How do I...? Can I...? Where...?
We often get interesting questions about creating lenses that may not have obvious answers. If you're stuck on the process for making lenses, check here from some great tips and answers to questions other lensmasters have asked.
If you were directed here by Tisha, our awesome bug sorter outer, and you still weren't able to find an answer, reply to Tisha's email, and she'll take a further look.
Why does the Explore module link to unrelated topics?
When left to its own devices (ie, you don't put in your own links), the Explore module (which can be edited in the third tab of the Intro module) pulls keywords that you use on your lens and displays other lenses with similar keywords.
So if you are talking about Caesar salads and you get Explore lenses related to Julius Caesar, or Caesar dog food, or Cesar Milan, that's why.
To get around this, you can alter your keywords, enter your own links of choice, or just turn it off. If you have other lenses related to the lens in question, this is a great opportunity to add a link.
So if you are talking about Caesar salads and you get Explore lenses related to Julius Caesar, or Caesar dog food, or Cesar Milan, that's why.
To get around this, you can alter your keywords, enter your own links of choice, or just turn it off. If you have other lenses related to the lens in question, this is a great opportunity to add a link.
Why is my lens marked as spam? (And why do I have to wait three days?)
The internet has become an attractive place for spammers, and Squidoo wants no part of it. Part of the way we inhibit spam is by looking for keywords on lenses that are related to spam. These keywords (nope, we don't publish a list, sorry) could be part of normal text on a non-spam lens, so if you're confused as to why you're getting a spam alert message, or have to wait three days for a review, this could be why.
If your lens isn't spam, or doesn't break one of the rules found at a link below, never fear. Your link will be reviewed, pass our filter, and go on its merry way. If you see something that raises a flag, feel free to fix it up.
(We're working on a way to make sure that do-gooders don't continually get caught in our filter, so thanks for your patience while we work on that.)
Here are more places to find info on our anti-spam efforts:
If your lens isn't spam, or doesn't break one of the rules found at a link below, never fear. Your link will be reviewed, pass our filter, and go on its merry way. If you see something that raises a flag, feel free to fix it up.
(We're working on a way to make sure that do-gooders don't continually get caught in our filter, so thanks for your patience while we work on that.)
Here are more places to find info on our anti-spam efforts:
- Terms of Service
- Our Terms of Service offer some clues about what we don't allow.
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Our FAQ includes some details about spam topics and no-nos.
- Squid Don't
- Here is a list of things we don't allow lenses on.
- Squid Gone
- Did you get a note that your lenses and/or account were being deleted? Read here to find out why.
Why can't I make more lenses?
For non-Giant Squids, there is currently a limit on the number of lenses you can make in one day. In a 24-hour period, you can make up to 10 new lenses. PLUS, you can only have up to 25 unfeatured lenses on your dashboard. So if you have a long list of lenses in WIP, try finishing and publishing them first.
Why are there ads on my lens?
Currently, advertising shows up on your lens based on tags (keywords) you use. You can try to change which AdSense ads show up by altering these keywords. For AdSense ads, if you find that an ad is R or X-rated and inappropriate for viewers, we can look into making sure it is filtered out. However we don't moderate competitors ads. Sorry.
You CAN opt out of ads by donating all the revenue from your lens to a charity. If you do that, no sidebar banner ads will show up on your lens. To do this, go to the edit page of your lens, set your commissions to go to the charity of your choice, and click "opt out" under the checkbox for "maxed."
If you're referring to links to another lens in the More Great Lenses section, you can lensroll other lenses of your choice to make the ones currently there go away.
You CAN opt out of ads by donating all the revenue from your lens to a charity. If you do that, no sidebar banner ads will show up on your lens. To do this, go to the edit page of your lens, set your commissions to go to the charity of your choice, and click "opt out" under the checkbox for "maxed."
If you're referring to links to another lens in the More Great Lenses section, you can lensroll other lenses of your choice to make the ones currently there go away.
Why doesn't Squidoo support my category?
Squidoo creates lists of general categories to help sort lenses out from ALL down to more specific lists. However, we know no category list will ever be complete, and someone out there will always create a lens they don't think fits into our categories.
Placing your lens into a category need not be an exact science, so if your lens is an informative lens on selling slow cookers, food or business would be appropriate. For more help, ask your peers at SquidU forum.
Placing your lens into a category need not be an exact science, so if your lens is an informative lens on selling slow cookers, food or business would be appropriate. For more help, ask your peers at SquidU forum.
Why can't I find my lens in Squidoo's search?
Squidoo puts lenses into its search engine based on their tags. If you have the keywords "sun," "moon," and "stars," as your tags, your lens will come up when you search for those keywords. But it won't come up for "bearclaw" unless it's a tag.
Also, lenses don't automatically come up in search once they've been published. Like other search engines, it takes a few days or weeks for them to get in the system. You should be able to search for them soon.
Also, lenses don't automatically come up in search once they've been published. Like other search engines, it takes a few days or weeks for them to get in the system. You should be able to search for them soon.
Why do my visitor counts keep decreasing?
You may have noticed on your dashboard that occasionally visitor counts go DOWN. Why is this? The default setting for traffic is based on a 7-day rolling window, so you can see what the past week as been like. I 20 people visit at 8am on Monday, at 8am the next Monday that number will decrease by 8 as the 7th day drops off.
To change this, or view different options, visit the stats page for your lens and click on the traffic tab.
To change this, or view different options, visit the stats page for your lens and click on the traffic tab.
Still need help?
If your question isn't due to a glitch on your lens, you can ask for help at our peer-driven forum.SquidU Forum
If you still can't find the answer, or your lens is glitchy, file a bug report.
