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Reaching the right customer with a classifieds placement may be the province of tighter behavioral targeting, rather than waiting for someone to search for what they want.

It happens so commonly that Craigslist has been blamed for remaking the newspaper industry, and not always in a positive way. Someone wants something and turns to the online classifieds site to see what others posted in a free listing, with a connection likely turning into a transaction.

Classified Intelligence (CI) said in a recent client advisory the desire of all kinds of classifieds sites to find buyers early likely signals a big shift into behavioral targeting. Such targeting looks at what people do while online.

"Classified sites will become a critical part of the infrastructure that captures and understands consumers’ buying intentions, enabling advertisers to reach those same consumers as they move around the Web," CI senior analyst Joe Michaud said.

As noted in our interview on behavioral targeting with AlmondNet, that firm believes we are in the earliest stages of the game for the technology. CI agreed, and noted the evolution of attendant issues like public policy and business practices match the technology's rapid growth.

Look no further than Tacoda, AOL's behavioral targeting system. It backs ads around AOL's email; since it began doing so, the CPM leaped from 30 cents to $4.25. Call behavioral targeting a multi-billion dollar business waiting to happen.

The value comes from activity on classifieds sites, which CI believes indicates strong interest from a customer. That searcher's information holds tremendous value in competitive verticals like automotive, for example.

Tapping that data on a more widespread basis looks like the next step for behavioral targeting. Players in the field will want to have classifieds involved in the initiative, and it will be interesting to see if a Craigslist or an Oodle becomes part of that process.