Classified information Web sites are now stagnant

The peak of nearly 2000 classified information sites are now very little

Seven years ago, when riding a small donkey Chen Yao like a hurricane swept across the north and south, the classified information site has gradually faded out of sight. In the peak of nearly 2000 classified information sites are now running out, only a few are also in the plight of the decline in traffic, the year a number of classified information sites are now few, stagnant development.

After the ebb tide, even net and 58 of the same city as the industry giants, but also have to take a strategy in the Change Bureau to explore new business model. After New Year's Day, net's ants short rent that announced the completion of tens of millions of dollars in financing, and formally split, the release of betting "short rental" industry signals, and 58 the city has long turned the road of the electric quotient.

Shouting "no shortage of money" of the two sites, now to how the daily tens other traffic into a considerable turnover, has obviously become an imminent task.

Business model is too simple

2012, whether it is big mouth Chen Yao riding donkey, everywhere yell "find a job, find a house, find a nanny ..." Everything has "lively, or Yang shouting" 58 with the city, a magical website, "the noisy, are gradually dim. After 2011 years of overwhelming advertising war, the past year to meet the net and 58 city of the two domestic classified information website leader, is a series of senior management turnover, capital chain break, layoffs, reduce group buying business and other adverse rumors.

NET and 58 are in the same city, both of which mimic the site of Craigslist abroad, and are on foot in 2005. After 7 years of development, the unclear profit model and false information flood, is puzzling the domestic Life classification information website development.

Over the past year, two of websites have suffered a steep decline in traffic. Reporter looked at the traffic statistics website Alexa data found that net in the past three months, the average ranking of 411, ranked down 52, and 58 city in the past three months, the average ranking is 245, ranking down 54. From the statistical data, two of the site's traffic rankings have been in the 200, and long-term downward trend.

A classified information service insiders told reporters that the two also mimic Craigslist's classified information site, revenue growth has not kept pace with advertising and operating costs growth. Craigslist, which employs no more than 50 people, has created billions of ad revenue and has 570 classified ad stations in 50 countries around the world. And 58 with the city and net have thousands of employees, each year must pay a huge salary and advertising costs, long-term at a loss.

At present, classified information Web site's profit model is divided into "advertising revenue" and "member" two categories. "Advertising revenue" model is mainly value-added advertising revenue, similar to the ranking of search engines. and "member" refers to the registration of certified members charged fees, generally accounted for the overall revenue of 50%. Long-term income, so that the classification information site in the face of the early "brutal" shuffle, have to deal with growth bottlenecks, two companies in the past few years have tried to explore a more diversified business model, layout involves friends, buy, short rent, reward, games and other fields, but it is difficult.

April 2012, on the line just a year of group buying business, was net hastily "outsourced" to the litters regiment, to catch the group of the domain name directly jump to the litters regiment under the domain name of the joint operation of the two pages. has been relying on a large market investment in business expansion and user growth of the group buying business, in the capital of the cold winter was first given up. Group buying experts, group buying navigation website Group 800 co-founder Hu Chen explained to reporters, now the market and litters group relationship, more like "Navigation Station and group purchase Station", net is actually the flow of cash.

In addition, the false fraud information supervision is not strict, but also let the classification of information sites gradually lose the trust of users, facing the credibility bottleneck. Reporter randomly interviewed several users, get the response is a mixed information, need to identify the authenticity of their own, information search more difficult. "For example, you want to find a personal rental information, the results of the past found that most of the rental agency, rental photos, or the house has been rented, it is difficult to identify effective real information." One user said.

In Baidu, if the input "58 City Cheats" can find 2.53 million related to this search information, and "net liar" related to 5.02 million. The initial birth of classified information website originates from people's rigid demand of releasing or searching for effective life information at any time, but when the information quality of classified information website is uneven, it becomes the gathering place of various "entrust", its development prospect will be more and more complicated.

To break through a cage by short rent?

Although the road is difficult, but whether the net or 58 in the same city, obviously not willing to the existing business development, instead of looking for a large number of user traffic to cash in the way to achieve rapid expansion after the profit breakthrough.

New Year's Day has just passed, net's ants short rent that is announced tens of millions of dollars of financing, is currently short rental industry's largest financing. The financing by the advantages of capital, Blue Venture Investment, Sequoia Capital participation. In addition, the establishment of more than a year of ant short rent officially from the net split, has completed the new company registration and related matters and began to operate independently, by Gong as CEO.

Last September, net CEO revealed that the operating data on ants ' short rental operations averaged more than 25% per cent in the last three months, becoming the fastest growing business in the market. The new three-month-old data from Gong is a 15%-25% high, with total orders reaching nearly 300,000 nights.

Short-term business business model, is for landlords and tenants to provide online communication and trading platform, to provide users with ordinary homes, family hotels and other unused housing, was initially net as a O2O model of a test water.

A person close to net told reporters that the current ants short rent nearly half of the flow from net, ants short rent to get tenants and landlords to charge about 10% of the split, is still in a loss, temporarily will not be profitable.

At the same time, 58 city is also trying to transform from a pure classification information platform to a Consumer-to-consumer trading platform, such as Beijing station second-hand 3C digital plate opened online payment transaction function, into the "electronic commerce" stage. Analysys International analyst Shou sent that advertising costs, high operating costs, income growth did not keep up, from 2011 into the 2012 the entire classification industry encountered a stage of difficulties.

Public data show that both net and 58 have been in the city have had a tricycle financing, the former financial total of 95 million U.S. dollars, the latter of the sum of $120 million financing. Now that the market is stagnant, even though two of websites shout "no shortage of money", how to turn the daily tens other traffic into considerable turnover is clearly an imminent task.

Data

According to the traffic statistics web site Alexa data, net in the past three months, the average ranking of 411, ranked down 52, and 58 city in the past three months, the average ranking is 245, ranking down 54. From the statistical data, two of the site's traffic rankings have been in the 200, and long-term downward trend