Reason Why Your Craigslist Ads Flagged Immediately And Solutions

Craigslist is a melting pot for just about anything — from the hottest and newest items on sale to the most relevant job postings in your area. It’s an American classified advertisements website that showcases numerous local classified ads for over 450 cities just in the US.

Originally a community electronic newsletter that was based in San Francisco, Craigslist has grown into a major website hosting thousands of local classifieds coming from around the world. The site was founded by Craig Newmark in an effort to provide its users with a means of connecting with other people within their respective communities.

You can post your ads in most classified categories without paying a cent, and you can even browse and respond to ads for FREE. However, several reports from users indicate that there’s a rampant issue going on in the site that prevents them from posting their ads. A lot of them experienced problems regarding Craigslist ads flagged immediately.

For the most part, this can be quite frustrating, especially if you’re new to the platform. Luckily, we’re here to help you get around that problem. Let’s find out why do ads get flagged on Craigslist and how you can address them.

1.  Location and IP Address Do Not Match

Whenever you access websites or post on Craigslist, some information about you is attached to your web request. Some good examples are your browser’s information and IP address.

This is also the case when you post ads on Craigslist. Your IP address allows websites to determine who you are through your location. Therefore, the reason why your Craigslist postings keep getting flagged or blocked is because your IP address and given location don’t match.

Just think of those times when you visit a restricted website that can only be accessed in a particular demographic area—the same goes with your Craigslist postings. When the system detects that your IP address and location don’t match, your post will be flagged or blocked. This is because the website may interpret the request as a suspicious activity.

Solutions:

To solve this problem, it’s best to post using geolocation or residential IPS. Some proxies can ensure that both your IP address and location match without compromising your online security or privacy.

You can get around this by creating more accounts using multiple dedicated IPS & posting through these proxies. Also, you can use the same title and description multiple times to post the ads.

2.  Using The Same Title and Description Over and Over

Although you may think that reusing previous posts is a good idea to save more time, think again!

If you keep on using the same title and description over and over again, then your Craigslist post may be flagged for removal since your listing may appear “spammy.”

Solutions:

To avoid this problem, learn how to make unique ads or job postings that can catch your customers’ attention. You can also use a professional Craigslist posting service to help you come up with a proper posting that doesn’t sound spammy.

Make sure that the posting titles and descriptions vary from post to post. However, the words you use should also be accurate and catchy at the same time while encouraging users to pay for your services or buy your products.

3.  Using the Same Images for Different Postings

Just like the titles and descriptions issue, the photos that you use for your ads should be fresh and clean to avoid getting your Craigslist ads flagged immediately. Using the same images for different posts won’t just have your ads flagged, but doing so will also make your ads less effective for your audience.

Solutions:

One helpful tip you can follow is to add text over high-contrast photos. While the text overlaps the image, make sure that the former blends well with the background. Moreover, it should also be readable since users tend to ignore ads that appear somewhat confusing to the eyes.

Additionally, the color of the text and the main image should also be considered to achieve a pretty cohesive photo that minimizes the risks of getting your Craigslist posting flagged for removal.

For example, white fonts should not be used for light-colored backgrounds since they tend to look faded. You can darken the image to solve this problem. In addition, images should at least have an image ratio of 600 by 450 pixels.

This makes the images large enough to be clearly seen but not large enough to slow down the loading speed when viewers click on your ads.

4.  Posting Numerous Ads Within 48 Hours

One of the best tips on how to post Craigslist Ads without getting flagged is to avoid overposting using the same account within 48 hours. As emphasized previously, Craigslist tends to flag users that spam the website with the same ads repeatedly.

Creating one ad within 48 hours is the safest route to avoid the Craigslist ad flagged immediately. This gives enough time between your posts to avoid being considered spam.

Solutions:

However, should you need to, you can still post multiple ads in a day by using different accounts. While this may seem like an arduous task, your virtual scheduling assistant can help you deal with it efficiently.

One of the perks of setting up a new Craigslist account is that you can post several ads at a time. However, you should note that the items or services listed should vary from one post to another. This means that businesses with a wide range of products can benefit from this feature the most.

