If you have a problem or a question, what would be your strategy to get the most accurate answer or solution related to that particular situation? You could ask your most knowledgeable friends or family members, or maybe even look in a book, but you would probably spend a substantial amount of time getting a satisfactory answer that way.

If you go straight to the internet for your answers, then you don’t need to worry, because gone are the days when you had to rely on books and asking experts for the answers to your questions. There are many websites that are dedicated to answering your questions. Yahoo! Answers is one of the best websites in this regard. You can use this website at no cost to ask questions and answer other users’ questions.

Well, this was all about getting a good answer. How do you go about answering another person’s question? First of all, you should keep in mind that knowledge increases when you share it. If you want to volunteer yourself to answer the question asked on Yahoo!, then you just might make someone’s day. The depth of your knowledge is, well, deep. So dig some up. Share it. Every person in one way or the other has got the real-life insight or scholarly nugget that he can use to solve the problems of others, which will probably make them pretty happy.

Now that you have asked and answered a few questions, you think that you want to use Yahoo! Answers to promote your business. In simple words, if you want to use Yahoo! Answers as a medium, not only to answer the questions asked, but to drive traffic to you website then how will you show your expertise? Plenty of people use Yahoo! Answers to help them generate traffic and customers to their websites. So this is a two way game - you solve a problem for someone and in turn you are likely to get traffic for your website and customers for your services.

To begin showing your expertise on Yahoo! in order to generate traffic for your website, consider the following points:

1. Make a profile on Yahoo!:

You should have a strong profile. Yahoo! gives you the option to create a Yahoo! 360° where you can add all of your details including the links to your website and your portfolio. Now when you answer a question, people can visit your profile and could possibly visit your websites as well. If you can’t wait for such a long process then consider adding the link to your website directly below your answer.

2. Be active and participate:

If you know that you can answer a question then don’t hesitate. On Yahoo! Answers, there is a system of points for the questions and answers. The more answers you provide, the more points you get. The same goes for the questions, but the number of points you get for asking questions are lower than the points you earn for answering them. Also, Yahoo! Answers can act as a continuous feed of traffic to your website. People looking for the answers to their questions might visit your answer listed there and could be a potential visitor to your website. So, participate!

3. Be Accurate:

Don’t forget that people ask questions on Yahoo! Answers to get an accurate and relevant answer, so never try to answer a question about which you have little or no knowledge. It is best to cite your source, whether you found the answer in a book, a blog or another website. This way your reputation will improve and you will be more influential and trusted among the readers. If your answer is selected as the best answer then it might get the chance to be displayed on the main page of Yahoo! Answers!, improving the chances that more readers will look at your answer. If there is a link to your website in your answer, then you might have even more visitors. As you see, this is a great way to market your business and attract more people to your website.

4. Take advantage of the Yahoo! network:

Yahoo! Answers provide the facility to make friends online or even add your friends from your existing contacts to your network. It’s a good idea to utilize both of these by adding all of your contacts to your network and actively making new friends. Your online social circle is a key aspect when marketing any business. So take advantage of the community aspect of Yahoo! Answers, and see your business flourish.

Here are a few tips by Matt McGee of Small Business SEM on using Yahoo! Answers for traffic generation:

I don’t spend a ton of time on Yahoo!! Answers. One or two visits per week is typical. And if I just spend one hour answering questions in the Small Business category (or elsewhere when it’s appropriate), I’m guaranteeing myself a traffic bump over the following several days. It never fails.

The key, as it is with any social site like this, is two-fold:

Don’t spam. Jamming your URL into every answer just pisses people off.

Be active. Contribute value. Help people out and you will be rewarded.

According to my blog stats, Yahoo!! Answers has been the #1 referring source to this blog in each of the past four days.

I hope the above points will be helpful to you in taking advantage of Yahoo! Answers for marketing your business. Don’t forget the real point of Yahoo! Answers and keep your focus on helping others with your knowledge and valuable answers. After all, it’s all about sharing.

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