Quora has over 400 million monthly active users (MAU), which makes it a good platform to build links on. But is Quora link building worth it—and how do you actually go about it? Here’s everything you need to know, based on our decade-long link building experience.
Quora link building refers to building backlinks from Quora to other sites. This can be done by adding links to Quora profiles, answers, and posts.
Using sites like Quora or Reddit to build backlinks is also known as forum link building—i.e., building backlinks on forums.
Yes, Quora is good for backlinks.
However, it’s important to set realistic expectations.
Quora backlinks, just like forum backlinks in general, are less valuable than backlinks from sites where you can’t freely add them yourself.
Quora backlinks are also nofollow by default, which means they don’t pass any link juice to the sites they’re pointing to.
Even so, Quora backlinks can benefit your site.
Let’s see how search and answer engines treat them for more insights.
As mentioned, Quora links are nofollow, which makes them somewhat less valuable than dofollow links.
With that said, Google explicitly states that it treats nofollow links as ‘hints about which links to consider or exclude within Search.’
They aren’t super clear about what effects this actually has, but we can assume two things:
On top of that, links from forum sites like Quora can be interpreted as social signals.
And most SEO professionals consider social signals one of the top #15 ranking factors.
So, in short, Quora backlinks are very likely to positively impact your presence on Google—though links from ‘gated’ sites, like magazines, remain more valuable.
Now, let’s see how Quora backlinks can impact your presence on the new alternative to search engines.
Answer engines, like Perplexity and SearchGPT, are similar to search engines in that they provide a list of sources where users can find answers to their queries.
However, unlike search engines, answer engines also provide direct answers.
If your site or Quora answer shows up in the list of sources, users can land on your website or see your Quora answer in full.
With that said, in our experience, answer engines like Perplexity prefer using Reddit over Quora for answers—though this may very well change in the future.
Additionally, even if answer engines don’t use Quora, they can still prefer sites with links from it over sites with no or fewer links.
Here are the top advantages of using Quora for link building:
Before you go full-on with building links on Quora, consider the following disadvantages as well:
If you feel like the pros outweigh the cons, you probably want to jump in and start building backlinks on Quora.
In that case, follow these six essential steps:
First things first: your Quora profile needs to look legit and, preferably, contain relevant-to-you keyphrases.
Start by adding basic details, such as:
The goal here is to position yourself as an industry expert.
You can also mention exactly who your target audience is to boost your chances of getting followers. This is important if for maximizing your visibility.
You can immediately add a backlink to your site directly to your bio.
Such a backlink is called a profile link. While it may not have the biggest impact on your SEO efforts, it definitely won’t hurt!
Just open the text editor tool, and click the hyperlink icon:
Here’s what a hyperlinked text looks like:
We already have one backlink down.
Now, let’s see how you can build more.
Next, find relevant questions you could answer.
By doing so, you’ll also find relevant link building opportunities.
Ideally, you would find questions that 1) are relevant to your experience and expertise, and 2) you can answer using existing content on your site.
To find relevant questions, start by simply entering relevant keyphrases in the search bar:
Additionally, you can join Quora Spaces that are relevant to you:
That way, you’ll be able to stay on top of relevant topics more easily.
You’ll also be able not just to find relevant questions but also publish posts:
You can also embed your links in these posts.
No matter if you’re answering a question or proactively writing a post, you need to ensure your content is high-quality.
That means you should:
The goal here is to establish credibility, be genuinely helpful, and avoid looking overly promotional.
You don’t want to make it seem as if you’re just writing answers to create backlinks or for other ‘selfish’ purposes.
As mentioned, this can get you banned from the platform.
When it comes to adding backlinks to your Quora answers or posts, stick to these best-practice guidelines:
Finally, don’t overdo it.
A good rule of thumb is to add one link per post.
Additionally, we recommend maintaining a healthy balance between posts with and without backlinks.
This will help you avoid raising red flags with moderators and users.
One alternative to adding contextually relevant backlinks to your answers is adding more general links—like a link to your homepage—to the bottom of your posts and answers:
The biggest advantage of this strategy is that you can just copy and paste pre-prepared sections and build backlinks more quickly.
However, in this case, you’re sacrificing quality for speed:
For best results, we’d personally combine the two strategies.
⚠️ Note, however, that this strategy can be seen as overly promotional and get you negative feedback on Quora.
Finally, in order to build a credible profile on Quora, you should also engage with the community.
Besides actively answering questions—and, preferably, posting some yourself—this involves responding to any comments you may get.
Even upvotes and downvotes can count as engagement.
However, if you want to build real relationships on Quora, or just gain additional credibility, we highly suggest following up in the comments.
Exploiting any platform solely for your gain is not welcomed by either users or the staff.
Platforms like Quora thrive on authentic, valuable contributions. Attempts to misuse them for self-promotion often backfire.
If you’re not careful, you may be flagged for spam, lose credibility, or even face a permanent ban.
So, here are the top five risks to consider and avoid when using Quora for backlinks:
When your answers prioritize self-promotion over value, they stand out—and not in a good way.
Quora was never meant to be a platform for link building, and users are quick to call out those who use it in that way.
This can lead to downvotes or negative comments.
Besides being potentially difficult to handle on a personal level, this can also damage your reputation on the platform and reduce the visibility of your content.
Quora has strict Platform policies against spam and overt self-promotion.
Things to keep off your list include:
So, for example, answers that prioritize backlinks over providing genuine solutions or insights can violate these rules.
Even if your answer isn’t flagged immediately, consistent violations may result in your content being moderated or removed.
If Quora’s moderation team deems your links unnecessary or promotional, they can remove them—even from otherwise helpful answers.
This wastes your effort and reduces the effectiveness of your strategy, as the value of your backlinks diminishes.
As mentioned, persistent misuse of Quora for backlinks can lead to account suspension or a permanent ban.
This not only cuts off your access to the platform but also tarnishes your ability to engage with a valuable audience in the future.
With all of this in mind, you should also consider that the ROI of building Quora backlinks may be low—especially if your links, posts, and answers eventually get taken down.
The biggest issue is that you have little to no control over your content.
Besides that, you should also take into account that:
So, the question is: are backlinks from Quora worth the investment? And will your link building efforts on the platform pay off?
Here’s our take on it.
In our opinion, building backlinks on Quora is worth it only if you’re combining it with more high-quality link building and SEO strategies.
Quora link building should never be your only link building tactic.
Unfortunately, Quora backlinks aren’t likely to move the SEO needle, at least not to the extent you probably need them. They don’t guarantee link building success, as they’re low-quality.
On top of that, they’re highly volatile. They can get taken down at any point, leaving you with a disrupted backlink profile. That’s why you should never rely solely on Quora to boost your off-page SEO.
Finally, it’s also important to consider how backlinks impact your presence on answer engines.
As mentioned, Quora doesn’t seem to be showing up a whole lot, while more authoritative sites do.
So, with that in mind, we highly suggest using Quora for backlinks together with another link building strategy.
For example, you can consider purchasing backlinks from reputable vendors.
You can order backlinks on high-authority sites directly from us. Check out our link packages.
To sum up, an effective link building strategy should also involve building backlinks on more high-authority sites.
If you’re interested in getting more needle-moving backlinks to your site, check out our available link packages or contact our link builders to iron out the details.
Our turnaround time is usually up to 10 days, and we can offer you access to the best sites that are usually out of reach for most site owners. Get in touch today!
Talk to our link building team to see how we can help.