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ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLA. — Craigslist, the global classified advertising site, will generate an estimated $122 million in revenue and profits of $88 million to $99 million in 2010, Classified Intelligence Report disclosed today.

In its latest detailed report about the worldwide “free classified” site that has changed the landscape of classified advertising, Classified Intelligence Report from the AIM Group estimated Craigslist’s revenue will grow 22 percent in 2010, up from $100 million in 2009. More than half the company’s revenue comes from recruitment advertising, while 30 percent comes from “adult services” ads — thinly disguised advertising for prostitutes — and about 17 percent (almost $21 million) comes from apartment ads in New York City, the AIM Group estimated.

The 47-page report includes the first detailed published analysis ever of Craigslist’s expenses, which include technology, bandwidth, personnel and legal fees. Craigslist Inc., parent of Craigslist.org, is locked in a fierce legal battle with EBay, its only outside shareholder and its largest direct competitor in the U.S. and Canada.

“Craigslist claims to have a ‘relatively non-commercial nature, public service mission and non-corporate culture,’ but in reality it turns so much profit that it’s a gold mine for its owners,” said Peter M. Zollman, founder of the AIM Group. “Per employee, it generates more than $4 million in revenue and profits of $2.9 million to $3.2 million — staggering numbers any way you count.

“By taking a comprehensive look at Craigslist’s revenue and expenses, and the many issues the company is facing, we illustrate the lucrative and changing nature of the classified-advertising industry.”

The AIM Group’s annual report on Craigslist, which is available at AIMGroup.com for $395, provides revenue estimates for Craigslist’s “adult services” ads; recruitment ads in each of the 19 cities where the company charges for job postings, and for apartment ads in New York. It outlines the company’s revenue growth; analyzes Craigslist’s costs, opportunities and challenges, and provides extensive background on the company’s legal fight with EBay. It also takes a detailed look at EBay’s U.S. and international classified advertising operations and growth, along with more than a dozen other competitors to Craigslist.

“We’re astonished at the explosive growth Craigslist continues to show, even in a very tough economy,” said Jim Townsend, editorial director of Classified Intelligence Report and the AIM Group. “For 2010, its ‘adult services’ revenue will be three times the revenue it generated in that category in 2009.”

Click here to buy the report.

The report also includes:

— An extensive overview of Craigslist, which grew from an e-mail list founded by Craig Newmark 15 years ago.

— A 15-point prescription for successfully competing with Craigslist and other classified publishers.

— A recap and timeline of the ongoing legal battle between Craigslist and EBay.

— A review of Craigslist’s plans, scuttled in early 2001, to become a community much like Facebook, which launched three years later. (“Oh, what could have been,” the report notes.)

— A look at other successful classified advertising sites and companies, including Oodle and Kaango in the U.S.; Kijiji, Loquo, Gumtree, Marktplaats and others owned by EBay as it expands its classified footprint; Schibsted’s successful Blocket marketplace model, now in 10 countries, and more.

The AIM Group began estimating Craigslist’s revenue in 2003, when it projected revenue of about $7 million. The company, parent of consulting group Classified Intelligence, tracks Craigslist’s revenue through the most basic approach — counting ads. Its complete methodology is detailed in the report.

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About the AIM Group: The AIM Group, formally known as the Advanced Interactive Media Group LLC, is the world’s leading consultancy in interactive media and classified advertising. It publishes Classified Intelligence Report, a continuous advisory service often called “the bible of the classified advertising industry.” The AIM Group works with leading media companies, broadcasters, dot-coms, yellow-page publishers and technology companies. It provides strategic and tactical consulting; sales training; proprietary and published research about interactive media, and other services. Founded in 1998, it is based in Altamonte Springs, Fla. For more information call (407) 788-2780 or see http://AIMGroup.com .

Online automotive advertising worldwide is on the rebound and will pick up substantially in 2010, according to a report released today by the Advanced Interactive Media Group.

