Craigslist: 5 Things You Need To Know
Did you know that Craigslist ranks as the 2nd most visited website in the world for real estate?
Advertising on Craigslist is one of the best, most cost-effective ways to drive traffic and find new rental prospects, but it can be time-consuming to manage effectively on your own.
Included below are the 5 most important things to know about posting on Craigslist, tips from our posting pros, and the many ways PostEngine software can help you get the best results with the least amount of effort.
1. Staying visible is very important.
Craigslist is busy, and posting consistently is very important. Ads typically stay on page one for 30 - 60 minutes! If you are posting infrequently, your ads will get buried quickly and may not be seen by apartment searchers who usually only browse the first 1-2 pages of the listings.
Pro-Tip: Post 3x daily and spread out your posts: morning, afternoon, and evening.
Did You Know? PostEngine Full Service ensures you stay consistent! We post your ads for you based on your unique marketing needs. Additionally, our auto-renew automatically keeps your ads on page one every day. Learn more here.
2. Avoid ad flagging
What exactly is flagging? Flagging means your ad was identified by Craigslist as problematic and deleted. This can happen if Craigslist detects too much posting activity from your account, ads that are too similar, or if the Craigslist user community has manually flagged your ad. Sometimes it is difficult to determine why flagging happens, but following our best practices will help you avoid it!
Pro-Tip: Post from the correct location. The Craigslist platform does not permit posting in multiple cities from the same account. For example, if you try to post ads in the Atlanta region from a computer in Oregon, Craigslist may flag and remove your ads. Craigslist is designed as a hyperlocal search platform and only promotes local community advertisements.
Did you know? We’re posting pros! Only 0.07% of PostEngine ads are flagged and removed from Craigslist.
3. Avoid posting identical content.
If you have a lot of ads to post, we know it can be easier to copy and paste the same ad content repeatedly. Posting ads with identical content on Craigslist can result in your ad being flagged and removed and is less likely to grab the attention of apartment searchers.
Pro-Tip: Vary your ad content with each post. Alter the titles, the order of the images uploaded, and the body copy every time you post an ad.
Did You Know? PostEngine software automatically generates unique ads from the content that exists on your website. Use the Custom Headers, Footers and Neighbourhood Description settings to add unique content.
4. Timing is everything. Don’t post ads back-to-back.
Craigslist has rules about how often users are permitted to post. Posting too many ads in a short amount of time can trigger flagging and ad removal.
Pro-Tip: Leave at least one full hour between each new post.
Did You Know? Our Scheduled Posting feature allows you to schedule your ads throughout the day, making sure you leave an hour between each post. You can even schedule ads up to 7 days in advance! Learn more here.
5. Increase the searchability of your ads!
Help potential residents find your ads by highlighting relevant information in high-visibility sections of your ads.
Pro-Tip: Include neighbourhood names in your ads to help appeal to local apartment searchers.
Did You Know? You can use the Custom Headers and Footers and Neighbourhood Description settings in PostEngine to highlight information that might not be on your community website. Try including some info that will appeal to renters, such as unique amenities, nearby zip codes, landmarks and major employers in the area!
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