SEO for squidoo - getting found in google: search engine optimization

How to get your lens found by google

SEO - search engine optimization - has many different facets. This lens goes over the main ones - especially how they effect making successful lenses on squidoo.

SEO BASICS

To understand search engine optimization you have to know the basics of how google (and the other search engines, but they become increasingly irrelevant) works.

Google ranks pages based on the following:

Text on the page

Links to that page

How old the website is the page is on

How trusted the website is that the page is part of

Emphasized text: text in headings, titles, description tags etc.

How does that pan out in Squidoo?

Text on the page

This just means: make a lens for people, based on what people are looking for.

Links to that page can be two things:

Links from outside squidoo to that page. This is why we keep hearing: 'blog about your lenses', 'promote your lenses'.

Links from within squidoo. This is such an important topic that I'll explain more later

How old and how trusted the website is the page is part of.

This is where we have to partly just pray and hope and wait. Squidoo was registered as a domain in 2005, so that's pretty old in internet years.
How trusted it is, is one reason why it's so important that squidoo keeps fighting spam. As lensmasters we all benefit if google feels it can trust the content that's on squidoo. We all lose when google decides not to trust the content.
One way to gain google trust is to get links from reliable websites. This brings us back to: if we all promote squidoo well online, we all benefit.

FAQ - any questions about SEO?

Only for questions about SEO. Feedback below at the bottom of the lens.

spirituality

First off: your lens is new. That's not going to help.
Second: you need to get links to that lens. For tips: see below.
Third: although there are only about 700 pages in google for the term 'Digital Nail Printer by ArtPro', the top 20 is filled with pages from highly trusted websites like craigslist.

My advice: make it more personal. Show off example designs you've made with this machine. Put pictures on flickr, use them in your lens and link back to your lens from flickr.

Last but not least: nobody said getting traffic was easy. It takes work. Your lens is the bare minimum of what a good lens is, not that it's bad. But it certainly isn't stellar either.

Posted September 23, 2008

Global-Imaging-Tech

I am a new kid in the block with Google. I have a lens published 7 days ago and not yet rank by Google.

What I might doing wrong, my lens Digital-Nail-Printer.

Posted September 21, 2008

spirituality

Not old fashioned no. Face to face didn't go out of style with the telephone either :) But impractical: yes. For one thing, I'm in a different time zone from you (being in The Netherlands). I'm also a bit busy to be giving hours of consulting for free.

The main things are:

- blog
- connect (as a blogger as well)
- write well and have a unique subject

Posted September 01, 2008

Margo_Arrowsmith

Good grief! What I would really love, as great as the computer is, but a teleconference or two, someplace where we can really talk! Is that too old fashioned?

Posted September 01, 2008

spirituality

It matters a bit: A lot of the automatically created links within squidoo are based on lensrank (in combination with key words usually). So there is an indirect effect.

It's not like google looks at a lens, sees it has a lensrank of less than 2000 and goes 'hey that must be a good lens'.

Posted August 20, 2008

Emphasized text: headings, titles etc.

Squidoo is a well created platform, from an SEO standpoint. Anything we put in the titles of our modules is coded as an h1, h2, or h3 title. What we put in our lenses is emphasized above what google itself puts in.

Title and description meta tags

People need to think: hey, that's interesting! or hey, that's just what I wanted to find!
The title you give your lens, will end up in the title tag. The introduction you write for your lens, will end up in the description tag.
Once your lens is indexed by google, search for it to see what it looks like. You will see your introduction text appear in the search results - try and look at it from the perspective of a person looking for the information you offer: would they click that link? If so: well done. If not: try writing your description differently.

Though the title of your lens and the introduction should contain your main keywords, they should also be written for people: they are the ones you want to have on your page.

Headings

This is important: we don't really want all our lenses optimized for the term 'squidoo', when the subject of our lens could be something as arcane as 'spiritual quotes'.

