There’s a great social network that many don’t talk about. This hidden gem is Quora – a social network built around questions and answers. I’m here to help you explore this writer’s paradise with Quora keyword research and show you how to use Quora as a blog topic generator.
No matter what topic you want to cover, you can find valuable information about it on this platform. Plus, the Quora community has millions of members (aka Quorans), which makes Quora one of the best platforms to discover trends to generate blog topics and find high-value longtail keywords that will multiply the traffic on your blog.
Ready to do some fruitful blog topic generation and keyword research on Quora? Let’s dive in.
A Little about Quora and the Quora Community
Quora was founded in 2009 by two former Facebook employees, Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever. D’Angelo was interviewed by Business Insider in 2010 and gave some insight on why he launched Quora:
“There’s a lot of information that has been in peoples’ heads and hasn’t gotten onto the Internet. Even as the Web has gotten really big, there’s just been this gap. So we made Quora as a general place for people to share knowledge of all kinds.”
Quora community members are generally very intelligent and possess a strong handle on their specific domain knowledge. Anyone can ask just about anything and you’ll find very in-depth answers to some granular questions. There are questions and answers about programming (of course), health, relationships, parenting, science, sports, marketing, and more. Some questions and answers are quite fascinating. Here’s an example: What scientific photos are hard to believe but are indeed real?
With all of the sharing of knowledge on Quora, it has become a great place to explore for long-tail keywords and blog topic ideas. Let’s take a look at how this platform works and what you can do to make the most of it.
How Quora Works
While you can use Quora without an account, to take full benefit of this platform, you need to sign up. It takes only a few seconds and it’s free. Plus, you can sign up from your email or your Facebook account.
You will be required to pick topics of your interest so that you can enjoy a more personalized experience on the platform. You can also fill out your profile, add a profile photo, and complete education, location, or employment credentials.
Questions for You
When you log into your account, you can view the links to “Questions for You”. These questions are picked for you according to the preferences and topics you choose while registering on the website.
During the registration process, you indicate the topics for which you want to discuss and answer questions. These are your “Knows About”. Here, you describe your area of expertise, so when you log in to your account, you see relevant content on your feed.
Imagine you have a food and cooking blog. Based on your preferences, you may find the following questions on your feed.
When you click on a question to view or answer it, you can see when it was asked and how many people have engaged with it since then. Furthermore, you can view the section for related questions.
Knows About
From here, you can continue to explore the topic. Check out different questions and look at how well they manage to engage the readers. Keep in mind that you can always change your “Knows About” from your profile.
You can add or remove any topic of your interest from “Knows About” to personalize your feed and see questions relevant to your blog.
Ask a Question/ Search Topics
You can also ask questions on the platform about anything or search a topic on Quora. Enter any topic of your choice in the search bar at the top of your feed or click on the red “Add Question” button to find post your own questions.
You can also manage the reach of your question as well as who can see it by setting it as public, anonymous, or limited. Remember, in order to get quick and helpful responses, make sure that your questions are to the point and free from spelling and grammar mistakes. You can also attach a link with the question to give it reference or context.
Now that you know the basics of using Quora, let’s move on to how you can use this platform as a blog topic generator.
How to Use Quora as a Blog Topic Generator
I know we all think that we have excellent blog topic ideas. But, sometimes, you can’t fully trust your interests and instincts when coming up with blog topic ideas. For one, your topic might not be interesting to enough people.
Secondly, and we’ll get more into this later, you might not be choosing the best long-tail keywords for your topic. These two culprits will lead to low traffic volume and could result in NBD (New Blogger Depression – I know I’ve been there). So, here’s how to use Quora to generate blog topic ideas.
1. Find Questions with a lot of Answers that Relate to Your Blog
As a blogger, your goal is to find a topic that will pique the interest of your audience and will provide them value in one way or another. In other words, you need to choose a topic that has a large following – something that people want to learn or know about. The great news is that it is easy to find such topics on Quora since it is a question and answer platform, which makes it easy to identify topics that people are discussing the most. A high volume of answers to a question shows that there’s an audience for the topic.
So, an easy way is to generate high-value topics is to find questions with a lot of answers that relate to your blog. For instance, if you have a food blog, you can check out Quora for questions related to food or cooking. Find related questions with the most answers. See what these questions are about and choose a topic around the same theme. The best part is that it will take you only a few minutes to do this preliminary research, which means that you can generate interesting and engaging blog topics for your blog in no time.
You already know how to use Quora for finding answers to your questions or answering questions for others. So, using it as a blog topic generator should not be hard. Simply look for questions relevant to your blog with the highest number of answers and spin a blog topic around the question. Your blog is bound to attract readers since the topic already has an audience.
2. Convert Questions into Topics by Reverse Engineering
Reverse engineering means to take apart an object to see how it was put together in the first place and how it works. You can apply the same concept on Quora questions to extract engaging topics from them. All you need to do is search for some relevant questions on Quora. Start by putting one or two words in the search bar. For instance, we entered the words content marketing.
You will see a list of relevant questions. You can easily convert the questions into topics to create high-value content for your blog. For example, the above-mentioned questions can be transformed into the following titles:
- Content Marketing 101 – All You Need to Know About Content Marketing
- 5 Best Content Marketing Strategies
- Top 10 Tips for Effective Content Marketing
With a good list of blog topic ideas in hand, let’s go find some long-tail keywords to accompany the topics.
