Having major problems with Craigslist. Please help!

[SeanWoodruff]

I run a BDC, and worked in the BDC of our sister store prior to running this one. I have done Craigslist posting through Dealer Specialties for some time now (at least a couple years).

For some reason we're suddenly having problems. We'll post cars and we'll check the back-end side of Craigslist (where you log into your account and can see all your posts) and it shows all the cars I've posted. But then when I search for the vehicles I cannot find them anywhere on Craigslist. This is also happening at our sister store now too.

I have double-checked location, asked Dealer Specialties if they can help (and they have no ideas), and done tons of different tests and tried different methods and we just can't figure out why suddenly our posts aren't appearing on Craigslist even though Craigslist says they're on there. It's been going on for about a month now at our sister store, and has been happening here now off and on (its not always every car that won't show, a couple will appear randomly in search results, but 80% of them don't, and there's nothing different about how I post them).

I only do 10 posts a day, so there is no reason I would be black-listed or anything, and everything works the way it used to, I just suddenly cannot find any of my cars when I search for them. We absolutely can't figure it out and neither can Dealer Specialties. Our sister store has even created a brand new account and it's still happening to them.

Is anybody else having this problem? Has anyone else heard of this problem? Any ideas at all? At this point we have no answers and really not even a good theory.

I appreciate the help!

-Sean Woodruff

P.S. I love this website

 

[sjordan]

Your ads are being ghosted. You get ghosted for many reasons, not just on number of cars per day. Click this link for some good practices on avoiding being ghosted.

Understanding Craig's List Postings DealerActive Blog

The problem is once you've been ghosted, unless it is something as simple as phone verification, you might need to start over with new CL accounts. It's just more efficient. And if your store has just one IP, most likely that IP has been blocked (at least for now) now so that might not even help. You can find managed posting tools like ours and other vendors too that will handle this for you. Our managed system will show you which ads are ghosted and which are not.

The leads dealers get from CL are great, but ghosting, phone verifications etc. make it very demanding.

 

[Billfred]

Sean,

Can you link to one of the postings that did make it for us? Perhaps we can get a better handle on your posting strategy.

 

[yagoparamo]

Most likelly;

IP got blocked.
Your ISP is providing non local IPs.

 

[Jim M. Gillen III]

I run a BDC, and worked in the BDC of our sister store prior to running this one. I have done Craigslist posting through Dealer Specialties for some time now (at least a couple years).

For some reason we're suddenly having problems. We'll post cars and we'll check the back-end side of Craigslist (where you log into your account and can see all your posts) and it shows all the cars I've posted. But then when I search for the vehicles I cannot find them anywhere on Craigslist. This is also happening at our sister store now too.

I have double-checked location, asked Dealer Specialties if they can help (and they have no ideas), and done tons of different tests and tried different methods and we just can't figure out why suddenly our posts aren't appearing on Craigslist even though Craigslist says they're on there. It's been going on for about a month now at our sister store, and has been happening here now off and on (its not always every car that won't show, a couple will appear randomly in search results, but 80% of them don't, and there's nothing different about how I post them).

I only do 10 posts a day, so there is no reason I would be black-listed or anything, and everything works the way it used to, I just suddenly cannot find any of my cars when I search for them. We absolutely can't figure it out and neither can Dealer Specialties. Our sister store has even created a brand new account and it's still happening to them.

Is anybody else having this problem? Has anyone else heard of this problem? Any ideas at all? At this point we have no answers and really not even a good theory.

I appreciate the help!

-Sean Woodruff

P.S. I love this website

Sean,

This is an issue that I've helped resolve many times. Try checking out the following possibilities, as it probably has something do with at least one of them:
1. The IP address being used - Is it the same IP thats been used to post your cars since you originally started posting them? If not, have you been using the same CL account?
2. The CL account being used - If you're using the same CL account, and your IP has changed, that could be a reason. If too many IP's access the same CL Account, it can decrease its efficiency when posting. Try making sure your CL accounts are being accessed by a single IP address.
3. Templates - Are yo using the same templates when you post your cars? If you're posting the same cars over and over, using the same templates, CL could think that you're overposting the same product (especially if you're using the same CL account), because the same code (html) is being used to generate the listing. If so, try using other templates so your postings have a different look to them.
4. Repeated Data - Any repeated information, a) the dealers contact information, b) hosted images (where are your photos being sourced from, the link to them is probably the same, c) template code, d) any piece of information that can be repeated. You may think that your posting are all unique and different, but there could be something within the html that is the same. CL filters out anything that is repeated over and over because they consider it to be spam.

aside from these possible scenarios, there could be a number of other reasons why, but its hard to determine without speaking to you personally.

