How to Always Have Your Ad Pop Up First on Craigslist

Craigslist is a widely read classified advertising website.

There is no way to guarantee your ad will always pop up first on Craigslist, but you can stack the deck in your favor. When users browser Craigslist, they often focus on narrow types and categories. Also, when users search Craigslist or an external search engine, they tend to use highly specific keywords. You can take full advantage of these two facts by filing your Craigslist ad in the proper category and incorporating relevant keywords in the body of your ad. The more narrowly you focus, the more likely your ad will pop up first for the right audiences.

Instructions

1. Log in to your Craigslist account and click the "New Posting" link near the top of the screen. Click the location drop-down box and select the place name that most closely matches your ad's target geographic. Click "Go."

2. Click the posting type that most closely describes your ad. If your ad is for a job opening, select either "Job Offered" or "Gig Offered." Jobs are long-term while gigs are short-term. Selecting the proper posting type helps your ad pop up first for the audience most likely to respond.

3. Click the category name that most closely describes your ad. Craigslist users browse within highly specific categories in search of what they want. Therefore, the more accurate and specific the category you choose, the more likely it will pop up first for the right audiences.

4. Type the title of your ad and fill out the fields that appear for the posting type and category you selected earlier. Craigslist lets you leave fields blank, but you should fill them out in their entirety if you want your ad to pop up first for the people who would respond. Use keywords in the description field that coincide with what your potential audience might enter as search terms. Click "Continue" to preview your posting and follow Craigslist's instructions to publish it.

Tips & Warnings

• Keyword targeting is crucial. For example, if you are advertising a new hardware store, incorporate keywords such as "hardware," "tools" and "home improvement" in the body of the description in your Craigslist ad. Doing so ensures that when people search for those terms on Craigslist or in a search engine such as Google or Bing, your ad will more likely pop up first in the results.

• It may be tempting to post your Craigslist ad in a location that has a large population so that it will reach a larger audience or to incorporate more popular keywords than the content of your ad might warrant, but the key to success is to target your ad to the people most likely to respond to it.

References

• Craigslist Help: FAQ