Yahoo Answers Worth The Trouble?

18 replies
Some people have reported being able to get quality traffic from Yahoo Answers and even conversions if used properly. But I find this to be complete and utter hogwash. You could spend months/years building up a reputation as an upstanding person, working your way up through the different levels, creating relationships with other members only to be wrongfully reported and have posts deleted and accounts suspended. So is all of that time an effort really worth it in the end when it can be taken away in the blink of an eye and at someone else's whim?
#answers #trouble #worth #yahoo
  • Profile picture of the author Saintsfan40
    You would be wasting your time using Yahoo Answers today. It's a great traffic source but the problem is you're dealing with idiots and competitors who sit on their butts all day constantly reporting you for spamming. Even if your answer is perfectly relevant to the question without looking like spam, you get flagged anyway.
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    • Profile picture of the author glennshep
      Originally Posted by Saintsfan40 View Post

      You would be wasting your time using Yahoo Answers today. It's a great traffic source but the problem is you're dealing with idiots and competitors who sit on their butts all day constantly reporting you for spamming. Even if your answer is perfectly relevant to the question without looking like spam, you get flagged anyway.
      I'm afraid this was my experience. Now, I know that this sort of thing can happen all the time across different sites, but the key factor for me is how you get treated by admin when you address the issue.

      My experience with Yahoo was they were not prepared to display any willingness to enter into any reasonable discussion in response to appeal, rather just sending out generic 'we're right and you're wrong' messages. Then of course, when your appeal fails you get even more points docked.

      It's clear that there are those who get good results from using Yahoo! Answers but until they improve their penalty system so that the serial flaggers stop ruining things for the legitimate users and also until they improve the way they deal with legitimate complaints, for me it's just too much hassle for too small a reward
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      • Profile picture of the author Saintsfan40
        Originally Posted by glennshep View Post

        I'm afraid this was my experience. Now, I know that this sort of thing can happen all the time across different sites, but the key factor for me is how you get treated by admin when you address the issue.

        My experience with Yahoo was they were not prepared to display any willingness to enter into any reasonable discussion in response to appeal, rather just sending out generic 'we're right and you're wrong' messages. Then of course, when your appeal fails you get even more points docked.

        It's clear that there are those who get good results from using Yahoo! Answers but until they improve their penalty system so that the serial flaggers stop ruining things for the legitimate users and also until they improve the way they deal with legitimate complaints, for me it's just too much hassle for too small a reward
        Totally agree with you. What literally galls me is when you see a ton of spammy answers with hardly any relevance to the question, those answers stick. Yet when you post 100% relevant answers where you're helping with legit info, you get flagged and reported. And you can forget pleading your case with admin. They don't bother reviewing or vacating the the false report.

        Like I said, it's the small minded idiots who ruin it.
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        • Profile picture of the author RKeele
          I would honestly say that it depends on your niche. I know a few IM's that get great traffic from Yahoo Answers, however I am not one of those people. If you are in a very competitive niche, then I would say forget it, it is a waste of your time. That was my personal experience.

          I am in very competitive niches and the majority of the time my answers would get flagged and removed by competitors. It is very frustrating to put so much time in and really answer peoples questions honestly to help them and then get flagged, removed and penalized for trying to help someone. I even tried answering questions and not putting in any links in the resource box and it didn't matter my answers still got flagged.

          Yahoo's appeals process is pathetic. They really don't review your appeal, they just say sorry and they are upholding the removal of your answer, and further penalize you. After a while of this I realized this is a complete waste of my time, so I don't use it.

          Bottom line if you are not in a competitive niche, I would say give it a try and see if it works for you. If you are then stay away it will be a complete waste of your time.

          Good Luck.
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        • Profile picture of the author mervp
          Originally Posted by Saintsfan40 View Post

          Totally agree with you. What literally galls me is when you see a ton of spammy answers with hardly any relevance to the question, those answers stick. Yet when you post 100% relevant answers where you're helping with legit info, you get flagged and reported. And you can forget pleading your case with admin. They don't bother reviewing or vacating the the false report.

          Like I said, it's the small minded idiots who ruin it.
          Definitely do not spam, but also do not think your account is sacred and cannot get hit with an unjust ban. Working across different sites, and policies, and personalities on the net is bound to put you in that situation at times. This kind of thing is a practical reason why some here are friendly towards employing a touch of "black hat" tactics as a way of "slapping back" when a certain mega site is a bit too rigid or lagging to be reasonable.

