How To Not Get Ghosted On Craigslist
6 Ways to Avoid Ghosting on Craigslist – Knock CRM
It is undeniable that Craigslist is an essential channel for multifamily property managers because it is a free channel that prospects regularly visit as they look for new apartments. However, it may not seem so “free” when leasing agent time is spent posting and that post is flagged or deleted by Craigslist – a practice known as “ghosting. ” When a post is ghosted, your ad will be visible from your account but will be hidden from public view. Unfortunately, when it comes to posting to Craigslist, there are many things completely outside of anyone’s control. Ghosting happens to be one of them, but we have pulled together some helpful information on how to avoid this. Please keep in mind these are just tips and there are no guarantees – but this will give you the best shot of your posts being seen by prospects! Things to be aware of when it comes to Craigslist flagging and moderation: There is a very active moderation community on CL. These are Craigslist users that review posts, looking for any content that (they perceive) violates the Craigslist terms of use: There are paid services that specialize in flagging posts (their goal is to flag all posts so only their customer’s posts are the only ones left! ) Craigslist utilizes their own manual and automated moderation tools. The exact methods they use are private, but see tips below There is a wide belief that users who have their posts flagged and removed have a lower flagging threshold in the future. This makes it very important to prevent getting these 6 suggestions to avoid your craigslist posts being flagged. 1. Don’t post the same/similar unit more than once per 48 hoursYou are only able to post to the same city / category once every 48 hours for the same item. If the price range is close / identical, it could be perceived as posting the same item. 2. Don’t post repetitive content. This includes:The same body of the ad, including a description or special. You should also avoid posting the same set of photos. Just re-arrange the photo orders, and don’t use more than 8-10. 3. Don’t promote your community, instead promote your unitCraigslist is a marketplace to buy and sell, not advertise. So, ads that aren’t specific in what they are selling, or if there is a “bait and switch”, a post may get flagged for removal. 4. Don’t use spammy or salesy wordsWhile such language doesn’t violate Craigslist Terms of Use, spammy language is often cited as a reason for community moderators to flag posts. 5. Don’t leave out key informationWhile there are no rules on what is required in an ad (other than what is required in the posting process), community moderators often flag posts that are not descriptive of the item (unit) being offered. 6. Don’t over-stylize your adsThis includes using multiple font sizes, bold fonts, underlined fonts, italics, and unnecessary capitalization. While stylizing ads doesn’t violate Craigslist Terms of Use, over-stylized posts may be perceived as coming from a template, which may attract more nclusionFollowing these six steps will give you the best chance of your posts being seen by prospects looking for a new apartment. If you want to learn more about how to better optimize Craigslist content to improve conversion within the channel, check out our post on how to Up Your Craigslist more tips like these, sign up for Knock’s newsletter.
Top 5 Rules to Keep Your Craigslist Ad from Getting Ghosted …
Allen Cook
Sr. Vice President of Sales at
Published Nov 4, 2014
(What we learned from 321, 021 Craigslist ads)
If your properties regularly advertise their vacancies on Craigslist, they have likely experienced having their postings ghosted or flagged. Having a post ghosted or flagged means that either a user of the site has clicked the ‘prohibited’ flag at the top of your post or that the Craigslist bots have removed your post due to exceeding a threshold in one of their algorithms. These activities are in place as an attempt to rein in the scammers and spammers on Craigslist, but oftentimes legitimate businesses get caught in the web.
Here are a few simple rules to follow when posting to avoid user flagging and/or algorithmic ghosting, presented in order of severity:
1) Don’t post in more than one city from the same email/account
Why? Because Craigslist promotes local connections and a common practice of spammers is posting in multiple cities from a single central location.
What to do. If your email account in Craigslist is and you post in Atlanta, then you should only ever post in Atlanta. Avoid posting in any other city with that same email account. If you must post in another city, use a different email account like
2) Don’t post identical content
Why? Having ads with identical content on Craigslist can get those ads ghosted or flagged because Craigslist forbids posting the same thing more than once.
What to do. 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.
3) Don’t post back-to-back ads
Why? A craigslist search results page that contains many ads with similar content and the same contact information looks “spammy. ” Technically, Craigslist even forbids having two ads in the same category, even if you are legitimately selling two different things.
What to do. Allow some time to pass between ad postings. Exactly how much time depends on the individual market. Each market has varying volumes of ad postings. With very active markets, you need only wait a half hour to an hour between postings, other less active markets, you will need to limit your postings to one or two per day. The idea is to let other ads come onto the site as a buffer between your ads.
