Quora is an online question-and-answer platform that has become hugely popular in recent years. With over 300 million monthly visitors, it’s one of the top 50 websites globally.
For local businesses, Quora presents a major opportunity to boost your local SEO and attract more customers from your geographic area.
In this post, we’ll explore how to leverage Quora to improve your local search visibility and rankings.
What is Quora?
Quora allows users to ask questions on any topic, and receive answers from experts and regular people who have knowledge to share.
Some key things to know:
- There are spaces for specific topics that users can follow. Many are location-based like “Seattle” or industry-focused like “Digital Marketing”.
- Questions can be upvoted and downvoted based on their relevance and quality. Popular questions rise to the top.
- Answers can also be upvoted/downvoted. The best answers float to the top of threads.
- Profiles showcase each user’s credentials and expertise. Users can follow top experts in their fields.
This crowdsourced Q&A format makes Quora extremely useful for research and discovering information.
Why Quora Matters for Local SEO
There are two main reasons Quora can be valuable for boosting your local search presence:
1. Link Building Opportunities
Every Quora profile has a website field where users can link to their business site. This creates a potential link building source from a high domain authority site.
2. Keyword and Topic Research
Quora provides a wealth of insights into the questions and topics your local customers are interested in. You can use these to optimize content.
Next, let’s get into specific local SEO tactics with Quora.
Optimize Your Quora Profile for Local
Your Quora profile will be the hub of your local SEO efforts. Make sure it sends the right signals about your geographic service area.
Profile Location
Select your city and state as your profile location. This helps you appear for local searches.
Profile Website
Input your business website here. Ensure it uses your target keywords and location names.
Headline
Your headline (below your name) should mention your city/region and industry. This helps establish your local expertise.
About
Fully optimize the about section with keywords, location names, and a link to your website. Describe exactly who you serve geographically.
Topics
Follow topics related to your city and industry. This helps you get more local questions in your feeds.
Find and Answer Local Questions
Answering location-specific questions is key to boosting local authority. Here are tips to find the best questions to answer:
- Follow topics for your city, neighborhood, and region. Answer questions here regularly.
- Search keywords related to your industry plus city name (e.g. “Denver accountants”). Sort by newest.
- Look for unanswered questions on relevant topics and provide a helpful response.
- Check competitor profiles and see what questions they engage with locally.
When answering, optimize for your geo-keywords, link to appropriate pages on your website, and fully demonstrate your local experience.
The more local questions you answer thoroughly, the faster your profile gains authority in your region.
Engage With Influencers and Partners
Connect with other profiles that have high local relevance:
- Local influencers – Comment on their posts, share their content, and @ mention them.
- Industry experts – Follow them and get their input on questions when relevant.
- Potential partners – Interact and build relationships to explore co-marketing.
- Happy customers – Thank them for good reviews and encourage sharing your content.
Leveraging other recognized profiles boosts your own local authority and expands your audience.
Run Localized Quora Ads
Quora offers pay-per-click advertising. This allows targeting ads to specific geographic regions.
You can target Quora users by:
- Location – Target a radius around your city.
- Interests – Target industry topics and your local competitors.
- Questions – Target questions related to your services and location.
Local Quora ads can drive high-quality website traffic and leads. Retargeting ads to website visitors help convert them into customers.
Use Quora for Competitor Research
Spy on competitors to find:
- What local topics and questions they engage with
- Who they network and interact with
- How they position themselves locally
- Gaps where you could provide better answers
This competitive intelligence informs your own local SEO and content strategy.
Link to Quora Content From Your Site
Curate and link to helpful Quora content from your local blog posts and guides.
For example, if you have a local city guide, link to relevant Quora threads for additional info.
This builds more local association and authority between your site and profile.
Pitch Your Expertise to Local Sites
Find locally-focused news sites, magazines, and blogs. Offer to contribute a Quora-style piece answering common local questions related to your industry.
Getting featured builds high-value local links, exposure, and trust.
Monitor Performance
Track how your Quora efforts impact organic traffic and conversions over time.
Are people clicking from Quora to key local pages? Did Quora traffic increase this month? Is there a bump in conversions?
Measuring results ensures your time invested on Quora pays off. Pivot your approach if needed.
Be Patient and Consistent
Don’t expect overnight results. Focus on regularly creating value and establishing your local expertise over months.
Search engines need time to recognize your authority buildup on Quora and correlate it with your website. But eventually it can boost local rankings.
Promote Your Quora Presence
Let your local audience know they can find you on Quora:
- Link to it from your site’s footer or “Find Us” page.
- Share Quora content on social media and email newsletters.
- Mention it in local ad campaigns.
- Add a Quora link to your email signature.
Promoting your profile helps drive valuable followers, traffic, and engagement.
Conclusion
While overlooked by some local businesses, Quora provides a major SEO opportunity.
By leveraging location-optimized profiles, answering local questions, running ads, and monitoring metrics, you can demonstrate expertise to both search engines and local customers.
A thoughtful Quora strategy combined with your core local SEO foundations will ultimately help drive more traffic and conversions from local search.
Have you tapped into Quora for local marketing? What other unique local SEO tactics have worked for your business? Let me know in the comments!
References
[1] https://www.quora.com/profile/Neil-Patel
[3] https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/9167/a-marketer-s-guide-to-quora.aspx
[4] https://www.searchenginejournal.com/quora-seo/benefits/
[5] https://blog.wishpond.com/post/115675438247/quora-marketing