          Such an approach, in this case, would entail you creating (or even buying from others) several level 2/3 YA accounts, and using them prudently to answer questions with your link as responsibly as you can. Time your addition of your answers to close to the end of the timeframe where new answers are accepted, for example. This should cut down on the number of people who might want to flag your answer. If they do, your link is likely to stay up even if one YA account you had is gone.

          So, expect to sacrifice a few pawns, if it wins you the chess game. This is not the perfect solution, but it is helpful in not wasting much time or concern over a lost YA account or two. Unjust punishment is just one of the labor costs of doing business on the web, so think of multiple accounts as a pre-emptive measure of insulation protecting your operation.
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  • Profile picture of the author gabibeowulf
    How do you find it "utter hogwash" if you never tried it?

    And really it doesn't work like that. Your account is not suspended "on a whim". If you stay within guidelines, you have nothing to worry about. If you have been wrongfully reported, you can always appeal to the Yahoo stuff. They're pretty active in that department...

    If it were that easy to have people suspended, there will be no one with a level higher than 2 or 3.

    It may not be your cup of tea, but it doesn't mean it doesn't work.

    -Gabriel
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    • Profile picture of the author Jon Tees
      Originally Posted by gabibeowulf View Post

      How do you find it "utter hogwash" if you never tried it?

      And really it doesn't work like that. Your account is not suspended "on a whim". If you stay within guidelines, you have nothing to worry about. If you have been wrongfully reported, you can always appeal to the Yahoo stuff. They're pretty active in that department...

      If it were that easy to have people suspended, there will be no one with a level higher than 2 or 3.

      It may not be your cup of tea, but it doesn't mean it doesn't work.

      -Gabriel

      I did try it for over a two year period I was a level 3 top contributor in several categories with a high percentage of best answers (I think around 70%) and then bang all of a sudden I logged in one day to find that without warning my account had been suspended supposedly for some guideline violation. I tried to appeal and was completely ignored, the statute of time to appeal passed and the account ended up being indefinitely suspended because of Yahoo’s inaction to listen to my appeal. I started another account from scratch and never really knowing what I had supposedly done wrong to warrant the suspension of my last account was particularly anal about staying within the guidelines to avoid a suspension occurring again. Even so I always felt as though I was on borrowed time. I did manage to again work my way up to level 3 (nearly level four) I was once more a top contributor and had a very high best answer percentage. And once more one day out of the blue my account was suspended without warning. This time it was even more baffling as none of my posts under this account had ever been reported. It really just seemed as though someone was hell bent on getting me banned. Not only that but keeping me banned as ever since the second account was suspended and again my appeal was ignored I have been unable to start another account without that account also being banned. The second I post anything under whatever new account I try and set up I receive the dreaded “your account has been suspended notice.” So apparently it is fairly easy to get someone you don’t like banned and keep them banned if you have nothing better to do with your time. I’m now convinced that either someone working for yahoo answers and/or another member has it in for me to a huge extent and really wants me gone from that site.

      I also really don’t care for how vague they are when they ban you. They say it’s because of a “guidelines or terms of service violation.” But never go any further. Imagine this sort of vagueness being applied in real world situations, for example getting fired because you “broke a rule.” Or getting arrested because you were in "violation" of the law But with no further elaboration being given as to exactly what rule you broke or what law you were in violation of. Wouldn’t go over so well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Jon Tees View Post

    Some people have reported being able to get quality traffic from Yahoo Answers and even conversions if used properly.
    Indeed ... I've been doing quite well from it, over the years, in a variety of different niches, Jon. (As have some others here).

    Originally Posted by Jon Tees View Post

    You could spend months/years building up a reputation as an upstanding person, working your way up through the different levels, creating relationships with other members only to be wrongfully reported and have posts deleted and accounts suspended.
    Yes, you could.

    There's quite a bit of luck in it, as well as everything else, but it obviously varies quite a bit from niche to niche. In the niches in which marketers are competitive and many of them are trying to use Yahoo Answers, it's probably far easier to get your posts flagged, and to get into trouble.

    Originally Posted by Jon Tees View Post

    So is all of that time an effort really worth it in the end when it can be taken away in the blink of an eye and at someone else's whim?
    I've found it worthwhile, myself. The quality of traffic has been surprisingly high, I must say.