4) Don’t use “spammy” words
Why? Craigslist is on the lookout for words and phrases routinely used by scammers and spammers. Once again, legitimate businesses can get caught in this search.
What to do. Avoid using words and phrases that tend to be used by spammers such as “free” or “credit card” or “weight loss. ” Avoid using ALL-CAPS in your titles. Also, avoid filling your ad with keywords unless those keywords are included in legitimate sentences and phrases. Finally, ensure that your ads have obvious telephone contact information. People in the Craigslist forums regularly admit that they flag ads simply because they can’t find the contact information.
5) Don’t look too commercial
Why? The Craigslist user community frequents the site because of the “free marketplace” feel of it. Corporations posting using traditional branding messaging do not do as well in this environment.
What to do. Avoid HTML tagging, like bolding and underlining. Avoid posting an excess of photos. Vary the content so the ads do not look too “templated. ”
While the rules of the game are constantly being re-written, if you follow these 5 rules you are much less likely to have your posts ghosted or flagged. Here at Rooof, we have developed a posting tool that incorporates all of the 5 rules in a single browser extension that creates Craigslist ads automatically by pulling data and images directly from your website. There is no need to rely on your already busy on-site leasing staff to create effective Craigslist ads. Let our software do all the work for you. For more information, please email me at
Ghosting Problems on Craigslist – Azcentral
Ghosting is more than a problem for many business owners and entrepreneurs trying to get the word out — it’s also a mystery. But simply put, a “ghosted” ad is one that you can’t see. You went through the effort to create your Craigslist ad, and everything seemed fine, except that your ad is nowhere to be found on Craigslist. While it’s an unusual issue, you can resolve it by trying a few solutions. The Ghosting Mechanism Craigslist staff run an algorithm that identifies spam ads or any ad that violates its Terms of Use. If the algorithm picks up your ad, the ad is placed in the Craigslist underground or basement and doesn’t see the light of day. Craigslist does not tell you that your ad has been identified by the ghosting algorithm, as it does when it flags an ad. The only way to know if your ad has been ghosted is to search for it on Craigslist. If you don’t see your ad after about 15 minutes since posting, your ad might have been ghosted. Reasons For A Ghosted Ad The algorithm ghosts ads for a number of reasons, primarily to keep the site clean and remove duplicates. If your ad is ghosted, you may have posted the same ad more than once in a 48-hour period. In addition, ads are ghosted if you post the ad in multiple markets or categories; post ads that differ only slightly in content or post a large quantity of ads in a short period of time. Actions such as these match the behavior of spammers, and they easily attract the attention of Craigslist’s algorithm-driven monitors. Resurrecting A Ghosted Ad Before trying to post your ad again, wait 48 hours since your last posting. Otherwise, Craigslist views another post from you as a violation of their Terms of Use. You can also delete the ghosted ad, especially since it’s not live on Craigslist. Deleting the ghosted ad clears it from the site so that when you post the ad again — with a 48-hour break — Craigslist doesn’t read the ad as duplicate, or spam, content. Prevention Prevent your ads from being ghosted by avoiding strings of special characters in your ad titles, such as “$$$” or “~~~” or anything besides a letter or number. Craigslist may recognize such characters as something that spammers use to draw attention to their ads. Also, limit how many outside links you place in your ad, if any at all. Putting HTML links in a Craigslist ad makes your ad an easy candidate for being ghosted as it appears to be a spammer at work. References Resources Writer Bio Aaron Charles began writing about “pragmatic art” in 2006 for an online arts journal based in Minneapolis, Minn. After working for telecom giant Comcast and traveling to Oregon, he’s written business and technology articles for both online and print publications, including and “The Portland Upside. ” Image Credit Images
Frequently Asked Questions about how to not get ghosted on craigslist
Why is my Craigslist post ghosted?
Having a post ghosted or flagged means that either a user of the site has clicked the ‘prohibited’ flag at the top of your post or that the Craigslist bots have removed your post due to exceeding a threshold in one of their algorithms.Nov 4, 2014
How do you know if your Craigslist ad is ghosted?
Craigslist does not tell you that your ad has been identified by the ghosting algorithm, as it does when it flags an ad. The only way to know if your ad has been ghosted is to search for it on Craigslist. If you don’t see your ad after about 15 minutes since posting, your ad might have been ghosted.
Why do I keep getting flagged on Craigslist?
Ads are often flagged because they fail to meet Craigslist’s Terms of Service and other guidelines. … Ads offering prohibited items, such as weapons, alcohol, tobacco, drugs or hazardous materials are also flagged. Additionally, Craigslist requires that you post in the correct category.
