33 Quora Q&A Resources: get actual ROI out of using it

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33 Quora Q&A Resources: get actual ROI out of using it

The hype of 2011 is Quora, the new Q&A site that attempts to become much better than Yahoo Answers by aiming at high quality replies. Everybody and his mum is on Quora it seems, especially SEO industry leaders like Rand Fishkin or Danny Sullivan. I’m not very active at Quora yet but I watch it closely. While at it, I collected so many resources and opinions that I wanted to share them with you. As usual in such cases, I have compiled one of my 30+ lists that you all love so dearly. So here it is: 33 Quora Q&A Resources to get actual ROI out using of it.

Before I throw the links at you, I’d like to summarize the most obvious current uses of Quora. You can:

Ask questions you’d usually have to pay consultant for
Answer questions to show off your expertise
Use your real name to get high in search results (ORM!)
Not use other languages than English, as they’ll be deleted
Vote up answers by others to forge relationships
Sync your Quora account with Twitter to autofollow all your Twitter friends
Follow questions of interest to gain additional insights
Blog directly from Quora’s interface by adding your blog to it
Share questions on Facebook, Twitter, and of course via email
Find experts on every conceivable web related craft or occupation

This post is not an affirmation of Quora as “the next big thing”. That’s why I added both pros and cons to the list. Every responsible business person has to consider the cons before spending a significant amount of time on Quora, as it’s a site that needs constant attention.

Why use Quora? (pros)

Quora will be bigger than Twitter – Telegraph
Is Quora the biggest blogging innovation in 10 years? — Scobleizer
Quora’s Curious Compulsion for Honesty | Search Engine Chocolate
Will Quora Challenge Google? No. Is It Useful? Yes – SEL
Quora: A Technology Writer’s Best Friend, For Now – Forbes
Quora is exploding in popularity – Here are 7 sure signs it’ll be a hit
Quora Gaining Momentum – Hitwise Intelligence
My Thoughts On Quora’s Community – Pages Are Social

Why not use Quora? (cons)

To Quora or Not to Quora – That is the Question | Level343
Questions about Quora – Online Marketing Blog
5 Questions To Ask Before Jumping Into Quora – SEL
On Quora, Journalism and Disintermediation « The Quora Review
Why Quora won’t be “bigger than Twitter” > Smart Insights Digital Marketing
What’s with all the hype about Quora? | The Search Agents

How to use Quora

Making Use of Quora – Bosmol
A Marketer’s Guide to Quora by Hubspot
Welcome to Quora. Do Yourself a Favor… by Lucretia M Pruitt – Quora
9 Ways to Get More Out of Quora – Mashable
Quora Optimization – Write Great Answers – Website Magazine
Outside Innovation: Quora Crowdsourcing

How to use Quora for SEO purposes

Can Quora drive traffic? | Conversation Marketing
Ultimate Guide to using Quora for SEO Ranking on Google by Cornwall SEO
SEO 2.0 | Quora vs Yahoo Answers: Which Q&A Site is Better for Your Business?
Quora’s Not A Competition (But I’m Winning) – Blind Five Year Old
Why Quora & Social Media Experts Don’t Mix « The Quora Review

Quora Tech Resources

Tech People on Quora: An Unofficial Directory by Grey Review
Quora’s Technology Examined | Phil Whelan’s Blog
Quora Ranking Algorithm for Answers – Gordon Choi’s Blog
Quora’s New Algorithm for Ranking Answers – ReadWriteWeb

Miscellaneous Quora Resources

Alexia Tsotsis » How Not To Be An “Ass Pirate”? Watch What You Answer On Quora
How Will Quora Handle Being Both Twitter and Wikipedia? | WebProNews
Nearly Every Single Topic On Quora Now Has A Twitter Account – TechCrunch
Cwora – A continually spamming collection of unanswered questions
created, edited and organised by no-one who uses it.

At the end of the day, Quora might indeed be much more useful than Facebook, Twitter or even Wikipedia because it’s not private in nature like Facebook, ephemeral like Twitter or anonymous like Wikipedia. On the other hand, the time spent on Quora can spiral out of control very quickly and thus harm your business. Also, Quora exploits your expertise to create content for them that you’d otherwise could capitalize on your own site.

Facebook and Twitter are mostly gateways, while Quora is a final destination.

So the actual ROI of using Quora must be considered before investing time and other resources into it. Will you get more out of it than you invest in? That’s not clear yet, as it’s the initial goldrush right now. Those who are fast enough may get the best claims to earn money later.

* Image by Milos Milosevic.