5.  Choosing the Wrong Ads Category

Miscategorized posts are one of the most common mistakes of many posters when promoting their business on Craigslist. Unfortunately, this seemingly innocent mistake can get your post flagged or removed since it is against the website’s Terms of Use.

Another tip to prevent Craigslist ads from getting flagged is choosing the correct category for the products or services you want to promote. For example, if you are offering painting services in your city, then it’s best to choose the “Services Offered” category instead of posting it in the “For Sale” section.

Solutions: 

Aside from preventing your ads from being taken down, correctly categorizing your Craigslist ads can help enhance your business’s visibility. For example, when someone is looking for a brand new laptop, they can easily find your ad when they click the “For Sale > computers” category.

Another example is when someone is looking for a laptop repair service, they can easily find your ad when they click the “Services > computers” category.

On the other hand, it will be almost impossible to find someone who would be willing to buy this product if you list this item in the housing category. So, make sure to pick the appropriate category for your ads to boost your sales and prevent your Craigslist ads from getting flagged.

Check out this video can guide you in the process 

6.  Using Forbidden or Spammy Words

Craigslist takes spammy/prohibited words seriously. This is why it has often flagged or removed similar ads posted from different geographic locations. It also condones the use of offensive words that violate the website’s terms and conditions.

Solutions:

To avoid Craigslist ads getting flagged, make sure that your content is unique and original while complying with the website’s Terms of Use. For example, in many cases, using images or logos owned by other companies or persons may cause your listing to be removed from the website due to copyright infringement.

In addition, threats and harassment, illegal activity, and sexually explicit content are also banned from the website. So make sure that you’re well aware of what’s allowed and what’s not when posting your ads on Craigslist.

After all, Craigslist’s primary purpose is to help connect other people by providing a platform that will help them find valuable things that will make their lives better. It never encourages users to promote anything against the law.

It’s in this situation where a professional content writing service can come in handy as they can help you curate the right content while still adhering to Craigslist’s terms.

7.  Attaching Marketing or Affiliate Links

Adding marketing or affiliate links to your Craigslist ads may seem like a smart idea, but this can actually result in your ads being taken down. This is because Craigslist doesn’t allow the inclusion of clickable links that will direct viewers to a different platform in their classified ads.

Solutions:

You should also note that Craigslist is only intended for sellers to reach prospective customers and advertise their products. It is not meant to be an affiliate marketing tool to boost your website.

Instead of redirecting your audience to other platforms using affiliate links, the best way to find success on Craigslist is to create high-quality content that will persuade users to pay for your products or services. Or, if you must post an ad that contains links, then you can get away with it by adding them to the images instead.

8.  Competitor Flagging Your Ads

Another reason why your ads are getting flagged is that other users/competitors report your ads to the platform for violation of terms. In most cases, competitors will report your ads multiple times using different IPs. This is especially true if your postings affect them on a personal level or if they simply want to taint your business’s image.

Unfortunately, your competitors may also do this without any valid reasons to gain an edge in the competition.

Sometimes, some users also think that you are violating Craigslist’s terms and conditions in your ad, prompting them to flag your ads for removal.

Solutions:

If your ads have been flagged several times, it’s probably time to minimize your daily postings per day or try to post on a different time and city. You may also reach out to your competitors in your area to eliminate any misunderstandings.

9.  Browsing History

If you want to post multiple times on Craigslist, it is best to clear out your browsing history before listing your products or services.

As previously stated, you can be easily tracked by the site’s system through your IP address, so if they detect multiple posts coming from the same IP address, your ads will be flagged and considered spam.

Solutions:

Therefore, it’s best to clear the list of web pages that you have previously visited to prevent this from happening. Doing so will give your browser a fresh start and make it tougher to classify your ads as spam because there are no traces of your previous activity on the website.

Or, you can work with a Craigslist ad posting service to make it easier for you.

Conclusion

Overall, Craigslist is an innovative platform that allows users to post advertisements regarding just about any product or service they can offer. However, there can be some intricacies within the platform, especially when it comes to flagging. Hopefully, the solutions we provided above can help you get around those issues.

If you want to prevent your ads from getting flagged even further, you can go as far as hiring graphic design artists to do banner design for Craigslist ads. Alternatively, you can hire virtual assistant services will help you make the most of it to boost your sales.