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How to Generate Long-Tail Keywords with Quora Keyword Research
Keyword research is the key that unlocks the secret to search engine presence. It’s important to find major and supporting themes in the Quora answers that you read. And though you might be tempted to only include answers with a lot of upvotes in your research, I suggest digging deeper because you might find some great keyword ideas lower in the answer thread. Let’s take a look at what you can do to generate some long-tail keywords from Quora.
Step 1 – Gather Good Head Keywords from Quora Answers
Head terms are one to three-word keywords that represent a big idea or topic (i.e. gardening). They enjoy a huge volume since they act as umbrella terms. However, it is important to understand that these keywords are more competitive. Plus, they will attract an audience that may or may not be interested in your particular blog. Regardless, head keywords are a good way to generate traffic, especially if you are just starting.
You can gather head keywords from Quora answers and use them strategically in your content to make it stand out. Take a look at the question given below.
Umbrella terms like SEMrush, keyword research, search engine marketing, etc. can be used as head keywords.
Step 2 – Find Long-Tail Keywords from Quora Questions
Long-tail keywords are the opposite of head keywords. They bring low search volume as compared to head keywords. However, they bring a targeted audience, which means that the traffic diverted to your blog due to these keywords is less likely to bounce. These keywords are often very specific to your topic, which is why they are less competitive.
Quora can help you generate long-tail keywords for your blog. Remember the “Related Questions” section? That’s a goldmine for keywords! This section does not only divert you to different, relevant questions but is also the place where you can find long-tail keywords relevant to your blog. Here are a few ways you can turn a question into long-tail keywords.
Questions as Long-Tail Keywords
To put it simply, all questions are long-tail keywords in a way. They give context to the search. For instance, typing the keyword “SEMrush” in the search query will offer a wide range of results. However, typing the above-mentioned question (Which is better, Ubersuggest or SEMrush) will produce better results for someone looking to compare the two platforms.
Identify the Searcher’s Intentions
Quora questions also give you a chance to identify searchers’ intentions. For instance, you may find that most questions on Quora that discuss how to use SEMrush have a high level of engagement. This means that a great number of people may be interested in learning about how to use the platform. Based on this observation, you can deduce that “how to use SEMrush” is a better long-tail keyword as compared to “what is SEMrush?” or “Who uses SEMrush?”
Step 3 – Get LSI keywords (secondary keywords) from Quora Answers
Wondering what LSI keywords are? Let’s turn to Quora for this one!
It’s always a good idea to find some secondary keywords that relate to your focus keyword. This will make sure that your blog is not over-optimized. Take note of common words in the answers that you read and consider using those words in your content. Now if you use a block of words, be sure to quote the source and attribute it to them.
Keep in mind that LSI keywords are not the same as long-tail keywords. The main difference is that while long-tail keywords work to bring the researcher’s intention to focus, LSI keywords help the search engine understand what your page is about. This allows the search engine to direct a better-targeted audience to your blog.
Step 4 – Take Your Keyword Ideas from your Quora Keyword Research and Plug them into SEMrush to Find Long-Tail Keywords
At this point, you’ve developed a nice list of keyword ideas, but now you need to validate them with a keyword research tool. I’m going to focus on SEMrush, but Ahrefs is a great tool to use for keyword research as well. You can use the various features and tools of SEMrush to find the best, more appropriate keywords for your blog and use them to bring in more traffic.
For more detailed guidance for using SEMrush for keyword research, check out our SEMrush Keyword Research Tutorial.
Extra Credit: Writing Questions and Answers on Quora
After doing all this Quora research, you might be interested in contributing to the community with your questions and answers. I’m a big Quora fan and have contributed questions and answers. It’s a good way to meet new people and learn new things in the process. Do a great job with your answer and Quora might include your answer in a Quora Digest that is emailed to potentially thousands of members.
Quick Tips for Writing Quora Questions
You already know how to post a question on Quora. However, to make sure you get the desired result, your questions must be tailored to engage readers. Check out these basic tips for writing Quora questions.
- Before you post a new question, take your time to do thorough research to make sure that your question hasn’t been asked already. Serious Quora members and moderators don’t like repetitiveness. Therefore, it’s best to steer clear of it.
- Don’t write questions that obviously promote you or your business. Most people will not be interested in reading or answering such questions. If you must promote your business through Quora questions, make sure it still provides value to the readers.
- Refrain from asking vague questions.
Power Tip: Get inspired to create more content based on good answers to your questions. Provide sources and attribution if necessary.
Quick Tips for Writing Quora Answers
Did you find a question in your domain? Or did another member request your answer for a question? Answer it like a pro. However, keep in mind that readers can up-vote or down-vote your response on Quora, so make sure you post only relevant and high-value answers. Check out these basic tips for writing Quora questions.
- Don’t plagiarize other people’s answers or blog content.
- Do research before answering a question (if necessary).
- Use examples to help the readers understand the answer in a better manner. You can also leave links to other relevant sources of information (for instance, your blog) that may help the readers find the answer they are looking for.
- Format and organize your answers so that they are easy to read and understand.
- Add helpful photos, images, charts, or graphs that help you make your point.
- Make sure your answers are free of grammar and spelling mistakes.
- Stick to the point!
Now that you know how to do Quora keyword research, you’re likely ready to learn how to write long form content.
Final Words
Quora is a valuable platform, not only for sharing quality information but also for finding the right topics and keywords for your content. You can use this platform to take your blog to the next level by attracting enormous amounts of traffic with the tips and guidance that I’ve provided. Now with this great keyword research and blog topic generation tool in Quora, I recommend that you learn and use the 3×3 writing process to efficiently write more quality blog content. Maybe, I’ll see you on Quora too. Follow me, Chris Craft.
This post was proofread by Grammarly Premium.
