The era of linking out … for classifieds, too

Something I’ve advocated for some time in my “other” job as digital-media blogger and Editor & Publisher Online columnist is for news websites to stop being online islands and provide links out to other sources of news, in addition to playing their traditional news role. Google has proven beyond a doubt that there’s much value in being an intelligent filter to all that is on the web.

As Brian Stelter wrote in the New York Times yesterday, linking out has finally reached bona fide media trend status. “Embracing the hyperlink ethos of the Web to a degree not seen before, news organizations are becoming more comfortable linking to competitors — acting in effect like aggregators,” he writes.

Should this apply to classifieds, too? I think so, especially for newspapers that have seen their classifieds revenues plummet and their number of ads shrink alarmingly. As newspapers’ print editions and websites become less valuable as a result of this decline, it’s time to do something to move the value needle upward again.

Example: Many recruitment classified ads for unskilled jobs have moved to sites like Craigslist. For a newspaper website that is no longer the dominant source of those types of job listings, it can make sense to point to employment ads on other sites. If the reader doesn’t find what he’s looking for within the newspaper listings, then suggest additional sources.

Of course, publishers can incorporate external classifieds from other sites via relationships with aggregators like Oodle. Participating in classifieds networks like Kaango can bring ads from other network partners (though the breadth of ad sources is smaller than Oodle’s). It’s a strategy clearly worth exploring at this point.

A simpler method (though with less financial potential): Provide links to other sites with additional ads. For instance, at the end of a list of accounting job listings from your site, provide links to that section of the local Craigslist, or relevant job listings of other newspaper sites in nearby communities, or online job listings on websites of local accounting firms, etc.

The news side has made the leap to link journalism. Do you think it’s time for the classifieds side of newspaper companies to follow?