My Free Advertising Model - Squidoo

Squidoo Optimization

Last time, we discussed the importance of Keyword Research, which is the basis for everything you do. No matter what you are creating, the same general SEO techniques apply. You want to find a low-competition keyword and make that the focus. Make sure the keyword density is high and evenly dispersed throughout the page. This goes for web pages, blog posts, articles, and Squidoo lenses.

Now, we are going to look more closely at what is needed to make a good Squidoo lens. Obviously, like with any URL, you want the URL of your lens to contain your keyword. If your main focus keyword is "how to train a dog", you want your Squidoo lens to end: /how-to-train-a-dog. This should be the main lens title and primary keyword for the lens. You also want this in the title and content of every module.

Lens Content

A good lens should have at least four different modules. A good approach to lens-making is to create an outline of the information you wish to provide. For every section of your outline, you can make a new text module. Consider you are making a lens to promote a dieting product (but don't actually do this. Squidoo frowns upon these types of lenses). Your outline may look like:

I. Flatten Your Stomach Without Surgery (lens title and introduction)

II. Why You Want to Flatten Your Stomach (text module explaining health concerns behind obesity)

III. Ways To Flatten Your Stomach (text module detailing treatment options)

IV. In Conclusion – Flatten Your Stomach (text module wrapping up and pitching your product as the best solution)

V. Learn More About How To Flatten Your Stomach (big link module to your product)

VI. More Resources About Flattening Your Stomach (featured lenses module, linking to your other lenses)

VII. Updates on Flattening Your Stomach (RSS module with your blog's feed)

VIII. (Guestbook module)

Another optional thing you may want to add in is a flash video module that talks about the product you wish to promote if applicable. Also, don't forget the power of quotes. If there is a really strong quote that you want to emphasize, throw it in a BlackBox or Talk Bubble module.

One thing you want to keep in mind is that you do not want content to be written in the form of a sales pitch. You want to just provide information to the reader. Give them facts and valuable information. If your lens has no value, it will be marked as a junk lens. You don't need to try to sell people with your lens. Instead, just work your link into every text module. Whether it be a separate line at the end of the module that tells them to click for more information or linking text within the content to the site, you want your link shown as much as possible. You also will obviously be using the big link module to throw in another link.

Another thing to make sure to do is using pictures. People like to see pictures, because they catch attention. Make sure to have pictures relevant to the lens. Funny and eye-catching work, but anything that gives you a breath of fresh air from the text is good. For an example of how a finished lens might like, check here.

Once again, do not forget your keywords. Try to make them appear once every 100 or so words. You will also want to use your tags to throw in more keywords. In addition to this, tags should include any tags used by popular lenses on the same subject. Just do a search and find out what other people are using. This will link your lens to that category and increase potential traffic.

Create multiple lenses on every subject. Remember in step one that I had you gather a list of keywords? Obviously your first lens will be centered on your primary keyword, but you should make another lens for every other one of your top 4 or 5 keywords. You will need to alter each one a bit so it's not a carbon copy of the other. Perhaps change the mood of your writing or angle of approach. This is also a good way to experiment with techniques. You can link all of these lenses together with featured lens modules.

This covers the basics of working with Squidoo. In my next article, I am going to discuss how to incorporate blogging into your marketing efforts. Many sites use blogs as a way to attract more attention to their websites. It is a popular method as there are many ways to get your blog noticed and read. I will not only discuss how to make articles for blogs, but more importantly how to get people to the blogs.