We’ve Got the Neighborhood Covered: How We Maximize Nextdoor Ads

Nextdoor is a relatively new social platform addition to the digital marketing landscape. Although the neighborhood-based app launched way back in 2011, self-serve ads only recently became available to advertisers in early 2022. Nextdoor Ads became Nextdoor Ads Manager a little over a year later, with expanded offerings and a totally redesigned user interface. We’re here to look at the ad platform’s progression, strengths, and future as an early agency partner.

Getting Local

Nextdoor prides itself on being the go-to source for neighborly social media. While other platforms have seen a rise in political division and commercialization, Nextdoor stays true to its roots, describing its self as a place “where communities come together to greet newcomers, exchange recommendations, and read the latest local news.” These friendly vibes have lured both advertisers and users alike. Its unique positioning lends local authority and authenticity to advertiser messaging, while users enjoy a less cluttered and fractious newsfeed.

Users also need to provide their address at signup, allowing for accurate, high-quality hyperlocal targeting often absent on Meta, where users can ignore their location information. This also serves to ensure that impressions are not being served to bots or other bad actors.

There are several types of ideal advertisers for the platform given Nextdoor’s neighborhood and community focus and the contextual benefits of the feed. These include local small businesses of any kind, home services, home improvement brands, dining & hospitality, non-profits, and more. DCW has run several successful campaigns, including homeowner outreach for GAF roofing through local Home Depots, open house awareness for Long Island’s Knox School, and healthcare offerings through White Plains Hospital.

By the Numbers

The proof of the platform’s success can be seen in Nextdoor’s rapid growth. What started as a social media app with around 200 US pilot communities in 26 states has flourished to over 340,000 neighborhoods in North America, Western Europe, and Australia. Total active weekly users increased to nearly 46 million at the end of 2024.

Not only is the platform continuing to grow but its user base attracts people less likely to be on other social media, offering advertisers an audience not necessarily found elsewhere. For instance, 45% users on Nextdoor did not use TikTok in the past week and 41% and 23% did not use Instagram nor Facebook, respectively. Overall, the platforms user base is ideal for reaching established homeowners with disposable income who are actively seeking out local goods and services.

Capabilities & Evolution

DCW has access to a variety of ad types and tactics as an agency partner with access to the Nextdoor Ads Manager. The platform has many of the familiar features found elsewhere, including image and video ads, recently added carousel ads, interest-based/age/income targeting, in-feed and sidebar placements, and geo targeting down to the zip code. It also provides a clear reporting dashboard as well as the ability to place attribution pixels on landing pages. In-feed lead generation ads were also recently added to their offerings last year.

In addition, Nextdoor offers some unique ad platform features, including the ability to target communities based on the percentage of homeowners. Because ads must adhere to community-first guidelines, messaging comes across as clearer and less divisive. The result is an added contextual bonus where ads fit the look and feel of the platform, building trust and generating better results. We especially like the very stable CPMs and the reliable clickthrough rates.

Nextdoor ad offerings continue to evolve as the platform is working on expanding re-targeting, and opening ad serving to communities outside of the US. We’d also like to see the development of an API to more easily integrate with third-party dashboards and automations. These limitations are understandable given the newness of the platform.

Is Nextdoor Right for your Business?

DCW has been working with Nextdoor for the past few years and is well-positioned to create, execute, and optimize custom campaigns on the platform. Reach out today to start a conversation and we can share more information to see if the platform is a good fit.