Search Engine Optimization for Squidoo
So, you think you have your lens setup correctly and are going to have huge success?
Well, remember your lens will be useless if nobody can find it. While some people
use Squidoo's internal search engine, most use major search engines such as Google,
Yahoo, and MSN. With that said, it is of the utmost importance that you do a little
Search Engine Optimization or SEO on your lens. Below is a list of checks and balances
that you should have or will need to apply to your lens.
Getting Traffic to a Squidoo Lens 101
Profile:
• It is very important that you have your profile up to date, with a photo of some sort. Mine is my company's logo, because it is the company that is writing the lens, not per say an individual, even though I written all of them up to the time of this article.
Creativity:
• Keep your lens creative. The titles of the lens is what the search engines are
going to see first. Be sure to keep the name of your lens relative to the content.
Don't name your lens for example: T-
Tags:
• Don't forget, before you publish your lens, to add Tags. Tags are on the upper right column of the lens. When adding tags, it is best to try to use some of the phrases that are already in your lens and ad some that may not be. For example: If my content talks about installing memory, then a tag that will be useful is "installing memory," however another useful tag that may not be in my content is "installing Kensington memory." Calling out specific brands may help. Please do not spam your tags. This means don't repeat words more than 8 times (max.) Search engines will see this and will look the other way.
Content:
• Same as creativity, keep it tight and relative to the title. Stay on topic, if you find yourself running off onto another topic, create a lens on that run off. The more specific the topic, and the tighter the niche, the better Search Engines will love your content. Be very original. It is okay to use other's ideas, but don't take their words (copy), this is very bad. Not only will this result in being banned from search, it could land a lawsuit on you, if you make the wrong person mad. If you quote somebody's words, give them recognition with a link back to there site and/or the copyright symbol.
• Content is King, Don't forget it. If what you write isn't worth reading, then it is also likely the search engines will not digest it either. Keep it clean, free of spelling errors, and sway from being spammy! Also, keep it fresh. If you find new information on the content you are writing, then add it or revise what you have. Keep your lens fresh as possible. Some lens can be timeless, and need very little updating, while other lens may seemingly be alive and need constant updates to stay fresh.
• Pictures help, but don't do much for search engines, unless they have nice alternative tags. Be descriptively, brief when you insert your image and typing in the alternative tag information. Also, when inserting graphics, be sure they are not choppy and hard to see. If you are trying to show a nice picture, then use the Polaroid module. Bad images are a turn off. Also, be sure to use royalty free, purchased, or your own images. Using another's images without permission or it being royalty free, is as bad as copying their content. Don't do it!
Allow for Feedback and Viewer Interactivity:
• This simply means, keep your guest book at the bottom of the lens. Insert a poll where appropriate or comment box if desired. People like it when there is a place to post a comment or feel apart of the content. It will also help in keeping them come back.
Participate in Forums:
• Whether it be at Squidoo or elsewhere, participating in forums is a great way to drive some traffic and get links back to your lens. Many forums allow signatures with a URL. Take advantage of this where you can, but again, never spam and only answer or ask questions that are relative. A great place to ask or answer questions is Yahoo Answers.
Other Ways to Get Traffic:
• Find websites that you can request links from.
• Talk about your lens on social sites (like Myspace.com)
• Add you lens to places like Lensroll.com, Stumbleupon.com, and Digg.com
• Get it reviewed at Linkreferral.com
Last but not least, stay educated and continue to research to improve your lens. It will pay off in the end, be patient, and endure, when you can not think of any new ideas to write about, just polish up on what you already have
