Can a new site ever make it big these days?

[marketground]

Can a new site ever make it big these days?

Hi, I have just started a new site, marketground.com.

I have designed it to be a Free Online Classifieds Forum.

My question is, do I stand any chances to ever make it big, and become popular? If yes, what search engine marketing strategies would you recommend?

Thanks a lot!

[squalid]

you have things working against you before you start

1. on free webspace

2. a .com domain on USA hosting

i also think that classified sites dont really have much of a chance unless you have lots of money to invest

but, saying that - if i was doing a classified site I would keep it local and try to be a big fish in a small pond instead of the other way round. In keeping it local - i wouldnt just do classified - i would try and make it a great resource for info on the area. I think it would be a while before I made any money from it and so would treat it as a hobby to begin with.

[Birmingham]

it can get big within a year with good seo.

to get big before a year - u'll have to either have great offline resources, or an already big online presence elsewhere, or get rather busy with affiliate work with other webmasters.

good luck!

[squalid]

it can get big within a year with good seo.

a classified site aimed at the whole of the uk - hosted on free webspace, on usa servers with a .dom domain name would need some serious seo to get noticed..

[marketground]

thanks for your replies, guess what? my hosting is no longer free, i just paid for it! now its time for some hard work....

[Matt H]

...and some market research so that you realise that this idea is absoloutely pointless.

Quick search on google (free classifieds) and we've got vivastreet.co.uk who are well established with 135,000 adverts showing from all areas of the uk, and a number of others who are just as big, so it's pointless trying to enter what appears to be a fairly saturated market.

Also, Friday ad and the local papers are used for classified adverts on a local level.

Don't forget that Ebay has proved a massive burden to the free classified sites, and will prove a hindrance to your idea.

[Birmingham]

let him follow his interests - if he wants to do this then support him. he'll have a distinct advantage over the majority of the big players who do anything where the money takes them. he can dominate his industry if genuine enthusm guides him.

will definitely take lots of time and rare skills though

[Matt H]

Ha Ha.

Pessimist vs the optimist.

[Birmingham]

who? i'm neither...

[Matt H]

Well your a lot more optimistic than me...

On a more serious note, i've been thinking about this...

he'll have a distinct advantage over the majority of the big players who do anything where the money takes

But, all the classified adverts on vivastreet.co.uk and the like are FREE. So there is no money to be chased from the customer. They make money from advertising, which, presumably, this proposed new site will have to do aswell.

You say he has a distinct advantage over the majority of the players, which is clearly not true.

I know vivastreet has been around for a long time, since i began using the net, so at least 7 years. With such a large amount of traffic, on a very active site, it can be argued that customers simply will not bother to go else where.

Also, i can't see how you could gain any competitive advantage over such a site. It's free, so you can't reduce the price and geographically, it represents everywhere throughout the UK.

If anyone could propose a strategy to enter this market, and prove a success over the next few years, i would genuinly be interested to hear it.