Quora, a leading question and answer platform has over 200 million unique monthly users and is used extensively by businesses and marketers to drive targeted traffic to their websites.
Quora is also available in Spanish and French. Source: Quora.
Top Quora users get oodles of visitors to their websites and Facebook Groups, all because they take the time to answer people’s questions.
Naturally, this platform could serve you as a fabulous source of free traffic to your website and communities, as well.
Using Quora as part of your content marketing strategy, you could build your email list, establish yourself as an expert in your niche, gain followers, drive people to your own online communities and, or, websites and possibly even get syndicated to major publications.
To help you get started using this platform, here are a few tips, seventeen, actually:
Answer relevant questions. Answer questions that are in line with your niche and relate it to your business offering or lead magnet.
Optimize your profile. Write your profile attributes and tagline according to your niche, including a detailed “about me” section, your areas of expertise, interests and experience. Remember to connect your other social media accounts, too.
Optimize your bio. All that time spent answering questions will be wasted if you’re not generating leads. Design your bio similar to a website homepage to include elements such as, a relevant offer, testimonials — social validation, an eye-catching photo and links to your other content. E.G. your blog.
Optimize your tagline. Your tagline will appear at the top of every answer you give. It’s customizable for the different topics you write about and includes fifty characters.
To customize it, click the dots at the bottom right of your answer, then click ‘Edit Credential.’ It’s generally best to stick to one tagline to elicit strong brand recognition.
Test your niches. Not sure which niche is the best one for you? Answer questions for about two weeks in one niche, using a relevant offer in your bio. Do the same for another niche and compare traffic stats week-by-week by checking the stats section of your bio.
NOTE: higher traffic is not necessarily better. The aim is to get targeted traffic, so check to see which one gives you a higher percentage of website visits and opt-ins.
Add controversy to get traction. If you can provide an answer that not everyone agrees with, you’ll likely get more traffic. Give a solid answer backed by facts – an answer that you believe in, not a reply that’s deliberately provocative or irritating.
High organic traffic equals views. Use Ahrefs to identify questions that are receiving high organic traffic. These are often the best questions to give a good response.
What question(s) should you answer. There’s no point wasting your time answering questions that won’t send you leads. Know what to look for and your time will be well-spent.
Here are a few attributes to look for in a question – your niche may vary slightly, but these will generally be what you’re looking for:
- 7:1 (or better) ratio of followers to the number of answers provided.
- Lots of followers with lots of bad answers.
- A question with poor answers that you know you can improve upon.
- A question that gives you the opportunity to use a personal image.
- Anything in your niche with emotional pull. These questions will be easier to answer, and you’ll have the opportunity to use personal stories.
- Anything relevant to the offer in your bio.
Identifying bad answers. If an answer is poorly written, or it focuses on self-promotion, or it provides little value; here’s your opportunity to do better and give value.
Search and bookmark questions. When you join Quora, you’re asked to choose your topics. Of course, you’ll choose topics directly related to your niche. Go to those individual topics to find questions. When you locate one you wish to answer, click the three dots next to it, and select, “answer later.”
Finding and saving questions. When you’re ready to access these bookmarked questions, click on ‘Answer’ at the top right of your screen. Then click ‘answer later’ on the left side. You’ll see a list of all the questions you’ve saved.
Outsource your searches. Searching for good questions is something you can easily outsource to your virtual assistant.
Have them review, perhaps, 100 topics to find suitable questions. Give her the criteria you want, i.e. create a spreadsheet with hyperlinks to the Quora questions, the follower ratio, topic name, and a rating of how good the other answers are.
Answer old questions. If a question has a few thousand followers but, over 100 answers, it’s still worth answering the question.
Even if the question is pretty old, answering could still get you traffic, because Quora places strong emphasis on promoting new answers, similar to how Google promotes more recent blog posts.
Images. In every answer you give, use a relevant, interesting image. A study by Skyword, found a 94% increase in viewership if a published article contains an image or infographic compared to articles without images.
Did you know that images release oxytocin in our brains, increasing trust and likeability? In one case study, participants under the effects of oxytocin gave more money to charity than those who weren’t.
Make sure your images are relevant to your answer, however. You might be tempted to use images simply because they’re eye-catching, but if it doesn’t relate to your answer, the Quora community will leave some nasty comments for you, because they’ll see you as click baiting.
Use personal stories whenever possible. Open your answer with a story, and then segue into the answer, such as giving advice or resources. We all love stories.
If you’re stuck for a story that fits the question? Start with the word, “Imagine,” and then put the reader right into the action. The story will almost write itself.
Keep your writing simple. Write as if you’re talking to a friend, minus the, huh, umms and ahs, of course. There’s no need to be verbose, you’ll lose the reader.
Keep your writing interesting. Use short paragraphs so it’s easy to read. Bold the first sentence and important points. Make it personal and don’t be afraid to talk about your mistakes or experiences if they’re relevant.
Always end on a high note, with a positive call to action for the reader.
Don’t be overly promotional. This is the most important tip: Avoid giving calls to action i.e. ‘click here to learn more,’ or ‘click here to start your free trial.’ These are deemed too promotional for Quora.
However, guiding them where they can learn more works well. For example, “If ‘subject matter’ interests you, I’ve written several articles about it here: [insert link]. I hope they help you with [pain point].”
Instead of sending readers to your website, you might send them to a Facebook Group, or similar community, because it’s perceived to be less promotional than sending people directly to your site.
Quora is a wonderful place where you can help people and a place that can help up-level your business in many areas. That’s a win, win right there.
Remember, though, don’t be over the top with promotions, answer questions that are relevant to your business, while still helping people, tell stories and write as though you’re speaking to a friend. You’ll come across genuine, which, of course, you are, aren’t you? 😊
© Cherry-Ann Carew
Cherry-Ann Carew is an Online Business Strategist & Amazon multi-bestselling author. She supports emerging business owners simplify their start-up journey, by customizing a business framework that aligns with their vision and goals, so that they can earn uncapped income and live life on their terms.
From what I have seen, Quora works best for those who sell something on their site. Our site is an enticement for you to do something else- to hire us to solve a problem or to train your staff. So, Quora is a less-likely amplifier.
Hi Roy
Actually, it works for service-based businesses, as well. I provide a service and do get sign-ups. There’re many categories and I’m sure your business would fall under a few of them.
I’m a member of Quora but never used it for anything. This was very valuable information that made me curious about exploring the possibilities. Many thanks!
You’re welcome, Stella. Good luck exploring:)
This was very interesting. Sometimes, I read the questions and answers on Quora. I never thought of it as a way to promote my blog.
Hello, Alice
I used to do the same, too, until I learned that it is actually another avenue to get visibility. Give it a try and let me know how you get on.
Thank you. I did read another article recently on how we can use Quora for driving traffic home but your post is definitely more in-depth and very helpful. i will use these tips to check it out
Thank you, Vidya. Glad you found it informative.