The AIM Group, which publishes Classified Intelligence Report, surveyed 20 executives in the automotive-advertising industry globally, and found that 17 expected improvement in online advertising revenue this year, while only one expected a continued decline in 2010. Several said they projected “significantly better” advertising this year, and some noted that a rebound began in mid 2009.

“Our research shows that a substantial recovery is under way in auto advertising, but that it varies widely by market,” said Peter M. Zollman, founding principal of the AIM Group and publisher of Classified Intelligence Report. “Most of the growth that’s likely in 2010 will be online, with declines likely to continue in print advertising, especially listings.”

The 62-page report, “Revving up: Online Auto Ads Rebounding Globally,” is one of a series of annual reports published by the AIM Group, including automotive, real estate, recruitment and an annual revenue estimate for Craigslist, the free-classified site. The report has been distributed to clients of the AIM Group’s “continuous advisory service,” Classified Intelligence Report, and is available for $495 through this link. A free preview is available here.

The report includes extensive statistical data about auto advertising markets in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the U.K. The data were published in conjunction with Autobiz, a classified-advertising data analysis company based in Paris.

It also includes a section for auto-advertising publishers, “Ten things you must do to improve your revenue.”

Executives who participated in the research included Chip Perry, president and CEO of AutoTrader.com in the U.S.; Genevieve LeBrun of Trader Corp. / AutoTrader in Canada; Dr. Nikolas Deskovic of AutoScout24 in Germany; Stephen Browning of CarsGuide.com (News Ltd.) in Australia, and Tim Peake of Trader Media Group in the U.K., along with representatives of sites in Italy, India, Finland, Australia and China.

After such a dismal year in 2009, it’s terrific to see optimism returning to the automotive-advertising marketplace. There’s a lot of work to be done, but dealers are increasing their spending and smart publishers can make sure they get their full share of growth this year.

The AIM Group will offer launch support and training to Wave2 Media Solutions clients who purchase the iPublish AdPortal industry leading self-service ad creation system.

The launch support program will help new Wave2 Media Solutions clients market the self-service option, target potential accounts, set up procedures and pricing, and help drive sales and acquire new advertisers.

“The sales and interactive media experience offered by the AIM Group will help our customers see a quicker return on their investment once they’ve deployed AdPortal,” said Brian Gorman, vice president of sales for Wave2 Media Solutions LLC. “The launch support program will help them maximize our industry leading solution for creating advertisements.”

AIM Group will offer several levels of customized launch support, ranging from a one-day series of meetings with key executives and managers to a full week of training with sales executives and special “kick-off” presentations for advertisers. The program will also introduce clients to the best practices of companies already using iPublish AdPortal.

“Allowing advertisers to create and submit their own ads helps newspapers grow their advertiser base as well as revenue,” said Peter M. Zollman, founding principal of the AIM Group. “But it’s important to create a good experience for advertisers by keeping the process simple and by making sure real people are available to help and follow-up.”

The launch support program is an option being presented to purchasers of iPublish AdPortal, and Wave2 Media Solutions is providing information about it to all of its prospective customers.

The AIM Group, formally the Advanced Interactive Media Group LLC, is the world’s leading consultancy in interactive media and classified advertising. 

Wave2 Media Solutions opened a US office in October, 2006 to bring its leading self-service advertising solutions to the US newspaper market. Founded in the UK in 2004 it has quickly taken a leading position in both markets for self-service advertising. Wave2 is Adobe System’s leading developer of InDesign Server solutions in the newspaper market worldwide.

Wave2′s iPublish AdPortal is the only self-service solution available today that supports print and on-line ads as an integrated system. For Wave2′s hundreds of customers, AdPortal has become their central platform in reaching their goals to decrease the cost of sales and find new advertisers. Wave2′s AdPortal has become the standard self-service platform at Gannett, Media News Group, Freedom, Hearst and other leading publishers in the US and UK.