My Thoughts on Qassia

Posted by Rochelle in Niche Store Tools, Site Building Strategies, Site Promotion Strategies on 03 26th, 2008 | 12 responses

If you haven’t already heard about Qassia it is only a matter of time before you do. Of course, you just did now, right? But what is Qassia and how can you use it to help promote your niche stores?

Qassia is a web site that that encourages you to add your websites and articles (known as intel). They are offering you a legitimate way to toot your own horn and get backlinks in the process. You don’t need to find a sneaky way to get backlinks with Qassia because they are giving them to you. And it’s all free.

Here are the benefits of joining Qassia:

• You can list your websites without anything in return. In other words, Qassia will let you list as many websites as you want without asking you to link back to them.
• You can list as many articles as you’d like, and the more you add the more credit you get (more about that later). This is an excellent way to deal with the PLR articles you may have collecting dust on your computer’s hard drive.
• You can add your AdSense account information and earn 100% of revenues generated from your intel.
• It’s easy and free to join.

Join Qassia

Here’s how it works: As of this writing Qassia is in beta testing. I mention that because they will not allow you to sign up during beta testing unless you are referred by a current Qassia member. So, you need to find an invitation to join from a current member.

Of course, I am a current member, and I will now offer you an invitation to join. Click my Qassia link and you will be able to sign up. When you arrive at Qassia click on the ‘Sign Up’ button (and, no, it’s not a porn site which is what my husband asked when he saw this image -- I don’t know the significance of the bare belly):

Complete the sign up process. Be aware that you are allowed just one Qassia account. If they find you have more than one they will close all your accounts.

After you done you can start adding websites or intel, but I suggest you add your Google AdSense account information first. Finding where to do this was tricky (at least for me) so I’ll walk you through it.

First, make sure you are logged in. You need to be at your dashboard so click on the ‘Dashboard‘ link. There are two places where you will find this link and it doesn’t matter which one you click:

Scroll down to the ‘Settings‘ links and click on the Google AdSense link. I’ve already done this so my link reads, "edit google adsense account number." I don’t know if this is what the link says before you enter any information but it will be similar, if not the same, as my link:

You are now set up to earn revenue on any intel you submit to Qassia. Don’t forget to add a new channel to your AdSense account so you know when you get clicks from Qassia.

Now you are ready to add your sites or intel.

My suggestion at this point is to focus on adding intel. The reason I say this is because Qassia allows you one quality backlink (one that will encourage search engine spiders to follow the link to your niche store) for every intel you add. It doesn’t matter if you have added this web site to your Qassia account or not. Since the purpose of this is to get backlinks and help get your site indexed you’ll want to focus on this first.

How does intel work?

The way Qassia has their intel set up is you create an article and submit it for review. Then at least 12 other members will read it and rate it. After 12 people have done this you will earn credits based on the length and rating of the article. More about credits in a moment.

After your intel is reviewed and rated it can be viewed by the public. This is pretty much like any other article submission site. Your intel will be indexed by search engines and show up in search engine results. You may get people to your site this way, assuming you remembered to add a link to your site. But more importantly, spiders will now find it and follow your link back to your site and help get it indexed.

You can also include links within your article so if you want to include some deep links you can do that. I’ll write another post on how to create intel that will go more in-depth on how to do this.

What are Qassia credits and why do I want them?

Credits are credits that you earn for different actions on Qassia. They have no monetary value but they do help the websites you add to your Qassia account rank higher.

Qassia offers several ways for members to earn credits. You can earn credits by doing any of the following:

• Refer people to Qassia
• Screen (read and rate) new intel from other members
• Add your own intel

The only purpose of Qassia credits is to help your added websites rank higher within Qassia. They have no other purpose. Your websites will show on their site after they get out of beta.

At some point Qassia will add ways for you to spend your credits but there is nothing to do right now but collect them.

How well does Qassia help my sites get indexed?

Unfortunately Qassia is so new that I have no idea. But if they do what they say then this could be a very valuable tool for niche stores.

So now you know the basics of Qassia. I recommend you join and start listing your own intel.

One last word. The first 12 hours after you join Qassia you will be given a $400 credit (Qassia credits, not actual money) bonus for every referral you generate. This is an excellent time to increase your Qassia bank account.

Rochelle

Similar niche store strategies:

1. Will you join Qassia for me?
2. How to use StumbleUpon Exchange to promote your sites
3. How to use Kaboodle to promote BANS sites