Why Does My Craigslist Post Keep Getting Flagged
How to Stop Getting Flagged on Craigslist – Small Business …
Craigslist’s classifieds service can be a valuable tool in any small business owner’s advertising exposure plan. According to Craigslist, the site experiences monthly traffic of approximately 50 billion page views. Accidental and malicious flagging, though, can cause difficulties. As flagging is performed by Craigslist’s automated system and staff, and other users, you can’t permanently stop all flagging, but you can take certain actions to limit it. Follow Craigslist’s Guidelines Ads are often flagged because they fail to meet Craigslist’s Terms of Service and other guidelines. For example, Craigslist doesn’t want you to post about auctions, bidding or business opportunities involving multi-level marketing, club membership recruitment or up front investments. 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. Post ads for services under the “Service Offered” option and job opportunities under the “Job Offered” or “Gig Offered” options. To post about an employment-related event, such as a job fair, use the “Events” option. Stop Spammy Behavior Craigslist warns users that it won’t tolerate spam, such as identical or almost identical ads posted in multiple geographic locations, or at the same time, in one area under different categories. Pick one local city or area and one category for your ad and wait at least 48 hours between each new ad posting. If you need wider coverage, Craigslist states in its FAQ that you should take the ad elsewhere. Additionally, never post a phone number containing an odd combination of text and numbers, such as phone number “5five5-one21two. ” Craigslist flags this activity because spammers use this method to try to stop its automated system and staff from detecting their ads. Change Ad Format and Wording Use of text formatting that is too commercial often results in flagging. For example, limit use of ALL CAPS and symbols in the post title and ad text, and sales language meant to coerce, such as “BUY NOW! ” or “Call NOW! Offer ends TODAY!. ” Additionally, triple-check the wording you use to present your service and remove any language that makes your ad seem deceptive or unclear. Ads with similar wording to other user ads are also often flagged. Review the ads in the Services Offered sub-category where you originally posted your ad and then rewrite your ad as needed. Report Flagging Problems Craigslist recommends that you ask other users in the Help Forum (link in Resources) to review and offer advice about a flagged ad before contacting the company. If you still believe a flagging error occurred, use the “Contact Us” form (link in Resources). Pick “Harassment/Flagging” and then “My ad was flagged off and it abides by the terms of use. ” Provide all requested information and then click “Send Email Message. ” Some Craigslist posters flag their competitors’ ads. If you believe a competitor flagged your ad, obtain the posting ID beneath one of his ads and enter it, along with his name and contact information, in the “Describe the Issue” section before you submit the form. Disclaimer Information in this article applies to Craigslist as of November 2013. References Resources Writer Bio Based in Southern Pennsylvania, Irene A. Blake has been writing on a wide range of topics for over a decade. Her work has appeared in projects by The National Network for Artist Placement, the-phone-book Limited and GateHouse Media. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Shippensburg University.
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.
How do I know if my Craigslist ad was flagged? – GetHuman
Craigslist makes it super easy to post items and sell stuff but you need to be careful how you present your post to keep it from getting flagged. Here’s everything that you need to you suddenly stop seeing replies of a certain posting, it may be because someone flagged it. While it may be impossible to know the exact person who flagged an ad for removal, you can know if your ad is flagged. This makes it possible to review it and create a new ad that is compliant with the terms and conditions of Craigslist. If your ad does not violate any of the site’s terms and condition, it cannot be flagged.
About Craigslist Flagging
Craigslist depends on its users to moderate their content. When viewing an ad, you will always see an option to flag it at the top right. You may flag an ad if it appears in the wrong category, if it contains prohibited content, and if it is posted to frequently. The Terms of Use ensure that Craigslist users do not post offensive or inappropriate content. Anyone can flag your posts just like you can flag anyone’s posts. Your posts may be flagged if they contain content that is harassing, defamatory, invasive of privacy, or pornographic, or misleading.
