In my experience, classified sites have always been a total waste of time. I've been in business for 15 years now and here's what has worked for me:

- Referrals - absolutely the best method hands down
- Facebook Advertising
- Becoming a trusted expert in the forums of whatever platform you use
- Guest blogging/guest on podcasts
- Community involvement (trade groups, conferences, forums)
- SEO using long-tail - broad keywords like web developer are impossible

What hasn't worked well:

- Bidding out jobs on sites like Upwork (the competition there is tough to match on price)
- Direct marketing (mail, personal emails, cold calling)

There really are no geographic boundaries when it comes to web development - many of our clients are in Europe and Australia so don't limit yourself to just your home country!