When craigslist first started it was a groundbreaking idea that provided a common place for people within the same area to find anything from furniture, to roommates, and eventually apartments. Now with over 80 million postings every month it can be easy to get lost in the crowd.
Unfortunately, many real estate agencies rely heavily on the site for responses. The reality is that in a few hours your post will be buried under the thousands that came after it. If all these listings were unique and legitimate the market would be flooded and we wouldn’t be dealing with the ever-increasing price of rentals.
The fact is a lot of these listings aren’t unique; they’re duplicates. This creates a never-ending cycle of posting a listing, getting buried by duplicates, then posting duplicates to get back on top of the list. An agent would need to post 50-100 postings a day to remain relevant and even make it close to the first page. Who has time for that?
To make matters worse some agencies will use sites that automate their postings, such as PennyPosting. Sites like these violate the craigslist Terms of Use where they state “It is expressly prohibited to post content to craigslist using any automated means.”
Fortunately there are sites out there that can help you break your dependency and surge to the top of the rental market. Sites like Zillow, Trulia, Postlets, and yes, PadMatcher. You can post your listings for free and even syndicate to other sites to increase your exposure. Some sites, like Zillow and PadMatcher, will even help you create craigslist ads so you can still maintain some presence on the site.
As for duplicates, put those worries to bed. PadMatcher goes through numerous measures to make sure no duplicates are posted and that each listing is unique and legitimate, making it easier for yours to get the attention it deserves.
The bottom line is this: craigslist isn’t your only option. It’s over-crowded, outdated, and lacking legitimacy. Quit the habit, post elsewhere, and you’ll be saving time, gaining leads, and joining the future of the rental industry.