How to Know Your Ad Has Been Flagged
Craigslist sends you an email notification if your ad has been flagged. After the notification, you will realize that you can no longer receive replies about the posting. It is then up to you to identify the reason why it has been flagged.
Even though Craigslist does not allow you to speak to whoever flagged your post, it allows you to review your post. The site is always fair. If your post is compliant with their Terms of Use, attempts to flag it won’t be successful. Craigslist understands that your competitors may maliciously try to flag your post.
Follow these steps repost an ad that has been flagged.
1. Click on the button ‘My Account. ‘
2. Enter your Craigslist account credentials. If you do not use an account, check your email for the message you received from Craigslist when you published the ad
3. Go through the ads that you published in the past 180 days.
4. Click on the name that is shown next to the text ‘Flagged. ‘ If you are checking it through your email, click on the link in the email and you will be directed to a page showing the current status of your ad.
5. Re-read the Terms of Use of Craigslist’s and review your ad. Re-word the content to ensure that it does not violate the Terms of Use.
6. Repost your ad.
Tips to Avoid Flagging on Craigslist
The primary goal of Craigslist is to host advertisements for the local community. There is a different domain for every city. It, therefore, requires you to post only local ads. If more than 5% of your visitors are flagging your posts, you are doing something wrong. If more than 10% flag your post, it is definitely going to be flagged. The following tips may help you to avoid being flagged.
Ensure that your IP address matches the area you want to post
Avoid posting offensive, racist, or discriminatory content
Always post your ads in the right category
Do not post an ad too often from the same IP
Look out for competitors who may be flagging your posts
Do not use special characters on your ad title
If you need help with your Craigslist posts, you should contact the customer support team for help. The best way to contact Craigslist is by phone. You will be contacted to an agent who will help you establish why your account is being flagged. Otherwise, these steps should help you know whether your Craigslist has been from Real PeopleWe partner with a US-based company with live tech support experts available 24/7. Take advantage of a $1 one-week trial membership and chat with an expert With A Help ExpertWhy Did GetHuman Write “How do I know if my Craigslist ad was flagged? “? After thousands of Craigslist customers came to GetHuman in search of an answer to this problem (and many others), we decided it was time to publish instructions. So we put together How do I know if my Craigslist ad was flagged? to try to help. It takes time to get through these steps according to other users, including time spent working through each step and contacting Craigslist if necessary. Best of luck and please let us know if you successfully resolve your issue with guidance from this does GetHuman Write How-to Guides for Craigslist Problems? GetHuman has been working for over 10 years on sourcing information about big organizations like Craigslist in order to help customers resolve customer service issues faster. We started with contact information and fastest ways to reach a human at big companies. Particularly ones with slow or complicated IVR or phone menu systems. Or companies that have self-serve help forums instead of a customer service department. From there, we realized that consumers still needed more detailed help solving the most common problems, so we expanded to this set of guides, which grows every day. And if you spot any issues with our How do I know if my Craigslist ad was flagged? guide, please let us know by sending us feedback. We want to be as helpful as possible. If you appreciated this guide, please share it with your favorite people. Our free information and tools is powered by you, the customer. The more people that use it, the better it gets.
Frequently Asked Questions about why does my craigslist post keep getting flagged
How do I stop getting flagged on Craigslist?
Follow these 6 suggestions to avoid your craigslist posts being flagged.Don’t post the same/similar unit more than once per 48 hours. … Don’t post repetitive content. … Don’t promote your community, instead promote your unit. … Don’t use spammy or salesy words. … Don’t leave out key information. … Don’t over-stylize your ads.
How do you find out who is flagging me on Craigslist?
How to Know Your Ad Has Been FlaggedClick on the button ‘My Account. ‘Enter your Craigslist account credentials. … Go through the ads that you published in the past 180 days.Click on the name that is shown next to the text ‘Flagged. … Re-read the Terms of Use of Craigslist’s and review your ad. … Repost your ad.
