How to use Zhihu ranking to accurately attract traffic and realize monetization from 0 to 1?

Before talking about the ranking principles of Zhihu, let me first say that regarding Zhihu ranking, we mainly divide it into Zhihu ranking and Zhihu external ranking, this must be made clear.

On-site refers to the ranking of users’ search for keywords or a question in Zhihu. Off-site refers to the ranking of your Zhihu content when keywords are searched through Baidu, Sogou, WeChat, etc.

1. Analysis of Zhihu ranking principle

1. Explanation of Zhihu ranking

Before talking about the ranking principles of Zhihu, let me first say that regarding Zhihu ranking, we mainly divide it into Zhihu ranking and Zhihu external ranking, this must be made clear.

On-site refers to the ranking of users’ search for keywords or a question in Zhihu. Off-site refers to the ranking of your Zhihu content when keywords are searched through Baidu, Sogou, WeChat, etc.

2. Zhihu’s internal ranking principle

2.1. Zhihu site search ranking

For example, if a user enters Baidu hot topics in the Zhihu search box, the comprehensive ranking will be as shown in the figure. So, what are the on-site search ranking factors? As you can see from the red area I circled, there are keyword related matches.

In addition to this most basic factor, this is also the keyword mentioned in SEO. Another thing is that the comprehensive search on Zhihu shows that the answers to questions and answers are ranked higher than the article rankings. For example, my article is better than the first one in terms of likes and comments.

Of course there is another factor. Zhihu considers the time factor. The first one appears earlier than my article, which refers to the time when the question was raised. This is exactly the opposite of searching for articles on WeChat. Similarly, the newer the article (the more recent the time), the higher the ranking. There are also WeChat article ranking factors at the end of the article.

2.2. Ranking of answers on Zhihu

I believe many people who work on Zhihu must know about the ranking within Zhihu. I won’t keep you in suspense here. In addition to the user data, likes, and comments we see, the two most important ones are the likes given to you by high-authority Zhihu accounts, and the number of collections of your answer!

What is a high-authority account? A newbie may ask. Simply put, it is a Zhihu account that has many followers (real fans), and many answers, especially in professional fields, and has the excellent answer mark, or has passed professional certification.

3. Zhihu’s off-site ranking principle (Baidu, Sogou, WeChat, etc.)

In fact, let me tell you the core point, which is that the search engine itself gives a high enough weight to the Zhihu platform! The following are Sogou and WeChat.

Why do third-party search platforms such as Baidu, Sogou, and WeChat give Zhihu a good ranking? Because Zhihu itself is a high-quality content platform. For them, providing users with enough professional content actually provides a better experience for them.

Did you know that Zhihu has received strategic investment from Baidu? Zhihu is also a strategic partner of Sogou Search, right? There is no need to explain the depth of the cooperation between Sogou and WeChat. So, you should understand what I mean.

Of course, in addition to its own weight, if you want to get a good ranking in Baidu, Sogou, and WeChat searches, it is also closely related to the value of your title containing keywords and the content! As shown below:

You may be thinking: Bai Yang, the search volume for your hotly debated word on Baidu is small. If you enter the keyword: mobile phone or side job, can you still rank up there?

To explain, when using Baidu ranking, it mainly refers to precise long-tail keywords. The big words you mentioned are another aspect of the design, that is, the SEO included in the name of this public account, which is mainly based on the website weight for ranking.

The technology, energy and time required are not something a novice can do, but with Zhihu, a novice can actually do it. Please continue reading.

2. Specific steps for Zhihu ranking

As shown in the picture, the steps for Zhihu ranking are: positioning - registering and maintaining an account (many people don’t have the concept of maintaining an account) - keyword mining - collecting writing materials - creating content - optimizing rankings, which are these 6 steps.

What, why is there no step of attracting traffic and monetization? If you can get your ranking up, your precise traffic or monetization of Zhihu products will come naturally, hehe.

3. Account registration and positioning (important)

1. Positioning

Whether you are creating a public account, a website, or opening a Tmall store, we will have the first step, which is positioning. The same is true for Zhihu ranking.

I won’t go into the encyclopedia with you about what positioning is. There is also a book called "Positioning", you can buy it and read it yourself. I am just talking about my own understanding here and sharing it with you. The so-called positioning means that others will know what you do as soon as they see your name and introduction!

For example, I discovered through internal information of XXX or data from a large number of keywords that there is a high demand for XXX, so I have found this type of user. Next, for this type of user, I position myself as an expert in this field, or a senior XXX in a certain vertical category.

Take myself as an example. I have been working in SEO for ten years. The most common questions asked by new SEO practitioners are what is SEO, how to get included in SEO, how to get ranked, etc. So, I position myself as an SEO marketing practitioner and share the basic knowledge of SEO.

