Category: Classified Ad

Classified advertisements constitute the main source of revenue for all newspapers across the world. They are larger in number and are published on a regular basis to fulfil some requirement or the other of individuals and small or medium businesses alike.

The reason they are referred to as classified advertisements is that they are classified into different categories and placed together in dedicated classified ad pages of a preferred newspaper. Different advertisements meant for different purposes are published under separate sections such as matrimonial, recruitment, change of name, lost and found, retail, services etc.

Now, these advertisements have a list of criteria associated with them, heading that list is the process of pricing these adverts. The pricing is conditioned by the type of classified advertisement that an advertiser chooses to publish. There are two types of classified advertisements, as mentioned in the previous lesson and the pricing for each type is different.

Let’s evaluate them in more minute details.

Pricing Criteria of Classifieds

Based on Words, lines and characters

Text advertisements are the simplest and most basic form of classified advertising. They include only words or characters or lines and the rates for each advertisement is primarily decided based on these conditions. Although the category, location and newspaper’s popularity are constant factors in deciding the rates for all kinds of newspaper advertisements, the number of words/lines/characters used in them is most essential in deciding the cost of a text classified.

• Each classified text advertisement occupies only one column of the dedicated newspaper page.
• The number of lines in the ad depends on the number of words used in each line of the ad matter.
• Other factors affecting the price of classified text adverts are the enhancements which include ticks, background colours, screen borders and more and each additional enhancement comes at a premium, simply because they make the advert more prominent.

Whenever an advertisement is published, it is meant to gather relevant attention and these enhancements help gain enough attention.

Apart from these, there are certain categories that affect the cost of a classified text, for instance, a name change classified advert is way cheaper than a matrimonial advertisement, irrespective of the location. If the price for a Change of name advertisement of 5 lines in Times of India is Rs.700/- for Delhi, then for the same location a matrimonial ad in Times Matrimonial costs around Rs.3, 400/-

Based on Area
While moving on to the advanced classified ad type, one thing must be made clear that this ad type is published alongside text classifieds, though it is quite different from text ads. It is different in terms of measurement, pricing and even features.

Display classifieds are primarily priced based on the size of the advertisement, generally calculated in terms of per sq.cm unit. There are a few specifications which need to be followed in case of this ad format.

• The size of the ad is determined by its Length or Height and width of the Column it occupies
• The length and the width are calculated in centimetres
• The width is multiplied by the length of the ad which provides a figure in per sq.cm unit
• This is further multiplied by the rate provided by the publication for every sq.cm which in turn provides the exact cost of the advertisement

Lets take the help of an illustration, for instance, if the rate for a Recruitment classified display advertisement in Hindustan Times is around Rs. 226/- per sq.cm for Mumbai location and the ad specifications are 3 cm (long) and 6 cm (width), then the parameters of the ad would be 6 cm X 6 cm= 18 sq.cm. This, in turn, will be multiplied with the ad rates of Rs 226/-, which will give us 18 so.cm X Rs.226= Rs.4,068.

Column Occupied

Each Classified Display ad has certain space limitations but certain advantages have also been added to this ad type so that people with a restricted budget can take its help.

• Display classifieds cannot occupy more than two columns on a newspaper page, which means that the ad cannot be wider than 6 cm.
• If the width of the advert is more than this 6 cm, it does come not under the classified ad type but would rather go under display ad type and respective charges would be applicable on it
• The minimum ad size of a classified display advertisement should be at least 3 cm (width) and 5 cm (length). This refers to a single column display classified ad and can include images, customised logos, headers and footers as well as personally designed ads
• There is no maximum limit on the length of a classified display advert but the width is limited to 6 cm which makes it a double column advertisement.

In the case of display classified ads, there are no extra charges applicable on insertion of images or logos. But the charges do vary based on whether it is coloured ad or a black and white ad.

There is barely any need to specify the sub-category in the case of this ad format, for example, if a matrimonial advertisement needs to be published in Hindustan Times, the advertiser need not mention whether it is a ‘Wanted Groom’ or ‘Wanted Bride’ ad. The ad matter, images and other information provided in the ad are sufficient to attract the attention of relevant prospects.

Based on your budget you can pick any format which is also conditioned by the kind of attention you need for your advertisement. While text ads are more popular among matrimonial and individual announcement ads like the change of name, lost and found etc, display classifieds are more popular among small and medium businesses, local retail stores, public notices, tenders, obituaries etc.