Lensmastery by Linda

Recently someone left a link on my lens, How to Promote Your Squidoo Lens. The link was to a new blog that claimed to be the best source of information on how to use Squidoo. I had to move the link to a different area of my lens and while doing so I took a look at this new blog.

I was surprised by one of the headlines that claimed that SEO (search engine optimization) is not important for Squidoo lenses. There’s a thought that never crossed my mind. I had to read the short article and then had to wonder who was writing this blog. The “about” section of the blog gives no clue.

I’m not of the same mind as this blogger. I believe that SEO is vital for Squidoo lensmasters, just as it is for any other dedicated content writer and webmaster on the Internet. Whenever I have a lens that does especially well, it is usually because of success in search engine optimization. With very few exceptions those search engines send a lot more traffic my way than any of the links I’ve been leaving around the Internet.

Search engine optimization is easy to learn. It includes the following elements:

1. Choose keywords wisely based on the number of searches for the term balanced by the number of sites that compete for the term. For example, the term “web design” sounds good but since there’s a gazillion other people wanting to rank well for that term, it isn’t really a good term for SEO purposes. Something more specific like “Oregon flash web design” might be easier to compete for.

2. Use your keywords in the title of your web document, in your headers, in your meta description tag, in your alt and title attributes, and in your text – but don’t do it to the point where your writing sounds unnatural or stilted. Your text must still be very useful and interesting to read or you will lose the respect of those whose business you wish to gain.

3. Reduce the clutter in your pages by hiding javascript and CSS (put them in separate files) and by using the most recent version of HTML, XHTML, or PHP, etc.. Of course, with Squidoo, you don’t have to worry about this one!

4. