{"id":11022,"date":"2018-12-05T17:46:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T17:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trafficsoda.com\/?p=11022"},"modified":"2022-11-28T17:22:55","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T17:22:55","slug":"quora-for-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trafficsoda.com\/quora-for-seo\/","title":{"rendered":"Quora for SEO: Is it Worth Your Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

300 million active monthly users. Engagement with the world\u2019s top thought leaders. Growth that could surpass Twitter and Reddit. Those are the claims Quora put forth to advertisers<\/a> when it launched new targeting options earlier this year. If they\u2019re right, then Quora must be fertile ground for SEO activity \u2013 right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, the intersection of Quora and SEO is a complex (and often controversial) topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s investigate.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Quora, and Why Is It So Popular?
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Quora isn\u2019t the first question-and-answer site out there, but it might just be the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is to say that Quora has so far managed to succeed in areas where similar sites have failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahoo Answers, one of the first major Q&A sites, was massively popular but poorly-moderated in terms of questions and answers alike. It never came close to a reputable source of information and was often the subject of ridicule<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google Answers surpassed Yahoo Answers in the quality of its content, but it failed to strike a chord with internet users at large; and like many Google products (see: Google+<\/a>), Google Answers was closed due to ailing popularity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The respective downfalls of Yahoo Answers and Google Answers illustrate the challenge of managing an informational site built on user-submitted content. To grow, the site must continuously attract more users who are willing to submit questions and answers; however, there\u2019s a delicate balance between encouraging user participation and maintaining quality standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set the bar for quality too high and few people will participate; set it too low and the site will attract poor-quality content, spam and trolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, Quora has managed to strike this balance through a combination of a quality-ranking algorithm<\/a> and human moderators who monitor the feeds. Quora was originally moderated by volunteers from its user community, but the company has since switched to paid moderators and content reviewers who remove questions and answers as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to contribute to, but it\u2019s not a free-for-all, either. This balance has been vital to the site\u2019s popularity so far. Quora has even garnered attention from world leaders like Justin Trudeau<\/a> and Barack Obama<\/a>.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Value of Quora for SEO?
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another key to Quora\u2019s success is its powerful presence on Google\u2019s search engine results page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google\u2019s RankBrain algorithm strives to deliver the highest-quality answers relevant to searchers\u2019 queries. Quora\u2019s upvote-driven Q&A format, which favours the most precise and comprehensive answers to specific questions, is practically tailor-made for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days, whenever you make a search query in the form of a question, there\u2019s a high likelihood of finding Quora on the first page of the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trend has motivated people, brands and SEOs to try and leverage Quora to drive site traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a right way and a wrong way to do it. Using Quora for SEO is not as simple as plopping links into questions and answers \u2013 and in fact, that\u2019s a good way to get banned from Quora for life<\/a>.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ways to Use Quora for SEO
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the truth: Quora\u2019s prominence on page 1 of Google\u2019s search engine results has made it a magnet for SEO-related spam.

<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Pictured: A person using Quora just for the purpose of link building.<\/sup><\/sub><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n


By that we mean users posting low-quality answers solely for the purpose of driving traffic to their (or their client\u2019s) site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spammers aside, there are legitimately useful and effective ways to leverage Quora\u2019s popularity and SERP presence to your advantage.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Answer Questions to Drive Qualified Traffic to Your Site
<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

All external links placed by Quora users are no-follow links. This means that if you post a link to your website on Quora, it doesn\u2019t pass any authority onto your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, Quora isn\u2019t useful for backlinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when done properly, posting links to Quora can be a way to drive good, qualified traffic to your site. That\u2019s because the questions people pose to Quora tend to be specific, with clear intent on the part of the questioner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the person asking \u201cWhat are the best tennis shoes?\u201d<\/a> is likely to be interested in buying a pair of tennis shoes. The same goes for anyone who comes across the question in a Google search. If you happen to sell tennis shoes, these are exactly <\/em>the people you want visiting your website \u2013 so it would be great if you could get a link on that page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Quora is picky about how and when a question or answer can include external links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Quora\u2019s rules on questions and answers containing external links<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n