Define: a Performing Squidoo Lens

When I built my first website (which took months), admittedly it wasn't optimized because I knew little or nothing about SEO. It sounds almost ridiculous to say it now, but at the time SEO was the least of my worries. It was a good looking site, and I got many compliments on that. It said what I wanted it to say, and it had loads of original content.

Once I was satisfied that I had gotten my website 'to a point' I submitted it to DMOZ, so it would be in a directory somewhere on the internet, and perhaps I'd start getting traffic.

I was a laughing-stock among my competitors (unsolicited advice, of course) and of those who knew all about the optimization field. They found it laughable that I had the nerve to submit my site to DMOZ: they had all been doing so for YEARS and never got listed. They were totally sure I'd be bounced because of my incompetence. They'd spent loads of money on all kinds of internet-marketing guru stuff. They were listed in all the 'hot' places. They MADE SURE I knew what an idiot I was.

DMOZ listed my site IMMEDIATELY. There was no delay, no waiting months and months to hear anything. I submitted one day, and shortly thereafter, I was listed- alone among many well-established and wealthy competitors.

Therefore, for my critics, the truth HAD TO BE that I had an angel, that I knew someone and THEY were well connected and got my site listed there. Let me say it here, if I DID have an angel helping me, thank you Mr. Angel and only you know who you are.

Did being listed in DMOZ define success for my site? Not for me, but it did for others, much to their annoyance.

Just like this little story, the definition of a successful PERFORMING Squidoo lens could be many different things, depending on the mindset of the lensmaster.

I'd like to know what YOU define as a performing lens. You can leave it as a comment, or you can email me with your details. I'll blog the results when I have some interesting and helpful ones.

SquidCast and the Mall on Squidoo

I've received some questions about squidcasting, and its a feature that I really like very much! This is an excellent way to get additional links to your page, to let your fans and those who have favorited your lens that you have made some changes, and an opportunity to send out information about your new lenses.

You can find the squidcast function on your dashboard, in the same line with the other functions for each lens. When you click 'cast' a dialogue box pops up where you will write the title and a description, and it takes html code so you can put the link to your page there. A record is kept of each time you've squidcasted a page!

When you want to look at what your favorite lensmasters have been up to, and see their squidcasts, you go to your 'favorites' tab, and they are all listed there.

I strongly suggest you join the fanclubs of lensmasters that you like or that are doing things you are interested in. You'll find that those lensmasters will return the favor, and your squidcasts will find an audience.

New Opportunity for Mall on Squidoo Members

If you're a Facebook member, I have created a Mall on Squidoo Page, which enables you to add your link to the page. I hear tell that a link in Facebook really helps the Google-juice, and if that's true, then you'll want to get your lens listed there!

I have also created a group on Facebook for the Mall on Squidoo. See you there!

Lens of the Year Contest for 2007- Michelangelo's David???

Once again Mall Friends and Members, I ask for your support! My lens, Michelangelo's David, has been nominate for top Lens of the Year for 2007! (Thank You jackclee!)

This has been my highest traffic lens, and well received by all kinds of new visitors. As of today, it has been on the top 100 list for 340 days!

It has been next to Wikipedia on a Google search, so it has a good authority level.

Michelangelo's David has been one of the lenses to bring LOADS of new traffic to Squidoo, one of the pages that bring in well-heeled and interested traffic who like the things that YOU offer!

Yes, that page has some fabulous competition! There are some amazing lensmasters around here that make incredible pages.

If you think that Michelangelo's David brings in the kinds of traffic that you want for customers, be sure to vote for it!

Loads of New Modules!

If you survived the last couple months with your sanity intact, I congratulate you! Not only has the economy gone topsy-turvy, and there is a presidential race from hell going on, and all other kinds of adjustments to make, Squidoo has distracted us from all that and buried us in new modules, co-brands and nifty stuff.

You may have, like I did, discover that you have many pages that will benefit from these new modules! wOOt! (Except that now I'm more behind than ever...)

Believe it or not, my test lens has actually been profitable and made some sales over time. Since it is also my test lens, where I try out changes and new modules that Gil adds, it was the appropriate place to do a totally new makeover with these fabulous new modules.

I really, REALLY like what these new modules do! I can see that they can be overdone, so be careful about that. But the Amazon Spotlight module is wonderful! I'd love to see that apply to the other merchants available! It really cleans up and dresses up a commerce lens.

I hope you'll take a look at my test lens and how I used many of these new modules!

In other news, you may have noticed that I updated the Mall group with some Valentine's Day appropriate lenses. The banner is missing at the moment because for some reason the intro module isn't holding the code for the art. Hopefully all will be back to normal shortly.

I have other news which I'll post at my next available opportunity!

