Eliminate a section of the site?

If the content isn't there

[dickbaker]

I have a site where people can find detailed information about widget stores.

When I began planning the site, I thought it would be a good idea to have a Widgets Classifieds section. However, only a couple of widget stores have placed classified ads.

So, visitors are going to the site and finding just four dozen classified ads. The Classifieds section is #3 in terms of page views.

My gut tells me that this is a turn-off to visitors, and that I should just eliminate that section.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[Rosalind]

When it comes to forums, dead boards are a turnoff because people look at them and decide that their chances of getting a good answer to their question are better elsewhere. The same thing might apply to a classifieds section. Advertisers may not be encouraged because it looks like the site gets few visitors, and the other visitors may not respond because there's not much choice. A classified section is essentially there to answer the question "Where can I get...?" so it's similar to the question and answer format of a forum in that sense.

[ControlEngineer]

It depends on the nature of your site. If your "widgets" are industrial diafiltration filter media, then 48 classifieds may be very good and the centerpiece of your site. On the other hand, if you are selling used CDs, then 48 is pretty poor.

Another consideration is how much does the classified section cost and how much trouble is it. If it is not worth the effort, you should drop it. But if the cost and trouble are insignificant, anything is better than nothing. Do you have any way of knowing if the classified section is considered useful to your visitors? Do the advertisers get any results?

If you think many people are going to the page and not finding what they want, it would be a good spot for Adsense or other advertising. You should also have links to other parts of your site (not just home) on that page.

[kpaul]

do you charge for them or are they free?

[dickbaker]

The ads initially only available to stores that have trial subscriptions to my site. Last week I decided to open the classifieds section to the public. I also went on a number of "widget" forums where people sell stuff, and suggested they place their items in my classifieds section for free, just for additional exposure.

Only one person did so.

There are three major Widget Classifieds sites with hundreds of thousands of ads.

This afternoon I decided to remove the classifieds sections and see if the "stickiness" of the site improves. The classifieds were always intended as an extra, not the real focus of the site.

Looking at the stats pages, there were enough people exiting from the classifieds results pages to make me think that it was having a negative effect on the site.

I'm going to watch the stats and see if there's an improvement.

[whitesell]

You probably did the right thing by getting rid of that section, since there are three other sites with thousands of ads. Try to come up with something else that is unique in your widget world - maybe a top sites list or something - rather than adding something that is redundant to the industry you're in.

Good luck!