How to send ad viewers to the actual items you advertise on USFreeAds

Using this method you will learn how to use USFreeads to send viewers of your ads to a content page in your BANS site where you display the actually advertised items. This method requires a bit more work for you but will be less confusing to viewers who are expecting to see the item(s) advertised in USFreeads when they click to your site.

DWould you rather send people to the actual item your ad promotes? Then view How to Send Ad Viewers to Items Similar to What You Advertise on USFreeads.

04/28/2008 Edit: I have updated these instructions to include eBay’s method of creating affiliate links since their decision to leave Commission Junction.


My instructions to send ad viewers to the actual items you advertise on USFreeads:
Step One
	Create an account with USFreeads (if you don’t already have one).

	Log into your USFreeads account.
Step Two
	Open a new browser tab or window and go to eBay.
Step Three
	Open a new tab or window and log in to your eBay EPN account.
Step Four
	Open a new browser tab or window and go to your niche store (not your site’s Admin).
Step Five
	Open a new browser tab or window and log into your niche store’s Admin.
	Note: You should now have five browsers windows or tabs open. This will allow you to easily move back and forth between each location as you create your ads.

	From within your site’s Admin click on the ‘Content Pages‘ tab and ‘Create Content Page‘ link. Title ‘Link Name‘ something like, "Advertised [Niche Items]" (I have added a page like this to a store selling dolls so I titled this page, "Advertised Nancy Ann Dolls.").

	Add text similar to the text below to the ‘Page Content‘ area of your new content page:
	"The following are our currently advertised merchandise. It is possible that these items are no longer available. If this is the case then please browse through our store as we have similar items that are available."
Step Six
	Go to your niche store’s browser or tab and look for a Buy It Now (BIN) item. Your USFreeads ad will run for up to 40 days so you may want to look for an item that runs for the most days. But it is ok if the auction item you choose will expire by the time visitors click on your ad as they can search through your store for similar items.

	For these instructions I’m going to create an ad for a listing titled, "*My little Pony Custom Farfalle" Pasta, Noodle, G3**."

	After you find an auction you want to promote highlight and copy the title of the auction you want to promote. Do not click the auction or you will inflate your clicks in your Commission Junction (CJ) account:

Step Seven
	Go to your eBay browser or tab and paste the auction title into the search box and press "Search":

	Click on the result matching your search input. There may be multiple results so choose the one that will be listed on eBay the longest.

	Look to see where the item is located. In this example the item is located in Ensdorf, Germany:

Step Eight
	Go to your USFreeads browser or tab to begin making your ad. You can do this by clicking on the ‘Advertise‘ or ‘Place Classified‘ links:

	Click on the category that most accurately matches the item you are promoting (make sure you read the warning so you aren’t violating their policies). In this example I chose ‘Toys, Games & Models‘:

	Click on a subcategory. You may need repeat this process depending on how depth of the category you chose. Eventually you will get to a screen that asks if you want to choose your own personal categories or go with what you chose. I am not going to explain creating your own categories. Instead, I’m continuing with the second option:

	Choose your method for creating your ad. Since I have Dreamweaver I use the third option. Some of the images here may vary slightly from what you see depending on what format you choose.

	Fill in the "Ad Title" and "Description" sections. Make sure you include a link to the content page within your niche store (the one you created in step five) in the "Description" and/or "Link" sections. Remember to include keyword-rich words and phrases in your description so the ad will show at the top of search engine queries.
	Note: You can copy the description from the eBay auction listing and paste it in the ad. If you do this, make sure to correct any misspellings or grammatical errors. Also, reword the auction description as needed. Be sure to include keyword phrases and terms.

	Note: You may find it best to remove all auction references from the description.

	You can write something like, "For more information click this link:" and simply enter the entire link. Make sure you include http:// or the link won’t become clickable. The link you are sending people to is the content page you created. Doing this will look like this:

	OR You can make your link an anchor link (where the link says something different than the destination URL). The link you are sending people to is the content page you created. You can write something like, "Click here for more information" (where Click here takes you to your store). Doing this will look like:

Step Nine
	Go back to your eBay browser or tab so you can copy and save pictures of the item you are promoting to your computer.

	To save a copy of a picture just right click on it and choose, "Save image as…" and choose a place on your computer to save the image to. You can add up to four images in CL so save the four best images from the auction listing. It is important to save the pictures instead of simply linking to them. Linking to them means you are stealing someone’s bandwidth and that is a bad thing to do.

	While still on eBay take note of the BIN price for the item you chose.
Step Ten
	Go back to your USFreeads browser or tab and enter the BIN price in the "Price" section. For this example I will enter 50.

	Next fill in the "Item Location" and "Available To" sections. Your location will always show in the ads so it’s a good idea to show the item’s location so people don’t think it is the same as where you are. Click on "Continue" to preview your ad.
	Note: You can ignore (leave empty) the "Shipping Options" and "PayPal Options" sections as those are for the actual sellers of items.

	Preview your ad. You will be asked if your ad extends beyond the average ad size. If the box around your ad extends beyond the arrows above and below your ad then you will want to click the box next to "Check this box if you need to use the wide layout option:" If you don’t do this and your ad is too wide it won’t show properly. If you need to edit the ad before saving it click your back button and make your changes. If the ad looks good click on "Save this classified":


	You are done creating your ad on USFreeads but now you need to set up a link within the content page to your ad.
Step Eleven
	Go back to your eBay browser or tab, to the BIN item you are promoting (the one you used to create your ad). Copy the URL for this auction item.
Step Twelve
	Go to your eBay EPN browser or tab.

	Click the ‘Tools‘ tab and ‘Link Generator‘ link.

	Enter or choose the following:
		Advertiser = eBay
		Link Type = Custom URL
		Custom URL = URL to the page you are creating an affiliate link for
		Geo-Target = Yes, if you can (I’ve not been able to get this option to work)
		Select program to apply = country you are targeting (i.e. eBay US)
		Campaign Name or ID = Name or ID for store you are creating link for
		Custom ID = Something descriptive so you can see if link is working (i.e. ebay-ad-on-usfreeads)
		Link Action = Leave blank
		Link Text = Enter anchor text (You can use the title for the ad you created as the click-able text for your link)

	Click the ‘Generate Link‘ button.

	Copy the link code (I usually use the ‘URL Only’ link).
Step Thirteen
	Go back to your store’s Admin browser or tab and click on "edit" for the content page you created in step five.

	Click the < > tag on the Page Content section of your content page. This will open a new window. Paste the code you copied from the Link Generator Tool page into this new window and click the ‘ok‘ button. This will close the new window.

	Save the changes to your content page by clicking the ‘Save‘ button.
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