> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mylisting.club/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Listing Priority ## What Is Listing Priority? Listing priority is the ranking MyListing uses to decide which listings appear first in search, Explore results, listing feeds, and similar listings. Think of it this way: A **Normal** listing waits in the regular line. A **Featured** listing steps ahead of Normal listings. A **Promoted** listing steps ahead of Featured listings. **Custom Priority** lets you place a listing even higher than Promoted. Every listing starts at **Normal**. Higher priority does not change the listing’s content. It changes how often visitors see it first. ## The Four Priority Levels MyListing stores priority as a number. The named levels map to those numbers. | **Level** | **Number** | **Typical source** | **Where it ranks** | | :----------- | :------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------- | | **Normal** | 0 | Default for every listing | Below Featured and Promoted | | **Featured** | 1 | A listing plan with feature listings? turned on | Ahead of Normal, behind Promoted | | **Promoted** | 2 | A time-limited **Promotion Package** (default) | Ahead of Featured | | **Custom** | Any number other than 0, 1, or 2 | An admin sets it on the listing, or a promotion product uses a higher number | Higher numbers rank first. 3 and above beat Promoted | ## Where Do You Manage Listing Priority? You do not turn priority on as a site-wide switch. You set it on listings, listing plans, promotion products, and sort options. | **Task** | **Where** | | :----------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Set priority on one listing | **WP Admin > Listings**, edit the listing, then the **Priority** box in the sidebar | | See every listing’s level | **WP Admin > Listings**, **Priority** column | | Give a listing plan Featured status | **WP Admin > Products**, edit a **Listing Package** or **Listing Subscription**, then **Feature Listings?** | | Sell a time-limited boost | **WP Admin > Products > Add New**, set product type to **Promotion Package** | | Review active promotion packages | **WP Admin > Users > Promotion Packages** | | Control Explore sort vs priority | **WP Admin > Listing Types > \[Type] > Search Forms > Listing Order** | | Show only Featured or Promoted cards | Elementor **27 > Listing Feed**, **Filter by Priority** | | Rank similar listings by priority | **WP Admin > Listing Types > \[Type] > Single Page > Similar Listings** | The **Priority** box on a listing includes **Normal**, **Featured**, **Promoted**, and **Custom** priorities. The description reads: Set what priority will be given to this listing in search results. Use Learn More in that box for the theme’s built-in explanation. If the listing already has an active promotion package, changing the radio buttons asks you to confirm. That change overrides the package’s priority. ## Where Listing Owners See Priority ### Preview Cards and Search Results Featured and Promoted listings can show a flash badge on the preview card. Hovering the badge shows **Featured** or **Promoted**. Normal listings have no badge. Custom values of 2 or higher use the Promoted badge style. The **All Listings** table still labels any value other than 0, 1, or 2 as **Custom**. ### My Account > My Listings On a **publishe**d listing, owners see: * **Promote:** opens the **Promote Listing** modal * **Promoted:** appears instead when that listing already has an active promotion The modal lists promotion products they can buy, plus **Owned packages** they already purchased and have not used yet. ### My Account > Promotions Owners can review active promotions, see expiry, and cancel a package. Example URL: `https://yoursite.com/my-account/promotions` ### Dashboard Stats When you turn on Enable Active Promotions under **Theme Tools > Listing Stats**, the dashboard shows an **Active Promotions** count that links to the Promotions page. ## How Listings Gain Higher Priority MyListing’s own docs describe three paths. 1. **Featured listing plan.** During Add Listing, the owner buys a **Listing Package** or **Listing Subscription** with **Feature Listings?** enabled. The listing is marked **Featured** for as long as that package applies. This is not a timed promotion. 2. **Promotion package.** The owner buys a WooCommerce product of type **Promotion Package** and then applies it to a published listing. The listing is marked **Promoted** (or whatever number you set on the product) for a set number of days. 3. **Manual assignment.** You edit the listing in wp-admin and choose **Normal**, **Featured**, **Promoted**, or **Custom priority**. By default, nothing extra is applied. Listings stay **Normal** until one of those paths changes them. ### Featured Listing Plans On a **Listing Package** or **Listing Subscription** product, **Feature Listings?