Because headings are so important, it really pays to have your keywords in your headings. It also pays to use all the headings you can: the title of the introduction module for instance, or subheadings in modules.

Links

Links are important for all kinds of things. But one thing that's often forgotten is that link-text is emphasized text. One way of stuffing your page with keywords without raising much of a flag with google is by having the keywords in links. But don't overdo it!

Emphasized text in general

Emphasized text is any text that gets emphasized in the code. This can be a bold tag: <b>your keywords</b> or something in italics: <i>your key words</i>

The thing here is that just because you have your text bolded with CSS, this doesn't mean google knows it's bolded. If you are using CSS to bold text, it's not clear whether google realizes it. It probably will in the future, but for now it pays to add that b-tag.

Keyword Over Optimization

I'm going to stress this, because it's a subject that I have seen lensmasters ignore.

When a page looks unnatural to you - it probably looks unnatural to google. After all: google is constantly on the lookout for spam pages - pages that are designed to get visitors from google and get money out of people clicking on ads just to get out of the page as quickly as possible.

One way google figures out what is spammy is to try and determine whether the keyword density is 'natural'.

In other words: is the percentage of keywords in your lens natural for a page discussing your subject? If so, no problem. If you think it's un-natural - tone it down a bit...

After all - I've seen pages get visitors from google for key phrases where the words themselves were only on the page 2 or 3 times.

Key word optimization is about balance: make sure google knows what the page is about, but don't overdo it.

Over optimization is one reason why it can pay to have different spellings of your key word on the same page: you get all the variations your visitors may be using in there, and you will be over-optimized for none of them. Of course this has the disadvantage that it doesn't look all that professional.

Keyword over optimizations is easy on squidoo

With all the modules and tags - it is very easy to loose rankings due to over optimization.

If you suspect that has happened: cut back on your tags.

Leave in only those that are green in the squidoo health check (see below).

Make sure your tags don't repeat the same words too often (not more than 3 or 4 times)

Make sure you use different spellings of your key phrases in your modules. Mix things up a bit.

More on Search Engine Optimizaton

Get to the Top on Google:...

SEO: Search Engine Optimi...

Building Findable Website...

Internal Squidoo Links

There are several ways your lens can get links from within squidoo.

There are links humans create:

Your own profile page has links to all your published lenses. Each of your lenses profits a bit from links you create to every other lens you have.

Links you create between your lenses: lensrolling, featured lenses and any other links.

Links other lensmasters create to your lenses. Again: lensrolling, featured lenses and any other links

Links you can create to your lenses on other lenses: submitting links to link plexo's devoted to your topic.

Links to and from groups

Links created semi-automatically

There are aspects of squidoo that are created by computers. As lensmasters we have some, but not much control over them. This is where the TAGS come in. Lensrank is also an important factor here.

Links on tag pages
Which DON'T count, because they aren't indexed by the search engines! (found out in Sept. 2008)

Links on the 'Explore related pages' bit on most lenses

Top 100 lists

Linking OUT - within and outside squidoo

[Linking out is linking to any page that isn't your own. In the case of squidoo I mean by the term linking out to pages that aren't made by you.]

It's well known in the world of search engine optimization that there are two (or three) effects to linking out:

The author of the other page may notice you exist and be thankful. In the case of squidoo: they may link back, or give your lens stars, or whatever. You get cudo's for linking out - especially to related pages.

Your own page may suffer in search engine rankings just a bit because the other pages have the advantage of your links

Your page may become more valuable because of links to other valuable pages: in that case your page may GET more links (votes etc.) and GAIN in the search engines.

Point one is actually only meaningful if it's an editorial link: a link a human decided to put on a page. You get cudo's for external links in link plexo's, featured lens modules, link modules, inside text you typed. You don't get cudo's for having someones lens in your featured lens module, or linking out to tag pages.

Point two is the one to notice here, because squidoo makes it very easy - in fact default - to link out to other squidoo pages. This to an extent that may not do you any good. Think: tag pages, 'explore related pages', lensrolling etc.

