Squidoo.com, home of the single-page web sites called “lenses,” has some basic business strategies that it recommends to its “lensmasters:” make as many lenses as time will allow and, if there is a spare moment remaining, update and promote the heck out of them.
Squidoo's focus has paid off with a prominent web presence, which opens up the possibility of using lenses to drive traffic to another site entirely. Both direct and indirect revenue models have benefits for business owners.
The Squidoo Model – A Broad Lens Network
Squidoo provides a versatile set of tools for lens creation, including modules for adding text, affiliate links to such websites as Amazon and Ebay, and interactive modules like polls and guest books. The site claims that lenses can be created in 60 seconds, although it can take up to half a day to a quality lens, according to blogger JP Schoeffel. Users, including founder Seth Godin, have written a number of lenses on how create and promote high-traffic lenses.
The site's model is to encourage its users to create a large number of lenses around relevant keywords, since Google favors both new and relevant content. Revenue from ads and affiliate links are shared between Squidoo and its lensmasters, so a higher number of pages converts into higher income for all.
Users are encouraged to create new lenses with techniques ranging from placing “Create Lens” buttons prominently to rewarding the most prolific page creators with the title of Giant Squid. Lenses that tell rags-to-riches stories of lensmasters are featured throughout the help pages of the site.
The Reverse Model – Squidoo as Link Builder
Squidoo.com is highly ranked by Google, likely because the site has a large amount of new, relevant content being added every day. Lenses created on Squidoo are indexed relatively quickly, making them a good way to drive traffic to an affiliated site. Webmasters should be cautioned, however, that black hat SEO practices such as cramming a number of links into a lens otherwise devoid of content are already showing signs of being rejected by Google, as Schoeffel notes.
The most effective way to create a lens to drive traffic to a business site is to fill it with information of interest to the business's target clients. Write or locate free online articles about the topic, and position the business as an expert in the field. Include modules that encourage visitor interaction, such as polls, guest books, and debate (“duel”) modules.
Building lenses to drive content to an external site can benefit from the types of social bookmarking and link building that Squidoo recommends to build lens traffic, including its own “Squidcast” (messages to friends and fans). Squidoo also allows users to create and join lens groups to increase exposure.
The Content Web Model – Synergy with Squidoo
Perhaps the most effective way to utilize Squidoo is as a hybrid of the above strategies, the content web. Build one or more lenses that provide information about topics related to the business's specialties, and include links to a number of helpful, related sites. Those sites would include:
- other lenses built for the business
- company blog posts
- paid blog posts
- online reviews and articles
The network of links created will raise the visibility of the entire content web, increasing traffic both to and from the Squidoo lenses. With the proper content, an interested web surfer is much more likely to stick around long enough to be converted into a loyal customer.
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