When you don’t know how to position yourself, it’s very simple. First, search how the big guys in the industry you want to work in introduce themselves. You can even see how they attract traffic. I believe you can read and write, so just find a few more and discover their commonalities~

Unless you are like me and want to create a personal IP, if not, you can name it whatever you want, hahaha~

2. Account registration and account maintenance

When you have decided on your own positioning, then register an account. I won’t go into details about registering an account, all you need is a hand and a mobile phone number.

As for choosing a nickname for your Zhihu account, it is mentioned in the positioning section above. If you want to show your professionalism, why not write something more professional, like Baiyang+SEO, nickname+business like me. For example, if you are making drone recommendations, you can name it: XXX drone.

Regarding account maintenance, this is very important. Many newcomers come to ask me, Bai Yang, why was my Zhihu account blocked after I posted just a few articles? I asked him what he had posted, and he said I hadn’t posted anything, so he recommended my business and left his contact information.

I replied, if you opened your own store and someone came to your store without asking to recommend his XXX bread, would you chase him away? But if this person spends money at your place first, or even helps you tell other people that this place is great, and then he asks if he can sell his bread to you, would you consider agreeing?

The principle is the same. To maintain an account is to first share some things targeting your own niche in Zhihu. It doesn’t matter much even if they are not useful stuff. But don’t copy nonsense from everywhere, or copy incomplete stuff and create garbage. You will be unwelcome wherever you go!

“If you want to take it, you must give it first!” The philosophy passed down by our ancestor Lao Tzu for thousands of years makes sense, hahaha! ——Chapter 36 of Laozi’s Tao Te Ching

4. User demand keyword mining

How do I find the keywords that meet the user needs in the industry I want to serve? In fact, Baiyang SEO has written no less than three articles on the official account. Of course, if this is your first time seeing this, I’ll tell you more.

1. Start with the platform itself

For example, if I want to search for TIKTOK user demand words on Zhihu, it’s very simple. Just type TIKTOK in Zhihu and a drop-down prompt will appear.

For example, I can find the word user demand in Baidu and Baidu Knows, as shown in the figure:

2. Explore from tools

There are many tools, such as the Aizhan tool that I have recommended many times before, and this keyword tool in cooperation with 5118. You need to be an SVIP member to download a lot of data, which seems to be more than 600 per year, as shown in the picture.

We all say that the key to attracting traffic to Zhihu Q&A is how to find good questions, and this tool has helped me a lot. For example, the SEO auxiliary tool mentioned above that answered the fourth question was found here. Without further ado, let’s give an example.

For example, if I want to attract users who are interested in how to increase followers and rank public accounts, then the search is as follows:

Here I will only focus on the total number of readings, the number of people who answered, and the most important number of new readers in the 10 days. By dividing the total number of readings by the number of people who answered, I will know the average traffic of this answer. If the average traffic is less than 100, what’s the point of being number one?

The new addition on the 10th is even more important. I know which questions still have search traffic. Otherwise, the total search volume seems high, but now there are basically no new ones. How useful will it be to you?

Of course, if your company has opened Baidu bidding, the keyword planner tool in the background of Baidu bidding can also be explored.

3. Use Baidu Index and WeChat Index to verify

Generally, to determine whether a word really has traffic, I will use Baidu Index or even WeChat Index to verify it. Because what I want to do is to accurately attract traffic. If this word has no traffic, there is no point in me putting it up, right?

5. How to produce high-quality content? (core)

Finally, we have arrived at the core part of this article! Many people have no problem completing the first few items, but the biggest problem is that they don’t know how to create high-quality content?

Before telling you how to make it, let me explain this high quality to you. For users, it is not your original work that is of high quality, but the content is of high quality if it is helpful to them!

So, do you understand? In Zhihu, whether you are answering or writing an article, you must understand this core!

How to make it, divided into three steps:

Step 1: Fully understand the user's pain points, and then find the keywords of the user's pain points. For example, when it comes to Zhihu’s good products, many users’ pain point is that they don’t know how to write recommendations for good products, or what the materials for Zhihu’s good products are. Did the key words come out?

Step 2: If you have practical experience, then write an article about practical experience. For example, I wrote before about how to rank a public account because I did it myself.

If you don’t have practical experience like me, but also want to get their attention or attract them, you can list the pain points and then compile a comprehensive article. It must be very detailed, with pictures, texts, and even videos, and the ability to search for materials online. If you say you don’t have this ability, then no one can help you!

Step 3: You can write down the material you found in your own words. You can think of it as rewriting, or you can use it as it is or quote it, and then just let it flow naturally.

6. Notes on Passive Drainage

Feel like you haven’t seen enough of the above? Don’t be impatient, there will be practical examples later. Let me first talk about the precautions.

1. Note 1: When answering questions on Zhihu to attract traffic, do not leave your WeChat ID, or public account WeChat ID, QQ, etc. This direct method can be easily detected. Even if it cannot be detected, you will be blocked for a few days if you are reported by your peers.