If you continue to have this problem, please feel free to contact me anytime, I've helped resolve this matter several times and its usually not very hard to overcome. A lot of times its the one little thing you never considered to be a possibility. Good Luck!

 

[yagoparamo]

How many different templates do you have in the DS system?

Not different 'looks' (like pink template, then red, then yellow) BUT different CODE templates?

 

[sjordan]

Sean -

The most common causes for ghosting are:


- Don't post more than one ad every 20 minutes
- Don't post the same add in multiple markets
- You must have a phone verified account
- Don't post to multiple markets from a computer with the same IP

Violating these rules (there are more, and they change frequently) can lead to Ghosting of Craig'sList ads. Ghosting means your ads appear to have been submitted, but will not show up in Craig'sList search display. So they are invisible, or "ghosted". And once your IP is on Craig's List radar you are more likely to have more and more ghosting issues. It could also be that there is an issue with the template.

Best Remedy: Get a managed posting service that does it all for you and even tells you which ads are ghosted so you don't have to worry about it.

More painful solution:

1. Create a brand new CL account
2. Get it phone verified
3. Make a new CL ad template for your account so it does not match your previously ghosted submissions
4. Begin posting from a machine with a separate IP address then what you have used before. Once you begin posting, follow these rules:

A. Only post 1 car every 20-40 minutes.
B. Only post to one market in the beginning
C. When you post to multiple markets do not post the exact same car in more than one market
D. Do not repost the same car the same day

Good luck. Let me know if i can help.

 

[yagoparamo]

Sean -


A. Only post 1 car every 20-40 minutes.

Good luck. Let me know if i can help.

Look at the time stamps (all postings same dealer):

seattle cars & trucks - all classifieds "harris ford" - craigslist=

 

[stevenwarrensr]

Jim and yago have great points . Have you tried a different tool to see if the Tool is the issue? Also have you tried to post a generic ad with the Craigslist account that you are trying to post with. Something simple like 2002 Ford F-150 in the title and put a price. In the Location Field Put the city and State that is local to you, if the ad goes through we can rule out IP and Craigslist account. Then we have to look at the code from the tool your using.
Give me a call I would Like to help.(425) 379-0483 Ext 116

I run a BDC, and worked in the BDC of our sister store prior to running this one. I have done Craigslist posting through Dealer Specialties for some time now (at least a couple years).

For some reason we're suddenly having problems. We'll post cars and we'll check the back-end side of Craigslist (where you log into your account and can see all your posts) and it shows all the cars I've posted. But then when I search for the vehicles I cannot find them anywhere on Craigslist. This is also happening at our sister store now too.

I have double-checked location, asked Dealer Specialties if they can help (and they have no ideas), and done tons of different tests and tried different methods and we just can't figure out why suddenly our posts aren't appearing on Craigslist even though Craigslist says they're on there. It's been going on for about a month now at our sister store, and has been happening here now off and on (its not always every car that won't show, a couple will appear randomly in search results, but 80% of them don't, and there's nothing different about how I post them).

I only do 10 posts a day, so there is no reason I would be black-listed or anything, and everything works the way it used to, I just suddenly cannot find any of my cars when I search for them. We absolutely can't figure it out and neither can Dealer Specialties. Our sister store has even created a brand new account and it's still happening to them.

Is anybody else having this problem? Has anyone else heard of this problem? Any ideas at all? At this point we have no answers and really not even a good theory.

I appreciate the help!

-Sean Woodruff

P.S. I love this website

 

[Jim M. Gillen III]

1 car every 20 minutes?! This would be the first time in all the years I've been posting that Ive heard someone suggest doing this. This seem like an "intermediate level" theory, I'm assuming these postings are being done with very limited resources, either that or you're posting from a commodore 54. if so, I have an old copy of "Oregon Trail" you might be interested in.