Point three is also one that only relates to editorial links.

SO what should you do?

For lenses that are meant only for squidoo - like this one - which don't get any visitors from search engines...

You should use all the options squidoo gives you to get and give links within squidoo. There's no reason to worry about google, because why would google even mind your page. And since tag pages and explore related pages works both ways: you will give and get visitors through these features and you will just have to live with what you get. Go with the flow.

For lenses that don't get much traffic it's a similar story: why bother excluding traffic from within squidoo? It's the only traffic you've got after all. Leave up the tags and optimize them. Leave in the featured lens module and if relevant: optimize here as well.

BUT for Lenses that do get traffic from google, or once did the advice becomes:
Limit the tags to the ones where your lens ranks in the first page.
Turn OFF the 'featured lens module' in your introduction module.

Do make sure you create links to related squidoo lenses yourself: ones you've made, or ones someone else made. You do want people to find your other lenses. And you do want to get cudo's for linking to a great lens someone else made. (we all want friends, don't we?)

Lensrank explained

This lens tells you just how significant lensrank is for internal squidoo links. But what is lensrank? See the lens below.

Lensrank explained (really)

Well, squidoo lensrank has, by common consensus (at least) the following factors: Lens freshness. sales made through money making modules like amazon and ebay. visitor numbers. star ratings. favorites. whether you've been blessed by an angel. whethe...

Building links - the rel no follow tag

No explanation of SEO is complete without mention of the rel no follow tag.

This tag can be added to links - and those links will not be counted towards the link popularity of a page

Squidoo links don't have this tag (except, I hope, for the sales modules). This has the following implications:

When we link out, we really vote for that page.

Every link within squidoo counts toward the link popularity of pages - directly and indirectly

So - why bother about this tag if it's not used in squidoo? Well - it IS used elsewhere.

Many blogs have rel-no-follow on links in comments. This means that while putting your link in a comment may get you visitors, it won't get you extra google traffic.

Many social media sites make sure links don't count towards link-popularity. For example Stumbleupon or Myspace.

Places to get links

Finding links to your lens should not be limited to the following, but these sites are a great place to start. All of these directories or social sites allow squidoo lenses, or are even built specifically FOR squidoo lenses.

If I forgot one, please add.

Vote for your favorites.

Share your knowledge. Make a difference.

SEO for squidoo - getting found in google: search engine optimization

Rate this Lens

How to get your lens found by google

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Explore related pages

SEO BASICS

FAQ - any questions about SEO?

Emphasized text: headings, titles etc.

Keyword Over Optimization

More on Search Engine Optimizaton

Internal Squidoo Links

Linking OUT - within and outside squidoo

Lensrank explained

Building links - the rel no follow tag

Places to get links

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

Voila: Just copy and paste this code into your own site. Have fun!

Oopsey! Please login to Squidoo in order to add this module to your lens.

Social Networking - Forums, Message Boards etc.

FAQ

My ponderings on squidoo SEO

So, did you learn something about SEO for squidoo?

Great Stuff on eBay

More about squidoo - squidoo answer deck etc.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

Voila: Just copy and paste this code into your own site. Have fun!

Oopsey! Please login to Squidoo in order to add this module to your lens.

More Katinka Hesselink

My newest lenses

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

Voila: Just copy and paste this code into your own site. Have fun!

Oopsey! Please login to Squidoo in order to add this module to your lens.

Thanks for all your support!

by spirituality

Related Topics

Groups this page belongs to

^#1

^#2

^#3

^#4

^#5

^#6

^#7

^#8

^#9

^#10

^#1

^#2

^#3

^#4

^#5

^#6

^#7

^#8

^#9

^#10

^#11

^#12

^#13

^#14

^#15

^#1

^#2

^#3

^#4

^#5

^#6

^#7

^#8

^#9

^#10

^#11

^#12