Auto Promotion

The Auto Promotion function automatically boosts new posts to the top of listings for a specified duration. When a post is published, it receives a temporary priority boost that reverts after the promotion period ends.

Overview

Give new listings visibility by automatically promoting them when published. The promotion uses Voxel’s priority system to boost posts higher in search results, then automatically reverts when the promotion period expires.

Key Features

• Automatic priority boost on publish
• Configurable promotion duration (hours, days, weeks)
• Configurable priority level
• Automatic reversion when expired
• Per-post type settings
• Works with Voxel frontend submissions
• Cron-based cleanup (runs every 5 minutes)

Setup Instructions

Step 1: Enable the Function

1. Navigate to Voxel Toolkit → Functions in your WordPress admin
2. Find Auto Promotion in the list
3. Toggle the switch to enable the function
4. Click Save Changes

Step 2: Configure Post Types

1. In the Post Types section, select which post types should have auto promotion
2. For each selected post type, configure:

• Priority Level: The boost amount (higher = more visibility)
• Duration: How long the promotion lasts
• Duration Unit: Hours, days, or weeks

3. Click Save Changes

Configuration Options

Setting	Description	Example
Priority Level	The voxel:priority value to set	10, 50, 100
Duration	How long the promotion lasts	7
Duration Unit	Time unit for duration	hours, days, weeks

How It Works

Promotion Process

1. User publishes a new post
2. Function detects the publish event
3. Original priority is saved (or 0 if none)
4. Configured priority is applied to voxel:priority meta
5. Promotion data is stored with expiration time

Expiration Process

1. Cron job runs every 5 minutes
2. Checks for expired promotions
3. Reverts priority to original value
4. Removes promotion tracking data

Use Cases

New Listing Visibility

Help new listings get initial visibility by featuring them prominently for their first week.

Fair Rotation

Give all new listings equal opportunity for visibility regardless of when they’re posted.

Event Announcements

Boost new events for a short period to maximize early registration.

Troubleshooting

Promotion Not Applied

• Verify the function is enabled
• Check that the post type is configured
• Ensure priority and duration are greater than 0
• Check the post is actually being published (not updated)

Promotion Not Expiring

• Verify WordPress cron is running
• Check that the cleanup cron is scheduled
• Use WP Crontrol plugin to verify cron events

Priority Not Reverting Correctly

• Check that original priority was saved
• Verify no other plugins are modifying priority