Quora is the 4th most cited source in AI - should we be investing there?

Jason, I’ve been on Quora for 6 years and analyzed our AI citations. Here’s what actually works:

Citation patterns from research:

The surprising finding:

89.7% of Quora answers cited by AI Mode were also marked “Most Relevant” by Quora’s own algorithm. This means Quora’s internal quality signals translate directly to AI citations.

What this means:

Optimize for Quora’s algorithm first, AI citations follow.

How Quora’s algorithm works:

1. Direct answer in first 1-3 sentences
2. Credible expertise demonstrated
3. Genuine value provided
4. Clear formatting
5. Community engagement (replies, comments)

Why AI loves Quora - the technical perspective:

Query-content similarity:

Research shows similarity between user queries and cited Quora questions is only 0.1 (very low). This means:

AI doesn’t match keywords. It matches topics and intent.

Example:

User query: “Best productivity apps for remote teams” Cited Quora: “How do you stay organized working from home?”

Different words, same underlying topic.

What this tells us:

1. Don’t keyword-stuff Quora answers
2. Focus on comprehensive topic coverage
3. Answer the underlying question, not just the literal words

Content rewriting:

AI systems paraphrase, they don’t copy. Average overlap between AI answer and Quora source is 0.435 - less than half.

Implication:

Your Quora answers are source material, not verbatim quotes. Make sure your key concepts and data survive paraphrasing.

Engagement signals matter more than you’d think:

Cited threads average:

• 37 replies
• 15 upvotes
• 535+ words

What this tells us:

Active discussions > Static answers

How to generate engagement:

1. End with questions - “What’s been your experience?” invites responses
2. Respond to comments - Keep the thread alive
3. Share contrarian views - Spark discussion (respectfully)
4. Link to related threads - Cross-pollinate conversations

Why AI values engagement:

Active discussions signal:

• Content is current and relevant
• Multiple perspectives available
• Community found it valuable
• Information has been validated/challenged

Our strategy:

Post answer → Check back daily for a week → Respond to every comment → Reference in related questions

It’s not set-and-forget. Quora rewards continued engagement.

Building credibility on Quora:

Profile optimization:

In-answer credibility:

“As a [role] who has [experience], I’ve found that…”

This framing:

1. Establishes why you can answer
2. Gives AI credibility signal
3. Builds trust with readers

Company representation:

Named individuals with company affiliations perform best. You get personal credibility AND brand visibility.

Question selection strategy:

Where to answer:

Not all Quora questions are equal. Target:

1. High-intent questions - “Best [solution] for [use case]”
2. Trending topics - Check Quora’s trending section
3. Unanswered quality questions - First good answer often wins
4. Questions with weak existing answers - Opportunity to provide better

Where to avoid:

1. Saturated questions with 100+ answers
2. Very broad questions (too competitive)
3. Opinion-based questions (hard to provide value)
4. Questions outside your expertise (credibility risk)

Our targeting process:

1. List 10 core topics we’re expert in
2. Find questions in those topics
3. Prioritize by follower count + answer quality gap
4. Create answer calendar (2-3 per week)

Consistency beats volume.

Measuring Quora ROI:

Direct metrics:

• Answer views (Quora provides)
• Upvotes (Quora provides)
• Profile views (Quora provides)
• Click-throughs (if you include links)

AI citation metrics:

• Monitor with Am I Cited
• Track which Quora answers get cited
• Compare citation rate to effort

Our tracking system:

The indirect value:

Hard to measure, but real:

• Brand authority building
• SEO (Quora ranks in Google)
• Content research (see what people ask)
• Competitive intelligence

ROI calculation:

Hours/week: 3 Monthly cost (staff time): ~$600 Monthly AI citations: ~8 Value per citation: Hard to quantify but significant

We consider it worthwhile for the AI visibility alone.

What NOT to do on Quora (learned the hard way):

Mistakes we made:

1. Too promotional - First 10 answers were basically ads. Got flagged, no traction.

2. Copy-paste content - Repurposed blog posts as answers. Quora users noticed and called it out.

3. Ignored the community - Posted and ghosted. No engagement = no visibility.

4. Wrong topics - Answered everything tangentially related instead of focusing on expertise.

5. Generic answers - “There are many factors to consider…” gets you nowhere.

The turnaround:

After failing for 3 months, we:

• Assigned our actual subject matter expert
• Focused only on topics we genuinely know
• Committed to genuine engagement
• Accepted the 80/20 value-first approach

Results:

First 3 months (bad approach): 0 AI citations, negative feedback Next 3 months (good approach): 12 AI citations, growing reputation

Key lesson:

Quora rewards authenticity and punishes gaming. You can’t fake expertise or goodwill.

This thread convinced me. Quora is worth the investment, but with the right approach.

My Quora strategy:

Foundation:

• Real expert answers (our subject matter expert, not marketing)
• Focus on 5 core topics we genuinely know
• 80% value, 20% brand mention maximum

Answer structure:

• Direct answer in first 1-3 sentences
• 535+ words for substantial topics
• Specific data points and examples
• End with question to encourage discussion

Engagement:

• Check answers daily for first week
• Respond to every comment
• Cross-reference related questions
• Build relationships, not just content

Targeting:

• High-intent questions in our space
• Questions with weak existing answers
• Trending topics in our domain
• 2-3 quality answers per week

Measurement:

Expected timeline:

• Month 1-2: Building foundation, no citations expected
• Month 3-4: First AI citations appearing
• Month 6+: Consistent citation generation

Investment:

• 3 hours/week expert time
• Tracking and optimization: 1 hour/week
• Expected ROI: AI visibility + authority building

Thanks everyone. The 7.25% citation rate is too significant to ignore.