Feb 3, 2023
Blog
Looking for a new way to drive awareness and website traffic in a targeted, cost-efficient way? Let us introduce you to a secret traffic machine: Quora Ads.
Yes. Quora.
As in the Q&A website that filled the void left by Yahoo Answers.
Yep. That one.
What many people don’t realize is that the Quora platform has grown significantly over the past few years and now has an audience of over 300 million monthly users. It has become a prospering community of highly engaged bloggers, experts, and thought leaders within their own industries. While the platform requires close attention to detail (and if you’d like to speak with us about testing out Quora Ads for your organization or company, please send us a note), Quora launched a self-serve ad platform in 2017 that allows almost anyone to execute paid campaigns. So…what does that mean for you?
Targeting that puts your content in front of engaged audiences
Quora Ads allows four models of targeting based off either their proprietary user data or your own first-party data. But their strength comes from within. By using Quora data you can put your ads right in front of people based on:
- Context: Putting your ads next to related Quora content through contextual targeting means that you are hitting your audience while they are already thinking about what you have to say.
- Behavior: Showing your ads to users through behavioral targeting allows you to reach people who have previously shown interest in your content through their behavior on Quora.
In addition, you can upload a custom audience, as you can on your standard Facebook and Google platforms, to create remarketing and look-a-like groups.
Drive cost-efficient traffic to your site
The incredible thing about reaching these tailored and interested audiences is how cost-efficient they are for traffic. Through campaigns for DKC clients, we have been able to consistently drive traffic for less than $0.20 per click – sometimes as low as $0.03 with a minimal drop rate to landing page view! Not to mention, this is high-quality traffic – traffic that often leads to higher times on site compared to other paid social marketing channels.
The key here is using behavioral targeting with an audience size over 5 million and image ads. Image ads help capture users’ attention and a properly tailored audience just can’t resist clicking. Our clients have also seen better success with headlines in the form of a question. Big surprise from a platform founded on asking questions! This makes ads appear more organic and incentivizes deeper reading.
Want to chat with an expert about utilizing Quora Ads to take your organization to the next level? Contact us here!
Every hero has an Achilles heel
While Quora Ads can be a powerhouse in some respects, it still has some growing pains. Being a new and underutilized platform, they do not yet have IO payment options and it may not be the right fit for your specific audience. Whether it’s climate change content or culture pieces, some audiences just don’t have the size or click-through-rate to drive traffic. But this brings us to the largest pain – lead generation and conversion campaigns.
Quora costs on lead generation consistently run anywhere from 3x to 10x that seen on Meta and rivals the higher cost of LinkedIn ads without the quality controls of professional level data. Despite test after test, our own campaigns haven’t been able to break this trend. As an awareness and traffic juggernaut, the platform is a hidden gem. As an acquisition channel…less so.
So, should you advertise on Quora?
If you want interested users to read your content for less than $0.20 per click, you should give Quora a try. Set a competitive cost-per-click bid and use behavioral targeting to reach people who have already displayed interest in what you are showing them. For other campaign goals – don’t discount them just yet.
Quora is growing and they know they are growing. Over the past year they have introduced video assets, assigned ad representatives to large spenders, and increased support for conversion tracking. While we have seen the most success with traffic campaigns, we are always interested in periodic testing of smaller newer platforms, because they can always change. If you would like more information on advertising on Quora, contact us here or email ryan_maholtz@dkcnews.com.