OLX.kz: Growing Active Sellers and Buyers
A two-sided acquisition model that optimized for published listings and first buyer contacts instead of low-cost traffic or app installs.
Evidence status: Modeled scenario; figures are approximate and not audited client results.
Problem
Traffic and app installs did not prove that either side of the classifieds marketplace had become active. The acquisition system needed to distinguish sellers who published approved listings from buyers who contacted a seller.
Solution
- Split acquisition into separate seller and buyer funnels with their own conversion events.
- Defined an approved published listing as the seller conversion and a first seller contact as the buyer conversion.
- Structured search campaigns by category and city to reflect local demand and acquisition cost.
- Retargeted users who started creating a listing but did not complete publication.
Results
- KZT 28M modeled media budget
- 19,000 modeled first-contact buyers
- KZT 667 modeled cost per active seller
Key insight
Marketplace performance improves when both sides are measured by useful activity rather than by visits or installs.