Press Release

Buying a second-hand car can be tricky but thanks to a new generation of online classified ads featuring video clips you can check out the vehicle before going to see it.

Just a few years ago, scouring the tiny print in the classified ads in the back of the local paper was the easiest way to find a well-priced car nearby. However using an online classified service means that more rounded descriptions, multiple photos - and now video clips - can be found at the click of a mouse.

Freeads.co.uk, the UK's fastest growing classified site, has given its users the ability to add video content to their ads in response to customer demand.

The company surveyed 2,000 of its users and found that when it came to making a high-value or emotive purchase, such as a car or a pet, more than three-quarters of them (78%) wanted more visuals and in-depth information in the first instance.

Chief executive Duncan Horton commented: "In today's climate the element of trust and credibility is crucial for any online buying and selling marketplace. In our survey a huge 78% of our users said that they would be more inclined to view and respond to an ad with good quality video footage attached as they would deem it more trustworthy.

"We believe that our video ads are going to take off really quickly. For categories such as properties for sale or rent or cars for sale they're a great - and free - way of getting as much detail out there as possible. And like the traditional classified ads in the back of the local rag, on Freeads.co.uk buyers can browse by region to find the sellers nearest them.

"If they want to look further afield however then the Google Maps technology within our site will give them the location too.

"Sites featuring rich user-generated content have taken off in a massive way in the past 18 months or so. It's only natural that this phenomenon expands to reach the classified advertising market, after all the classifieds in newspapers were probably the original form of user generated content."

Freeads.co.uk broke into the top three classified sites in the UK for the first time last month, boasting traffic growth of 160% between January and June 2007, making it the fastest growing classified site in the UK and twice the size as that of Loot.com according to figures from Hitwise.