Quora SEO is all about ranking on the SERPs (search engine results pages) by providing helpful, informative, authoritative content, usually in a conversational tone, on the question and answer site Quora. Quora is there to help people: to connect querents with respondents. It’s its own search engine, so your SEO practices won’t just help you rank in Google, but in Quora itself. Pretty cool, right?
Quora SEO isn’t about harnessing customers shamelessly. It’s about displaying your expertise and including a modest link on your profile page. Go easy on the CTAs (calls to action), and win through a display of knowledge.
It’s kind of like… a weird dominance display, but done politely on the Quora battlefield. Do you have the bigger brain?
Yep. We thought so.
How Can Quora Help With My SEO?
Because Quora is all about questions and answers, it’s all set up to create an organic community. It’s helpful, informative, and innovative: precisely what Google is looking for when it comes to quality content.
It’s kind of about the links—but not only about the links. Writing a response? You’ll want those page two or three Google results (but still good results). Link to those in your response. Outrank, but don’t go for links that threaten you. Make sure they’re quality.
Quora generally ranks pretty well. And on it, you can link back to your own websites, your social profiles (including LinkedIn), and more. This is where people can go to discover you as an expert. They’re already asking questions about what you do. Help them out, and they might be your next customer. That’s inbound marketing for you.
Quora technically provides nofollow links, but that doesn’t mean they lack value, especially when it comes to authority.
Quora is About Authority
Google now recognizes authority as a ranking factor. Although our beloved Google Authorship went the way of the dinosaur over a decade ago, it acknowledges authors again and attributes link authority accordingly. Quora’s a great place to gain some respect. How can you increase your authority on Quora?
- Use your real name, not a pseudonym
- You’re an expert: this is where you call yourself one (define that in your title)
- Fill out your Quora profile
- Speak in an even, authoritative tone
- Proofread your responses (or hire an editor to do so)
- Hire a professional ghostwriter to respond to key questions for you
Quora SEO and Business Reputation
Your business reputation is at stake when someone posts something negative about you. If you use a social media tool like Mention, you might get some notifications of these. Quora is a place for you to find FAQs and answer them, and address any complaints customers may have.
Your Quora Profile
Your Quora profile is a gold mine when it comes to SEO. It lets you add:
- Your name
- Some links in your profile
- Your experience and education
- A photo
Be consistent. Use the same (real) name and professional photo you use everywhere else.
Choose Wisely
SEO research using tools like SEMrush can reveal some pretty smart content opportunities. You want to find those high-value, low competition keywords, and a lot of those are long-tail keywords and semantic search phrases.
Quora is the perfect place for those. The questions people ask as well as the URL Quora generates usually contain a lot of those semantic search phrases and long-tail keywords, for example, “how do I create a good content marketing strategy?”
If we were to answer this question, we’d want to follow our usual SEO tips when we respond. Coincidentally, these are also best practices for answering questions and writing professionally and informatively:
Acknowledge the problem in the first sentence and use the keyword. In our example, the question is “how do I create a good content marketing strategy?” The response should begin, “A good content marketing strategy is essential to your success for several reasons, even though the overall process can seem ambitious.” Then, outline what you’re going to say, just like in a focused blog post: “Here are three tips to research and create a good content marketing strategy quickly.”
Keep in mind the nature of the question. “How do I create a good content marketing strategy?” is pretty 101. You’ll want to define content marketing, provide links to some of the greats (like Larry Kim or Neil Patel), and offer some unique insight that the querent might not receive elsewhere.
In short: what makes your response better, more unique, or more insightful than anyone else? What shade of expertise can you provide that no one else can?
Niche It. Niche It Good.
Stick to your niche when possible.
We’re not saying we sometimes respond to random questions about celebrities or food even though our business is SEO, but we might agree that it’d look kind of weird if an SEO expert suddenly started answering foodie questions obsessively. If you find yourself doing that and it isn’t part of your brand, you may need two Quora accounts. Or just stalk the foodie categories and resist the urge to jump in and binge on those replies. (It’s tempting. We know.)
Begin in your niche. Aside from hopping in and increasing your authority, this will help you provide responses quickly and without as much research. If you already have case studies or know where to go to find information, you’ll save tons of time.
Ask Questions. Share Links.
In addition to answering questions, you should ask them. Consider rounding out your personal brand here and adding some personality. Do your customers like other small business topics? Great: be in that domain, too. You can take the minimal-effort approach of participating by asking questions. Because there’s a perception: a good teacher is also a student, and people want to see that you’re still learning, growing, and expanding your horizons in business.
Quora also lets you share links. Did you write something authoritative? LinkedIn articles are great for this: populate that link and share away. This is especially wise if you’re just short on time one week and don’t have time to craft lengthy Quora responses.
Add Videos and Images and Internal Links
Quora is just like any other sweet, sweet content platform. You can increase dwell time (time on page) by placing some relevant video content in there. Gifs, images, and links also apply. All the same awesome SEO strategies work here.
Many Quora respondents do forget to do one thing that they frequently do on their own sites: linking back to other pages on the site. Is there another relevant Quora response, maybe in a related (but not exactly the same) topic? Cool. Link to it. Other people aren’t. This will help you outrank them and it’s just generally good SEO.
Knows About Relevant Things, Right?
Quora likes to get to know you. It’s like Match.com, but for industry knowledge.
Can’t Beat Them? Be Smarter
Sometimes you can’t outrank a competing post on the SERPs (search engine results pages). If your website is new or you don’t have as many resources (like custom graphics, or an extensive case study), it’s just going to be more difficult for you to rank even though you do know your topic. Your site probably doesn’t have as much domain authority (DA) or notoriety as your competitor’s page.
But that’s okay. There’s a website super sweet on you, and they’re way more popular than your competitor. It’s Quora.
Quora already ranks fairly well, especially when it comes to featured snippets (those informational boxes providing key information when you do a Google search). So if you place that content on Quora, you’ve got a pretty decent chance of ranking.
Your Competitors May Follow You
What’s the problem with Quora? Anyone can post there. That means your competitors may try to one-up you. Keep this in mind when you post your initial response. Make sure you log in regularly (set a calendar appointment) and check for responses. Always follow up as soon as you can. And hey—if there are replies and further questions? You’re welcome to elaborate on your competitor’s answer.
Watching competitors remain professional yet competitive is one of the most interesting things you can do on Quora. Just don’t lose your cool.
Social Media Monogamy is For Losers
Quora can take a great deal of time—even if it is worth the investment. You don’t always have the time to post long-form answers to questions on Quora. Don’t forget about your other social media accounts, especially the greats like Facebook and Twitter. They take less time. Most people pop onto Quora once or twice per week.
And while we’re talking about all those other sexy social media accounts, don’t forget to promote the content you create, including those Quora responses. You’ve taken time to craft them, and you want to rank and increase authority. Spread the word. And if your answers are evergreen, make sure to schedule them to post on social media multiple times.
Avoid Grey Hat Quora Tactics
You know what you could do? You could have one of your friends, or your spouse, or your employee post an innocent (planted) question. And then you could answer it. And it would help you rank as the top respondent for that question. But is that ethical? No. It is, however, okay for you to suggest a customer posts one of their questions on Quora. After all, it’s helping people. It just has to be genuine and organic.
Need Help With Quora SEO? We’ve Got You
At Romain Berg, we love answering the tough questions. We also enjoy helping you define your brand. Should Quora SEO be part of that strategy? Let’s talk about it. We’ll evaluate your current efforts and create a content plan worthy of immediate execution. Fill out our discovery form today to get started.
