The True Potential Of Q & A Sites For Your Online Business
The fact is that Q&A (Question and Answer) sites have been around for quite a long time. It’s just that the majority of online businesses have never actually put much weight on it before. Maybe because these businesses simply sees Q&A and sites for purely for what it is. It’s just a regular Q&A site with nothing more and nothing less.
Many things are actually more than they appear, and Q&A sites are no exception.
So, what is more to these sites than just being a repository of queries and replies?
New Backlink Source
What is a worth of a backlink nowadays? Well, it all depends on the search engines that place the value on it. However, one major factor that determines the value of a backlink is its source.
Which begs the next question, so what makes a good backlink source?
A good backlink source is one where it is relevant to your website, always have contents that are fresh, frequently updated, and also unique. Well, what do you know, it seems that Q&A sites fit the bill, and perfectly too I might add.
The fresh and frequent content update hails from the answers which come pouring in from helpful people and because the answers usually satisfy the question, therefore the answers are always related to the question that are asked.
So placing your link on Q&A sites is a great new way to build backlinks if you haven’t done so already. Having a variety of different kind of sites that make up your backlink profile is always good in the search engine’s eyes.
Targeted
There is no better traffic than targeted traffic. When you pull in targeted traffic, you will have a lower bounce rate, which is good since search engines also take this into account nowadays and it can affect ranking. Plus pulling in targeted traffic will ensure you have a higher conversion rate because the people you pull into your site care about your niche in the first place.
Take for example if your niche is about relationships, then look for Q&A regarding relationships (which should be easy enough to find) and then post a genuinely helpful or sincere comment. When people see and regard you as someone who knows what they are talking about, they are more likely to follow your link back to your site.
Keyword Research
Targeting keywords that are too general or too broad may not be such a good idea because, not only do they have high competition, it will take you forever to even decently rank well and how are you going to compete with those sites who are already long established using those keywords. This can be an impossible mountain to climb especially for small online businesses.
But not to worry though, because all is not lost.
Your next bet (and even best bet) is to use long tail keywords. They are more targeted and when people use long tail keywords, they are more likely out of the research phase and more probably already in the buying phase. And it’s a lot easier to rank higher (or top even) for long tail keywords.
Q&A sites are the perfect place to extract long tail keywords because it’s what people are using there. And since keyword structure, sequence, and synonyms use differ from people to people, therefore it is a great place to extract great keyword variation ideas.
Networking
Through Q&A sites not only do you get to connect with like-minded people, you might even get the opportunity to connect with specific niche or industry leaders. There are many experts or knowledgeable people out there who are also offering their expertise on these Q&A sites and if you can find a way to locate and connect with them, it can prove to be beneficial for the both of you.
Partnerships can form, joint ventures, exchange of ideas and also you can have a great opportunity for link exchanges here provided the other person owns a website which is related to yours.
Competition Research
There’s bound to be other competition who is also dabbling in the same niche as yours. Since you can’t very well tell them to shove off and look for another niche to dabble in, what you can do however is to build a unique presence. This is something that sets you apart from the rest.
One of the best ways to do that is to always keep a close tabs on your competition. If you know what your competition is doing, then you can find a way to do it better or to offer something that is unique which your competition is not. Doing this will set you apart from the rest of the competition and people will start referring to you instead.
Q&A sites are indeed overlooked and it’s about time we give it the attention it deserves. Not only is it a good place to perform your market, keyword, and competition research, it is also a great place for you to participate and build your reputation and credibility so you will come off as a highly respected and sought after figure in that particular industry or niche.
