OLX is the Craigslist of India and other countries including the U.S. – a next generation of free online classifieds that focuses on mobile. Whether you are in a country they serve (over 105 countries in 40 languages) or not, it is worth examining what they’re doing right to generate enormous growth:
In India alone OLX.in claimed more than 3.2 million downloads.
They had half a billion page views in July 2013.
52% of their overall traffic is from mobile.
OLX Classifieds for Android, Apple iOS
Unlike Craigslist, OLX features images to grab the user’s attention. Most important, though, is their focus on mobile. Both OLX Classifieds for Android and for Apple iOS provide search results based on the location of the phone.
Images appear full screen. To create an ad to sell something you can click on an existing image. Or snap a photo with your phone, fill in the details and it posts instantly. Click to share it with your Facebook friends instantly.
And all of this happens in your native language – which is really important in India where hundreds of languages are spoken. English has arisen as the common language, but OLX users can choose to view ads in their local dialect.
OLX features all the categories you would typically see on any classified site: jobs, products, vehicles, real estate, services, classes, community and even matrimonial.
Ads can include videos as well as photos for stronger response rates.
OLX Viral Video Marketing
OLX is also using the viral nature of video and releasing advertisements so cute they’ll get shared – again, in multiple languages. Here is an example of one of their videos in English:
OLX India is a case study in positioning your business in front of a coming surge in demand. India consumerism is growing. According to a report by Stat Counter, India is the first country to see mobile devices dominate Web usage, surpassing destop usage in May 2012.
The latest McKinsey report predicts a 5-fold increase in Internet usage in India by 2015 with more than 3/4s of that growth being mobile devices.
Download one of their mobile apps from the OLX site in your country. (In the U.S. see OLX.com) Use OLX to look for products or offer your services.
Tired of Craigslist? Check out OLX.
Do you use OLX? Tell us how you like it in the comments.
