Marketing

Get To Avoid Craigslist Ads from Getting Ghosted Or Flagged

3 Mins read

It is no question that car dealers will always end up with huge benefits from advertising inventory on Craigslist. Dealers posting used and new cars on Craigslist can always drive direct traffic to the website and gain leads from online contact forms and telephone calls. But, when it comes to Craigslist marketing, you might have to ask for some costing. Dealers need to find some time to post cars manually and optimize how regularly they are re-posting it. Trying to prevent listings from getting flagged is another primary task in this regard. It can further become quite costly for the dealerships to report advertisements daily.

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Moreover, apart from getting posts flagged and removed by any random user on Craigslist, you need to be sure of the competitive market. They might be trying to use some bat hat tricks to flag posts on Craigslist automatically. To avoid getting flagged, there are some best practices available.

Take Note on the IP address:

The main aim of Craigslist is to host local community advertisement. Therefore, you have to post the ads locally. So, if you are trying to post ads for the property sale in any particular state, the site assumes your IP will show that state. Craigslist is not a globalized single domain website. It has a different domain for each city.

Moreover, the total number is around 700! So, if you are sitting in one city and planning to post for another, you might get flagged or ghosted. Sometimes, your post can get flagged and sometimes it might get away with it. However, around 905 of time, the ad will be ghosted.

Ways to fix it:

Some people are using public proxies for access Craigslist. Avoid doing that on your part! Such these proxies are mainly spammed till death. In case you are planning to post in some other cities without getting ghosted, you can use semi-automated Strong Proxies for CL. They would definitely work like a charm with Craigslist. Well, you have to use these proxies with Chrome Plugin and Firefox Plugin. It is easy and quite free.

In case, you are planning to post around 2 to 3 ads every day and in the same city, you don’t have to get any proxy help. All you have to do is use real IP address and ensure there is no VPN installed on PC. Check for the IP address with the help of different browsers. There are sometimes when unknown programs might install IP Changer, causing the ad to get flagged even before you know it.

Focusing on titles, images and descriptions:

Craigslist primarily depends on visitors to decide the ad that needs to be removed. The best bet is that you need to offer great content to visitors. For that, you have to use some catchy titles, uniquely designed images, and attractive ad description. If you can provide some value, you will be safe. There are some resources you might use for creating those flag proof and stunning Craigslist ads. One such is the Craigslist ad title generator. You will come across loads of unique titles with the help of this tool.

You can further procure a cool Craigslist image by spending few bucks. You can use those images for months. The image will help you look legitimate. It can further help in increasing conversions and grow customers. Just check out the Craigslist flyer first and look for the images you want.

Competitors trying to flag your ads:

When someone is trying to flag your ads, it will definitely count as alert against a post in question. Craigslist algorithm will scan it to check if it is offensive, prohibited, hoax or contain any kind of disturbing content. Whenever the flag number accumulates and reach a proper set of Craigslist algorithm, the ads might get ghosted instantly.

There are sometimes when the competitor is the one trying to flag ad because they don’t want your ad attracting more people and reaching the front page. They are the one flagging your content and trying to remove ads using some of the different proxies and trying to take some unfair advantages of no competition.

Basic points to follow:

If you actually want to prevent your Craigslist ads from getting flagged, some points will offer you with the best result.

  • Try to increase the view count. Every time you open any tab, you will create a new impression. In case you can get amazing visitors to Craigslist, it will become difficult for the system to remove your ad.
  • Avoid using the same brand name in your product title. Automatic flaggers will search for the brand and send flags to competitors. So, you should not add brand in the product title.
  • You might have to mask your phone number with the help of VOIP number. It will prevent the software to track you down.

There are similar other ways available, through which you can prevent your ad from getting flagged instantly.

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About author
Ryan Kh is a big data and analytic expert, marketing digital products on Amazon's Envato. He is not just passionate about latest buzz and tech stuff but in fact he's totally into it. Follow Ryan’s daily posts on Catalyst For Business.
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