcel to be found in find - places under all your relevant keywords. Now you can just add another classified with a new landing point and over 100 keywords.

I already have 4 classifieds posted, but will adjust my bidding when I know more about how they perform.