When it comes time for you to find your next tenants, you have a number of viable options. People today are Internet savvy and know how to perform searches to meet their needs. You simply want to make sure that your advertisement is the one that they will find. Here are some tips to help you find your next tenants through the Internet.

You should determine how much you wish to spend on your advertising budget before you post anything. There are numerous places where you can advertise free, or for very little. Some Web sites can charge a meaningful fee.

Depending on where you live, there may be a lot of choices - or very few. Here are some ideas to get you started on using the Internet to advertise a rental vacancy.

A number of Realtors will let you post your rental apartment, or house with them. This could give you exposure as well, to a Realtor that you can do business with. Many Realtors will also manage your apartment for you and collect the rent - for a fee.

Advertise in your local newspaper. Most papers now will also post those same ads on the Internet for free when you buy an ad. This gives you double exposure.

Colleges are always looking for apartments for their students. They often will let you provide them with the information and then will post it for you. This is great if you are looking for shorter-term rentals for college students if you live nearby. They may be gone after a semester or so, though, and may not come back after the summer break.

A Chamber of Commerce is another place where you might try and advertise your vacancy. This would be especially true in a smaller town and if you are offering more than one apartment.

There are many Web sites that offer you an opportunity to advertise. They range in price from free to very costly. Here are the names of just a few to get you started:

Craigslist - Focuses on all major cities; is free; is very popular and is known nationwide.

Yahoo.com - Very heavy traffic, with two levels of costs for posting.

Apartments.com - Reaches more than 1.8 million renters with fees ranging from $59 to $139.

Rent.com - Operated by eBay, offers listing for apartments, condos, houses and townhouses

Move.com - Includes both rental and purchase listings

ApartmentGuide.com - Advertises over 6 million apartment units for rent

Sublet.com - Free to post; potential renters pay.

Your ad needs to accomplish three things. First, your ad needs to state in clear terms the location, features and cost of your apartment. Second, you want a positive statement about what kind of tenant you are looking for, such as "clean, responsible tenant." With one sentence you can eliminate the wrong kind of applicant. Thirdly, your ad may indicate what you do not want, such as "No pets."

Be aware of the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or any intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.

Use Web sites that allow you to post a picture or two, for a better response. Before you post your ads, though, make sure that the apartment is clean and ready for showing - and picture taking. People may respond on that very day.

If you are in a real hurry to get results and have your apartment rented, you can post more than one ad. Use a mix of both free ones and paid advertising. Once you find the tenant you want, however, be sure to remove those ads from the Web sites - or your phone and doorbell will keep on ringing.