I'm looking for a great new year with the Mall Group and all you Squidooers!

Gracious Seth Godin Shows Up Knol

In a social web, social skills are very much required. While Jason C at Manalo leaves a lot to be desired in that respect, Seth Godin has given us his usual and gracious response and created an insomnia page that is simply much better than Google's.

There is one other factor overlooked by Squidoo's competitors, and that is: FUN!

Squidoo is fun. It is fun to build pages, fun to be in that community, fun to read pages, fun to parody Squidoo, fun to build your little empire. It is a fun place to learn internet skills and to social network. Its a fun place to share, to help, to promote, to make friends. Its a real community. Its a fun place to care about and rewarding.

That kind of fun is spirit, something natural that can't be duplicated no matter what size of a corporation likes your ideas. Corey, Megan and Gil are fun to be around, keep Squidoo fresh and exciting, and they care very deeply about the members of their 'community' and the experience they have with it.

While Google's announcement is enough to give lots of people insomnia, in my humble opinion Squidoo has a certain panache that can't be copied- buried, maybe, but Squidoo has made the internet fun in a way that it hasn't been in a very long time.

Danger, Will Robinson! Google is Taking on Squidoo AND Wikipedia!

Perhaps you have heard, and perhaps not, but the big news is that Google is taking on Wikipedia and Squidoo with a new project they call Knol. Like Squidoo, it offers writers free pages and a share of ad revenue. It also is a social page, with rankings and votes by visitors, permits suggested edits by visitors like Wikipedia.

It isn't open to everyone as yet.

There is a lot that is unclear about this project like whether they will add revenue sharing modules as Squidoo has or not, for example. We don't know how those pages will rank next to the Google version. Google pay has rapidly overtaken Paypal, and there was the unfortunate coincidence of Squidoo going to the Ebay convention almost immediately after Ebay and Google had their big falling out. Who knows if the Google slap which lasted for months had anything to do with that? If Google overtakes the revenue modules that Squidoo offers, it is possible that the only remaining distinguishing module will be Ebay.

As to Wikipedia, since their information is public domain, and contributors/editors get nothing for their trouble, many of them may migrate to Google Knol pages to at least earn something for their contribution. Since all the information on Wikipedia is public domain (copyleft), even all the content they already have could be pillaged to make, not only Squidoo pages, but also Google Knol pages.

I was one of the folks that made a 'Google Page' prototype months ago and frankly, it wasn't much. It wasn't even close to the sophistication of Squidoo at the time. I don't recall any traffic of any kind to or from it. Google will have to do much better to overtake Squidoo quality- wise. The prototypes they're showing are really nice though.

Seth, Gil, Corey and Megan are quite bright. If anyone can 'pull a rabbit out of a hat', its them. We'll have watch and see what the big shooters do. For an admittedly far more expert take on this, visit a friend here.

I'm Back!

Hello friends, I'm back. Past the worst of the worst...

Janusz has kindly made a beautiful new header for the Mall on Squidoo for the Christmas season, and I hope that you will all take a look and compliment him on his wonderful work!

There are many things to get up-to-date with: SquidWho, SquidVids, SquidFlicks... too much to write about all at once.

My Apologies!

Sometimes life interferes with work, no matter how important. I've been in such a situation lately, where a person I care very much about was taken from lung cancer.

I was extremely preoccupied with this event and I have gotten even further behind, if you can imagine.

However, the bright spot is that there are so many terrific new lenses that have joined our group!

I wasn't ignoring you, though I surely neglected you.

I look forward to all the next phase of development in the Mall group, and looking at all these terrific lenses!

My Idea of a Top-Notch Commerce Lens!

Daoine is a favorite lensmaster of mine. Her commerce lenses are interesting, full of content and fun, and make great use of pictures.

In particular, Elsa won Lens of the Day with her Pirate Costumes for Halloween, and no wonder!

She checked on when the next pirate movie would be released (none coming yet, darn!)

She gives us a little history about Pirates (which explains why we like the rogues so much, doesn't it?)

She gives us details of a full and interesting costume for anyone, man, woman or child. She even gives us instructions on how to make the proper hat!

As a commerce resource, she includes a way to get everything, or nearly everything, we could need to have a GREAT pirate costume.

Yes, it is a seasonal lens, but it is one that is worth hanging on to and keeping fresh year by year. A little promotion at the right time and this lens will be a long-term asset for Elsa.

Very well done!

Seasonal preps: Mall on Squidoo & Squidoo Gifts Mall

Who wants to think about Christmas in August? I'm sure nobody does, but it really is the time for you and I to begin considering what we will be doing for the upcoming seasons.

