Yahoo Answers

Yahoo Answers and Questions

Introduction to Yahoo Answers
Yahoo Answers is very much like forum marketing (style wise). Except when it comes to Yahoo Answers, it isn't limited to just one category. With forum marketing, you have someone who starts a thread and then members participating (asking questions, giving their viewpoints and answers and sometimes their *crap*) in it. With Yahoo Answers, it all starts when someone posts a question needing to be answered and solutions provided by anyone who wishes to share.

Unlike forum marketing where you are given a profile signature where you can market your products and services. With YA (Yahoo Answers), you may provide a source link to a relevant website thereby getting extra traffic. Whether the traffic is targeted or not depends on whether you answered questions in your niche field.

However these days Yahoo Answers gets tricky because if you provide a link back to your site for every answer that you provide, you'll come across as a spammer and be quickly found on the "banned" list which never works for you in the long run, does it?

Tip and Tricks for Yahoo Answers:

1) Provide really valuable information that is truly of help and contribution to the person with the question. Don't chuck your link for every answer that you provide. By including links to other equally or more useful websites that yours, you can be assured that your account will hang around for a long time.

2) Yahoo Answers is a point based system to encourage participation and to reward great answers. Here's a look at the points table:

3) Obviously the more your answer gets chosen as the best answer, the more points you get so do make an effort to do your best. If you keep at it in your particular niche, you can quickly become a guru and authority. I had a look at one of the live questions during the time of writing and the first answer given (seen below) was a perfectly useless one. Don't follow in his/her footsteps please.

4) It gets very interesting at Yahoo Answers! because you can quickly pick up on the different problems that people actually have. And if you're resourceful enough, you can also use this as a research ground for your next product and service ideas.

5) As you begin to build up your reputation by accumulating more points (especially in your particular niche), you will also attain higher levels within Yahoo Answers which allows you to ask questions and answer much more frequently. Here's the table for more information:

6) Make it a habit to answer X number of questions every day or every week. By so doing, you will slowly but surely build up traffic levels to your site (especially if it's relevant). Have I also mentioned that each link back to your website is also valid as a backlink? :)

7) If you are thinking of focusing your efforts on just 1-3 niches at Yahoo Answers, I suggest creating a free report to be given to these warm prospects. In exchange for the free report, these people would have to give you their name and email. That way, you can build a list and market relevant products and services to them in the longer run.

8) Add in a smiley or two somewhere in your answer. You will appear more friendly and approachable that way. Tried and tested! (Tip: You won't find this tip ANYWHERE else!)

P.S Have you checked out Yahoo Search Marketing and Yahoo Groups yet?