Listing = where the thing is + how far the seller made it discoverable. Search = where you are browsing from + how wide you look + keywords. Both sides must align for a match.
Three things you control when searching
- Anchor county — the county context for this page (the
county_id in the URL or the county hub you opened). Think: “where am I standing when I browse?”
- Scope — the County / State / Country chips. Think: “how wide should my results reach from that anchor?”
- County — narrowest; listings tied to this county area.
- State — wider; includes listings discoverable at state level from this anchor.
- Country — widest regional view from this anchor.
- Search & filters — the search box (title, description, location words), plus category, intent, subcategory, and price type when you need them.
Use all three together. A perfect keyword match still won’t appear if the seller’s discoverable scope is narrower than your browse scope, or if geo rules don’t include that listing for your anchor.
What you see on each listing card
Cards and detail pages show a line like Based in … · Discoverable … (when available).
- Based in — where the listing is physically or logically tied (property, lot, job site, and so on).
- Discoverable — how far the seller allowed discovery when they posted (county, state, country, or global).
That line explains why something appeared — or why it did not appear when you expected it.
Examples
- Apartment in Split while you live elsewhere — open the Split-area county hub (or browse with that county as anchor). Try State or Country scope, category Real estate, search “stan Split” or “apartment Split”. Sellers often set discoverable to state/country for rentals.
- Car for sale regionally — start from your county or the seller’s county anchor. Use Country scope, category Vehicles, search make/model. Many vehicle listings use country-level discoverable.
- Local plumber near you — keep County scope, category Services, search “plumber” or your town name in the search box.
- You posted a “Looking for …” listing — same rules: your post must use the right based + discoverable when you create it; search here with scope + keywords to see what others posted.
Few or no results?
- Widen scope — if you’re on County, try State, then Country.
- Change anchor — browse from the county where the thing likely is (property county, dealership county), not only your home county.
- Simplify search — shorter keywords; try category without subcategory first.
- Clear filters — reset chips and advanced filters if they’re too tight.
- Still empty? — there may simply be no public listings yet, or sellers chose a narrow discoverable scope. Posting your own “Looking for …” listing can help others find you.
If you are posting (sellers)
Buyers use scope + search; you set based county + discoverable when you create a listing. Open Help on the create/edit form for detailed examples (Split apartment, car, vacation home, and more).
Rule of thumb: don’t fake the based county to reach more people — widen Discoverable instead, and write a clear title + location line for search.
