Participating in Squidoo- Google's 0.02% Rule

Hype is one way that Google determines whether a website is worthy of a high page ranking. We have been told that Google algorithms consider any superlatives of over 0.02% to be overly hyped, and such websites drop and will continue to drop in the Google page rankings.

Our new Mall ranks quite high in Google rankings, and my intention is to make this a brand new internet shopping experience for people who have never tried Squidoo. So, when Google makes it generally known that their algorithms now account for hype, then this must also be a concern to me to keep our page rankings high and increase our traffic.

Furthermore, a 'hype factor' higher than Google algos allows puts Squidoo at risk overall. Right now we are highly favored by Google and as we have seen, that favor could/can/has changed overnight for many a website!

As I remodel the Mall on Squidoo I am observing the amount of hype and superlatives in each page. If there is going to be highly complimentary descriptions, I would like them to be in the context of the Mall group!

Just one overhyped lens means there can be no superlatives of any kind for the next 98 lenses!

Take a new look at your lenses, your titles, your descriptions and your tags and minimize the hype and superlatives that you use. This way your lens won't be an overall drag on the page rankings the entire Mall can receive from Google, and all the efforts I make to improve our Google presence won't be hampered.

Participating in Squidoo- Lensrolling

The Right Side Bar:

The right side bar on your lens is mainly wasted space, especially if there isn't much that you've done to make use of it. Squidoo has given you several limited options for using that space, otherwise it is available to them for any type of advertising they want to do, either with their new plexos, or with Google ads, or both.

It is really important for you to use ALL the space available to you in the best way possible for you.

Lensrolls

Since links are everything in the internet era, at least if you have a page of some sort, the Squidoo set up has provided a number of ways for you to 'link up' and the lensroll is one of the best ones.

It is very, very easy for lenses to get really long. Just getting the best information and links on a lens takes up lots and lots of 'real estate' on your page. It is extremely desirable to have as many links as possible on your page, but who wants to give up prime space just for that?

When you are writing your lens, hopefully you are doing it from the viewpoint of the audience you wish to reach. You, hopefully, have some idea about the customers or viewers you are attracting. Your lensroll is a way to reflect your knowledge of them and/or your topic.

Squidoo lenses only

You can only lensroll Squidoo lenses, at least at this time. Because of this, your lensroll is also a useful measure of how you participate in Squidoo, to those who are looking. The lensroll shows in the right sidebar to anyone looking at the page. So, what should you consider when lensrolling?

Relatives

First, you can save some real estate by linking your other, RELATED, lenses. If you, like many other fine lensmasters, do lenses in 'clusters,' it is a good idea to link them together somehow like a necklace. If you are using your prime real estate on your page for external links, (which is a really good idea) you can still link all your pages together by putting them in the lensroll.

Know your Audience

Second, lensroll the Squidoo pages that WOULD INTEREST YOUR VISITORS. I can explain this best by example. Michelangelo's David audience is likely to have several different types of interests. Fine art and sculpture. History. Catholicism. Photography. Travel. Michelangelo. The Renaissance. For the David, the list goes on and on.

So, as I cruise through Squidoo, if I happen across a particularly wonderful lens on a topic that I believe would be of interest, and to the taste of, my David readers, I put it in the lensroll.

The same is true of some of my Amish lenses. For example, if someone is interested in Food, I lensroll other lenses that a foodie might really like.

Squidoo is growing fast

Your audience will have a harder and harder time finding you in the middle of Squidoo, as it adds lenses by the thousands. If they are repeat customers, because they have bookmarked your page, your page can become their 'landing spot' for them at Squidoo. Your lensroll will be, in effect, their 'Squidoo Tour Guide'- a place where you share special things at Squidoo for their benefit, a place where they can easily find what is new in their interests. This increases the 'stickiness' and the return visits to your pages.

One way people browse the web is to bookmark favorite spots, and when they arrive at that page, go from there. Follow links from there. I have many places on the internet favorited based on their good links alone! That way, I always know where to find something I want. I am a repeat visitor to many sites for that reason. I am not the only person who browses this way.

Lensrolling is an advantageous way of becoming 'sticky' and a valued resource for your visitors. They know where they can find certain links and things of interest.

Stand Out in the Squidoo Crowd

Very few people make thoughtful and good use of their lensroll. Someone may come along and build a page almost exactly like yours, with your links and their text thrown in. How will you compete? Using your lensroll in an intelligent way is one way to do that. It will set you apart in Google ratings, in Squidoo rankings, and with your audience.

As useful as the lensroll is to a lensmaster, very few people even bother to try it.

You be special. You be smart. You make sure you're found by the right people.

MySpace for Businesses: MySiteProfile

Myspace does not like to be used for small business networking, and I've heard stories of how people have been booted from there because someone detected a hint of business tendency on their page.

MySiteProfile is probably the best alternative that I can recommend. They encourage small business owners, though their interests are primarily graphic designers and web designers, and if you have a small business you are welcome to develop your own profile page. So far it is still very small, last time I checked it was about 175 good members. In such a case, it is very easy to be seen in the group, develop some new friends, and create an easily found profile.

It is free to join, and there are no ways to earn money by recommending your friends, but the pages are very easy to set up (mine turned out beautifully in just a short while) and it will give you additional external links to drive traffic and improve your google rankings.