Why would your peers report you? Because reporting him can improve your appearance, increase the weight of your account, and it is also possible to eliminate a competitor.

If you want to put it, you can put it in your article, preferably in the form of a public account name. Anyway, I have experienced losses before.

2. Note 2: When answering on Zhihu, be sure to choose a good question! A good question is half of your success!

3. Note three: When writing on Zhihu, whether it is an answer or an article, the content must be rich, rich, rich, and also logical!

What does rich mean? For example, in this article I talked about Zhihu rankings, did I explain it in great detail? Speaking of logic, I majored in Chinese, and my logic is actually not that good. Now you know why I have to write an outline when I write. In fact, when I was studying, I hated writing outlines the most when writing essays, because I had no idea what to write at that time!

4. Note 4: If someone sends you a private message, asks you a question on Zhihu, or pays you to do so, you must respond promptly. Otherwise, potential users will be lost. Answer: We should be humble as there are always people better than us on Zhihu.

7. Examples of practical cases

As the old saying goes, all talk and no practice is just empty talk. I don't like people who talk nonsense. Let me give you three examples. One is the precise drainage that I operated. The other two were made by my apprentice Apo. I hope he won’t beat me up if I write them out. Fortunately, he is now doing bidding advertising.

I won’t talk about Baidu’s hot discussions. Currently, it ranks at the top whether it is searched on Baidu or Zhihu. Now every day someone adds me and asks me how to do hot discussions. Of course, I also cooperate with friends.

Case 1: Let me tell you another example. 2021 wealth calendar with tips on how to make money.

More than a month ago, Yiren, the boss of Shengcaiyoushu, posted something about the 2021 calendar on his planet Shengcaiyoushu, and then set up a large group, calendar partners.

As for me, I think the 2020 calendar of making money is okay, and the 2021 calendar should be pretty good. Will anyone search for the calendar of making money in the future? So I wrote an article on the official account:

What does the 2021 wealth calendar look like? What are the highlights? How much is the booking?

Then, I knew Zhihu’s ranking on Baidu, so I synchronized the content to Zhihu and did some basic keyword layout optimization, and then the ranking came out within a few days. Even now, if you search, you may find it, but it’s not like the search and display I have here. As shown in the figure:

The ranking within the site may be slightly worse. A friend shared my public account article in a wealth exchange group, and those who know about it followed the instructions and did it, right? Those who understand will understand how to attract traffic, as shown in the picture:

I won’t go into detail about the other two cases. If you’re interested, go ahead and search for them yourself. If you can’t even do a simple search, then I can’t help you.

Case 2: Abo’s diabetes food and mattress Zhihu Good Product Project

A friend of mine talked to me about diabetic foods before. He works on Tmall. At that time, Zhihu Good Things had just come out, and I told Apo that he could go and pay attention to it and study it. After studying this, this young man no longer eats high-sugar foods.

Later he wrote an article about a complete knowledge about diabetes. Of course, 90% of the information was searched and compiled by him. After all, he was a layman like me before he wrote it. His search ability is better than mine, and he added links to good things in the article.

Then search for answers to questions related to diabetes and be directed to that article. Although he didn't realize much cash, after all, there are people earning millions or tens of millions a month everywhere, but he still gained confidence by finding good things on Zhihu. Now he is still making money without doing anything. It's still income, even if it's not much, hahaha.

For example, the mattress at the back was discovered by Pinha himself. He never gave a single answer on Zhihu. Once, he said to me, Master, someone bought two beds, costing tens of thousands of dollars. He said that someone bought it even though I didn't give any answer.

I went to read his article and it was 14,000+ words. Basically, if you want to buy a mattress, just read that article. This is the power of searching and organizing!

You may also ask, your case is not specific enough, how did he know about the mattress project, how did he collect the content, where is his content, how much money has he made now, etc.

What I want to say is, first, I am not doing Zhihu good product training now, and second, even if I tell you, you may not be able to do it if you enter now. As for how to discover, what is business, buy low and sell high, information asymmetry. He knows about mattresses, but you don't know how to find products with high average order value. If you make good products, would you choose commissions or products that earn a few dollars?

He doesn't earn much, but if he just makes a few thousand dollars a month from his side job and writes hard, he has no problem doing that. But I, your stupid apprentice, became more interested in short videos later on. After a month of exploring Kuaishou, of course there was also another communication group. It took me seven days to create a Kuaishou account with more than 100,000 followers, with a maximum number of views of more than 2 million. This is another story, no, a case.

Why do I know? Because he lived with me before. It’s just that in this case I have always encouraged him to share, or to make money through sharing. I think Dragon Ball is possible, but let’s wait for him.

In fact, we are very low-key in our research on traffic gameplay. Only when you have done these things will you know the pitfalls, and as you see, many people will not tell you where the pitfalls are.

Author: Bai Yang

Source: Baiyangseo