Craigslist: Post Like a Pro
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 mins so if you're posting infrequently, your ads will get buried quickly and may not be seen by prospective residents who usually only browse the first 1-2 pages of the listings.
Pro-Tip:
Post 3x daily and spread out your posts: morning, afternoon, EOD
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
It's tempting to post a large volume of new ads back-to-back and to reuse ad content to save time. Unfortunately, Craigslist views these posting activities as spamming and is likely to flag and remove ads posted this way.
What exactly is flagging?
Having your ad flagged means it was identified by Craigslist as problematic and deleted. This can happen if the Craigslist bot detects too much posting activity from your account or ads that are too similar, or if the Craigslist user community has manually flagged your ad.
It's difficult to determine exactly 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 more than one city from the same account. For example, if you try to post ads in the Atlanta region from a computer in Oregon, Craigslist will flag and remove your ads. This is because Craigslist is designed as a hyperlocal search platform and only promotes local community advertisements.
Did You Know?
Our Scheduled Posting feature allows you to schedule your ads throughout the day, making it easy to publish your ads without over-posting. Learn more here.
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. Unfortunately, posting ads with identical content on Craigslist can result in your ad being flagged and removed.
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. You can also use the Custom Headers and Footers and Neighbourhood Description settings in PostEngine to improve the searchability of your ads and highlight information that might not be on your community website. Include info that will appeal to renters such as unique amenities, surrounding zip codes, major employers, and landmarks.
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?
We can take Craigslist ad posting off your plate and schedule your ads routinely throughout the day with PostEngine Full Service!
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 be appealing to renters such as unique amenities, nearby zip codes, landmarks and major employers in the area!
Try PostEngine Today!