The Mall on Squidoo page has a PR of 5, predicted to go to PR6 soon, and with the rapid growth of these two groups, I have no doubt that these will be VERY DESIRABLE pages for you to be featured on.

With such a high PR, I am told that it is best for the pages/links to be on there for about 2 months, for your lenses to get an increase in PR for themselves.

So, keeping this in mind, I will be setting up the Mall Groups for the Fall Season which will last from September through to the end of October.

There will be a brief time to promote Thanksgiving, but I will want to begin Christmas promotion as quickly as possible to ensure we have the two months we need to be sure we are getting found in the search engines and have a good and beneficial PR.

So until the end of August, please either leave a comment on the Mall on Squidoo page or on the About the Mall on Squidoo page that you want to be featured either in the Fall season or in the Christmas Season and leave your lens link in the guestbook. Those who do so will be given priority consideration for featuring during this most important selling season of the year!

I am seeking appropriate artwork for the Mall Groups for the upcoming seasons. Internet shopping still needs to reflect the society around us and the seasonal interests of shoppers. I think our Mall Groups will do best if our artwork can reflect those seasons.

Another Challenge! Giant Squids!

Squidoo is ALWAYS searching for quality lenses, and they are looking for YOU!

Seth and his crew have issued the Giant Squid Challenge, can YOU make 100 top notch lenses?

Yes, maybe it is a little much to ask of anyone who cares about the content and quality of their lenses.

However, he makes the most important point: now is the time to stand tall, stand out, be remarkable! Now is the time to build your best stuff!

It is the challenge that brings out our best.

You're the best! Squidoo is the best! You can do it!

Heads UP!!! A Warning From Squidoo Headquarters

Here we see something VERY IMPORTANT from Megan Casey:

"Squidoo does not endorse or recommend ratings swaps. Not only because it’s not in the spirit of the site, but also because it just doesn’t work. It doesn’t earn you loyal readers or customers, it doesn’t help people find you in search engines, and it doesn’t increase the quality of your content. That, and it’s risky. A star rating is only a tiny factor in our LensRank algorithm right now. You’re not going to win with even 500 fake ratings. And, in fact, if you spam people asking for them, you’ll assuredly lose.

Finally, remember: Squidoo reserves the right to change our LensRank algorithm at any time. We’re currently working on (unannounced) changes that will end up impacting swappers without warning. Building a so-called business on massive rating swaps or traffic exchanges could mean you did a whole lot of work for a whole lot of nothing."

Genuine rankings according to content and quality, and whether you'd send your best friend over to visit a page, is critical to how Squidoo operates.

Be warned!

MP: Woodturning Projects by Sewjr

One of the finest commerce Squidoo lenses you'll find has long been one of my favorites. It has been a member of the Mall on Squidoo group almost since the beginning. It has made the Most Profitable (MP) list, #1 position.

Woodturning Projects by Sewjr is one of many really high quality lenses. This page is an especially fine example of what a small business, artisan or craftsman can do to get traffic and build a relationship with visitors. He gives his best information, advice and inspiration and then creates opportunities for interested people to participate.

Stan has two woodworking groups, the Woodworking Headquarters and the 'As the Wood Turns' Headquarters. These are very attractive to new and to experienced woodcrafters.

Because of his great lenscrafting skills, Stan is one of the founding jurists of the By Invitation Only juried lens contest, helping jury the best Squidoo lenses for the People's Choice Lensmasters & Awards.

Stan is a real winner, a Titan on Squidoo, and a person to get to know and watch!

MP List: At Home Source- Mall Member

AtHomeSource has many lenses, and not all of them are in the Mall group. She has shared with us little baby Molly as her 'trademark'- a baby so cute that the planet should crack in half, and makes it a worthwhile visit just to get a look at Molly!

Many of AtHomeSource's lenses have managed to make LR and MP and so this lensmaster is onto something in her Squidoo commerce lensbuilding techniques and her marketing.

Platform Beds with Storage has been a regular on the LR. Most of the modules in this lens are for affiliate sales, which have beautiful pictures and LOADS of information for anyone who is seriously interested in platform beds. Her MP status is gained by having related ebay modules which clearly make sufficient sales to put her on MP on a regular basis.

I'm sure she would tell you that VOLUME of traffic is much less important than QUALITY TARGETED TRAFFIC, the kind of traffic that is seriously shopping this niche, and is very interested in a good selection of quality at a good price.

She also provides a series of really good links for addiitonal information, resources and ideas for the shopper that could use a few.

Currently on MP is her lens Nitro RC Trucks | Gas Powered Monster Trucks for Sale, which makes great use of ebay auctions for this very specific niche. It isn't a long lens, but it has a very tight selection of exactly the items that the title offers. Customers get no surprises here by diversionary tactics, she gives them EXACTLY what they came for.