    There are many threads here containing discussions of this subject, of course. It certainly seems to me that the overwhelming majority of those with "unlucky" experiences have been far more overtly promotional and less patient about it than I have, myself. But I accept that there's always some real "luck" in it, as well. It's like so many other things in IM: many people think "it doesn't work" while some do actually do well from it. To how many other IM subjects could we apply that observation?!

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post8021912

    Can Money Still Be Made With Yahoo Answers

    Any experience traffic success with Yahoo Answers?

    Originally Posted by Saintsfan40 View Post

    you're dealing with idiots and competitors who sit on their butts all day constantly reporting you for spamming.
    I must say this hasn't been my experience at all; but that's doubtless about our respective niches, as much as anything else.
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  • Profile picture of the author rmolina88
    I got a pretty high level in Yahoo Answers a couple of years back, but didn't really make much from it. Some people still find it useful, but I honestly think it's much more work than it's worth.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    It's likely people doing well with Yahoo answers would be there answering questions even if they didn't get traffic from it. I think many of them are coming from a sincere interest in a topic and the real desire to help others. The traffic is secondary.

    Another thing is the niche or market you're targeting. If you're in a highly competitive, cutthroat sort of environment it's likely you're going to have people reporting you just because they can. The same thing happens to them in return. Ugh. Who needs that crap.
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    Yahoo answers used to be a very good free traffic generating method for me in the past, especially because these links don't disappear like most links that are not fresh, and I kept getting traffic from old answers.

    However, I felt that I was spending too much time giving my precious answers for free just to get some traffic, while the traffic my websites were getting thanks to these answers was not enough, and while other people pay me for my guidance. I didn't feel that this was a good marketing technique for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author datingworld
    Stay within the guidelines and don't spam.
    Contribute to the community as well as putting your links there.
    I have been using it from last 2 and a half years and never had any problem with it. Some of my answers are now ranked in Google for very competitive keywords and I am getting good traffic from them, so Yahoo Answers are not waste of time, it is worth of time if done correctly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Yahoo Answers is definitely worth the trouble. It's much like forum marketing, except that you can promote your "sig" or link at the end of your posts. But become an expert on your topic, and you will find that people will actively search your YA profile to learn more about you... and your services (if you have any).
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    • Profile picture of the author Brandon19811
      I found it to be worth the trouble. It is simply a way of helping people. You get targeted traffic from a high pr site by helping others. Answers has ranked pretty well on search engines for quite some time. I have had no problems with being reported for spam. If you do not spam, what is there to worry about? Someone reporting your post as spam does not mean that it is. Provide people with helpful answers, and quote your source. Follow Yahoo guidelines and they have no reason to mess with your account. You are the one that makes their community worthwhile. Don't get caught up in "what if" questions.
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      • Profile picture of the author swords
        Back in my 'blackhat' days I created a bot to auto-post my Amazon affiliate link to products being asked about in the Question -- worked surprisingly well haha. Accounts got banned, but just churned them right back out.
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  • Profile picture of the author CyberAlien
    I've never really used Yahoo Answers for driving quick traffic to a website. However, if you can get your website link to in enough answer, it'll start driving stable traffic to your website for years.
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    • Profile picture of the author Andrew Servis
      I found yahoo answers quite a good place to get traffic from but you have to keep giving quality content and building your reputation. you'll get a spike of traffic from some posts for a day or two and then it will settle down to a trickle. If you build enough up all the trickles will add up to a steady log-term stream.

      Obviously people are looking for answers to specific problems so you supply them with it and a link to more help and information.

      Andrew
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  • Profile picture of the author Jon Tees
    The only way to completely avoid trouble on Yahoo Answers is to create an account and never post or respond to anything. But this sort of defeats the point of even being there, any other way trouble has a funny way of finding you whether you invite it or not.
    Yahoo answers’ policy is your guilty until proven innocent and you can be accused of anything by anyone and they’ll simply take that person’s word against you.

    Everyone gets suspended for “terms of service and policy violations” but few if any of them are told exactly what they did to warrant this. If they ask they are simply told that they “violated the terms of service and policy guidelines.” Nothing more. It's really another way of saying "you're a worthless nobody we're a big multi national, multi million/billion dollar corporation we don't owe you an explanation but thank you for helping us become rich and successful."
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