** is described as: Feature this listing, it will be styled differently and sticky. Use this option for paid plans that should always rank above free listings, without a separate promotion purchase. ### Promotion Packages Create a WooCommerce product and set the product type to **Promotion Package**. Two settings appear: | **Setting** | **What it does** | | :------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Promotion duration (in days)** | How long the boost lasts. Placeholder is 14 days. | | **Promotion priority** | The numeric priority applied to the listing. Placeholder is 2. Featured listings use 1. Higher numbers rank first. | When a promotion starts, MyListing stores the listing’s previous priority and applies the product’s number. When the package expires (checked twice daily), the listing returns to that previous priority or to Normal if it had none. You can sell more than one promotion product at different numbers (for example, 2, 3, and 4) if you want bronze, silver, and gold boosts. That is optional. One product at the default of 2 is enough for most sites. Download pre-built [Product Packages](https://mylisting.club/resources/?_products=product-package) from MyListing Club if you want listing plans and promotion products ready to import. ### Custom Priority **Custom Priority** is an admin-only number on the listing’s Priority box. Higher values rank first in search results. Use it when a listing should outrank even Promoted listings: a partner, a staff pick, or a homepage highlight that should not depend on a timed package. MyListing has a known save issue: choosing **Custom priority** and updating the listing can reset it to **Normal**. MyListing Pro’s [Save Custom Listing Priority](/mylisting-fixes) toggle (off by default) stores Custom as 3 or higher, so the value sticks. ## How Sorting Uses Priority On Explore, listings are ordered by priority first, then by the selected **Order By** option (Latest, A-Z, and so on). A Promoted listing appears before a Featured listing, which appears before a Normal listing, even when visitors sort by date. Each ordering option has an **Ignore listing priority** option. Turn it on when that sort should ignore the boost. Defaults: * **Latest** and **Random**: priority still applies * **Top rated:** **Ignore listing priorit**y is on, so ratings are not buried under promotions On a **MyListing Listing Feed** widget, **Order by priority first?** defaults to Yes. Turn it off if the feed should follow **Order by** only (date, rating, random, etc.). On **Similar Listings**, **Order listings by** defaults to **Priority**.\*\* Rating\*\* and **Proximity** ignore priority. Random still respects it unless you change that behavior. ## Priority in Listing Feeds Use **Filter by Priority** on **MyListing Listing Feed** to include **Normal**, **Featured**, **Promoted**, or **Custom**. Leave it blank to include all levels. | **Setting** | **What it does** | | :--------------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Filter by Priority** | Limits the feed to selected levels. Leave blank for all. | | **Order by priority first?** | Puts higher-priority listings first, then applies **Order by**. Default is **Yes**. | | **Show badge for featured/promoted listings?** | Shows the flash badge on those cards. Default is **Yes**. | A homepage carousel filtered to Featured is a common pattern. See [Listing Feeds](/listing-feeds-101) for layout, pagination, and caching. ## How the Pieces Fit Together A practical example for a restaurant directory: 1. **Free plan:** **Feature Listings?** off. New restaurants stay **Normal**. 2. **Paid plan:** **Feature Listings?** on. Paying owners stay **Featured** while the plan applies. 3. **Promotion product:** 7-day **Promotion Package** with **Promotion priority** 2. Owners click **Promote** on **My Listings** for a short boost above Featured listings. 4. **Explore:** **Listing Order** keeps \*\*Latest \*\*with **Ignore listing priority** off, so **Promoted** and **Featured** restaurants still appear first among new results. 5. **Homepage:** a **MyListing Listing Feed** carousel with **Filter by Priority** set to **Featured**. 6. **Staff pick:** you edit one restaurant, choose **Custom priority**, and set **5** so it stays above paid promotions. ## **Common Priority Setups** | **Site idea** | **Typical setup** | | :--------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Free community directory | Leave everything Normal. Do not sell Featured plans or promotions. | | Paid business directory | Free = Normal, paid plan = Featured. Optional 7 or 14 day Promotion Package. | | Homepage highlights | Listing Feed filtered to Featured or Promoted, badge on. | | Partner or sponsored listing | Custom number above 2 so it outranks paid promotions. | | Rating-first Explore | Turn on **Ignore listing priority** for the **Top rated** option (already the default). | | Multi-tier boosts | Several Promotion Package products with priority 2, 3, and 4. | There is no single required setup. Start with Normal vs. Featured if you sell plans. Add promotions when you want a separate, time-limited upsell. ## Helpful Tips * **Keep Featured and Promoted distinct.