So I've been sitting at the feet of some folks who say that they've had success w/ Craigslist beyond spam responses. (they are actual agents, not people selling a system.) One thing I learned was to create an actual landing page for the listing and post only a "teaser" on Craigslist itself - 1 picture, basic info and of course your required contact info...then get them to "click for full info" with hopes of getting them to sign up for IDX etc. on your website.

I created this landing page.

What do you think? The idea is to be simple and to the point. I have not actually tried it out yet. Just finished the page last night. I'm thinking of creating one such page for every one of my listings. Not only will it be good for use on CL, but it should be excellent for building content for search engine purposes.

Looks good to me.
Very good idea.
I did not know you could incorporate so may things with IDX.

I think you have a great idea Perky. One thing I would do is make "Pike/Wayne MLS
INSTANT ACCESS!"

even bigger! And perhaps add "Get",or "Receive" or "Enjoy" in front.

Believe it or not, people will not be able to find how to see more listings

Karen, that does look professional. Hope you have better results with the "Craigslist nutcases" than I have experienced so far.

Did you know that the 'click for info' link on your CL ad is against their TOS? They only allow that on their services ads. I know, everyone does it, but they came after me last year and I still am not allowed to post some of my ads.

I don't like the single property ads, because it is so unlikely that a buyer for that particular property will click on it on CL. I prefer the 'free list of foreclosures' type of ad, because they appeal to many buyers.

If you are going to use a landing page like this, I think it should be more of a squeeze page so you can capture the buyer's information.

I have heard that before from others but I was under the impression that if you post the price and most of the pertinent info it is OK and I thought that the rule was really against posting links to eBay-type auctions and ticket scalpers... (but I am wrong and you are correct BK Estates, my apologies...I just haven't gotten caught yet! LOL)

This page that I created and put on my website is already on google! I think that even if I don't get any results from CL, I will at least boost my relevant content for search engines and can use this page for other purposes.

I'm assuming you posted here because you want some honest feedback so here you go...

That looks horrible...straight out of the early 2000's with way too much going on!

What has worked extremely well for us lately is to post a 4-8 line ad...text only...with a link for more info and photos. This link goes to our Diverse Solutions IDX which is where we capture the lead.

We post one for each listing (15-30), every day and get 1-4 leads a day WITH PHONE NUMBER!

Postlets and similar sites providing fancy Craigslist coding are cool but give viewers ALL the info. If you only giveaway little info and hold the rest back, you will get more leads.

Too much going on? Like what? The only thing going on is the info for the property and the "Search the MLS link" which is in essence a lead capture link. If you're referring to the links at the bottom, they are not obstructing the visitor from getting the info they want.

No it's not pretty. It's just a basic page with an MLS Idx listing, with the background from my main website (which gets a LOT of hits and leads btw, so I must be doing something right. lol) I can't change how the MLS displays the listing. I wish I could Not interested in spending unnecessary $$ to pay for a different IDX provider when this one works perfectly fine.

That's not the AD for Craigs List - it's the landing page linked to in the ad...which is short and sweet and one picture and a link to this page

Which by the way will end up getting your account frozen - good luck until you get caught. Happened to several people (including BK estates) Just happened to someone else in my office yesterday. Craigslist FORBIDS external links to commercial sites (our websites are commercial) except in their Services section. So enjoy it while you can. I haven't gotten nabbed yet but I'm sure I will.

I post 5 different listings daily with several clickable options & landing pages:

example craigslist ad from today

So far I have not been flagged off by the CL police.

I've run a few ads with links to sites with more info. Got flagged for the first time last week on an ad for our USDA eligible listings (2).

Since anybody can flag you, it could be other brokers / agents. I like the idea of teaser, which I guess, makes it worth the risk…?

My other teaser ad that I posted got me 4 registered leads on my IDX.

SO it is worth it I suppose!

Not bad but I bet you would get a higher click-thru rate without the image

Who cares if you get flagged?

If you do, just make a new account...BFD

Link me to one of your actual Craigslist ads

There is no clear call to action on your page (IE a giant button that you are naturally drawn to that will turn the traffic into a lead).

For example: San Diego, CA Del Sur Home For Sale

There is a large yellow call to action button in the middle of the page to Schedule a Showing that your eyes are naturally drawn to.

Based on the appearance of your IDX, it may be worth investing money in something better...just saying