SHOP.blink.ph – Philippines Online Guide: Internet Trading Auctions Shopping Buying Selling Classifieds

701Search Pte Ltd has launched its latest classified website www.AyosDito.ph to serve the Filipino community.Ayosdito.ph is managed by 701Search, Inc, incorporated in November 2008 as a subsidiary of 701 Search Pte Ltd, which was established in Sept 2006 as a joint venture between Southeast Asia\’s leading media organisation Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Norwegian media group Schibsted ASA.

First launched on 2 March 2009, www.AyosDito.ph has the map of the Philippines on its home page, with its 16 regions and provinces marked out (Refer to Appendix 1 for a screen shot of its homepage). Offered as a free service for all Filipinos and residents, it allows buyers and sellers to target the relevant populace within their same locality and who are interested in eight broad categories of popular items – Vehicles, Properties, Electronics, Home and Personal Items, Leisure/Sports/Hobbies, Business-to- Business, Jobs and Services, and others. (Refer to Appendix 2 for a detailed listing under each broad category).

“Ayosdito” is a two-word Filipino phrase meaning “Ok Here”. Commonly used as a byword throughout the country, its adoption reflects the company’s confidence that users will have a positive experience with the website to help them with their online classifieds needs.

After the first month of operations, AyosDito.ph has attracted more than 27,000 unique visitors per day and 16,000 live advertisements. It has received positive reviews and support from users and advertisers for its concise, user-friendly interface and easy-to-navigate features. All product listings are moderated to ensure that only bona-fide high-quality product and service advertisements are listed.

Over the last two years, SPH has gradually been building its regional presence in online classifieds, search and directories businesses through a number of new ventures.

701Search launched the online classifieds website “mudah.my” in November 2007. This has grown rapidly in traffic and popularity to become the number one classifieds site in Malaysia within just 10 months. The website now attracts more than 120 million page views a month and is constantly ranked amongst the top four local websites in Malaysia by Alexa, an internet-based company specialising in traffic rankings, and also a subsidiary company of Amazon.com.

In North Asia, SPH set up a joint venture called 701Sou (Beijing) Information Technology to provide digital media services, including online and mobile search services for mainland China. “Sou” (or r) is the Chinese word for “Search”.

In Malaysia, SPH partnered Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd to form a joint venture in 701Panduan Sdn Bhd for the provision of digital media services. “Panduan” is the Malay word for “provide guidance or direction”.

Mr Leslie Fong, Director of 701Search and Senior Executive-Vice President of Marketing in SPH said, “Through ventures such as www.AyosDito.ph, SPH will expand its geographic footprint for online media, directories and classifieds and spur growth. Our investment in new media will help to augment our strengths in print media and develop new revenue streams over time.”

Mr Julian Tan, CEO 701Search Pte Ltd said,” Asia offers immense opportunities as internet penetration is poised to grow exponentially. Following on our success in Malaysia and the launch in the Philippines, we will continue to identify new investment opportunities to build up our portfolio and expand our regional footprint.”

Mr Mannix Pabalan, General Manager of 701Search (Philippines) Inc said, “www.AyosDito.ph offers a compelling platform for the sellers with a far-reaching e-marketplace of ready buyers and in turn, gives buyers access to an extensive listings of products and services. We are committed to grow this website to be the premier one-stop shop for Filipinos to conveniently buy and sell anytime and anywhere within the Philippines.”

From ASIA MEDIA JOURNAL.