** Featured is an ongoing perk of a listing plan. Promoted is a timed boost that owners buy later. Mixing the two in your pricing copy confuses buyers. * **One promotion product is enough at first.** Duration of 14 days and priority 2 match the theme placeholders. Add extra tiers only when you need them. * **Leave the latest respecting priority.** Visitors still see “newest” listings, with paid and promoted cards first. That is usually what you want on Explore. * **Use Top rated when fairness matters.** That option ignores priority by default, so a well-reviewed Normal listing can outrank a Promoted listing with a weak rating. * **Hide badges only when the feed is already filtered.** If a homepage row is “Featured restaurants,” you can turn off **Show badge for featured/promoted listings?** to reduce clutter. * **Promote works on published listings only.** Draft, pending, and expired listings do not show the Promote action. * **Switching a listing plan does not cancel a promotion.** Removing or changing the listing package clears Featured (priority 1) but leaves a higher promotion value in place. ## **Quick Reference** | **I want to...** | **Go to...** | | :---------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Change one listing’s level | **Listings** → edit listing → **Priority** | | See Normal, Featured, Promoted, or Custom at a glance | **Listings** table, **Priority** column | | Make a paid plan Featured | **Products** → **Listing Package** → **Feature Listings?** | | Sell a timed boost | **Products > Add New** → product type **Promotion Package** | | Review or create admin promotion packages | **Users > Promotion Packages** | | Stop Explore from boosting paid listings on one sort | **Listing Types** → **Search Forms** → **Listing Order** → **Ignore listing priority** | | Show only Featured cards on the homepage | Elementor **27 > Listing Feed** → **Filter by Priority** | | Let owners buy a boost | **My Account > My Listings** → **Promote** | | Show promotion counts on the dashboard | **Theme Tools > Listing Stats** → **Enable Active Promotions** | | Make Custom priority actually save | MyListing Pro → **MyListing Fixes** → **Save Custom Listing Priority** | ## Where to Go Next * **Listing Feeds:** Filter homepage and landing-page widgets by **Normal**, **Featured**, **Promoted**, or **Custom**. * **WooCommerce:** **Listing Package** vs. **Listing Subscription**, **Feature Listings?**, and Checkout. * **Add Listing Flow:** When owners pick a plan that can mark the listing as **Featured**. * **Listing Types:** **Search Forms > Listing Order** and **Similar Listing**s. * **Listing Stats:** Enable **Active Promotions** on the owner dashboard. ## Common Questions * **What is the difference between Featured and Promoted?** Featured usually comes from a listing plan and lasts as long as that plan applies. **Promoted** usually comes from a **Promotion Package** and lasts a set number of days, then falls back to the previous level. * **Do Normal listings ever appear first?** Yes, when every matching listing is **Normal**, when you turn on **Ignore listing priority** for that sort, or when you filter a feed to **Normal** only. * **Can a Custom listing rank above Promoted listings?** Yes. Use a number higher than 2. 3 already beats the default Promoted value of 2. * **Why does Custom keep saving as Normal?** That is a MyListing save bug. Enable **Save Custom Listing Priority** in MyListing Pro’s [MyListing Fixes](/mylisting-fixes) module, then set Custom to 3 or higher. * **Does the preview badge say Custom?** No. Values of 1 show Featured. Values of 2 or higher show **Promoted**. The **All Listings** column is what labels nonstandard numbers as **Custom**. * **What happens when a promotion expires?** The listing returns to the priority it had before the boost. If it had none, it returns to **Normal**. Expired packages appear under **Users > Promotion Packages** in the Expired view. * **Can I promote a listing for a client without checkout?** Yes. Add a package under **Users > Promotion Packages** (Promote a Listing), choose the listing, duration, and Listing Priority, then save. * **Do map markers and Quick View follow the same levels?** Yes. Promoted (2+) and Featured (1) get the same level classes and tooltips as preview cards.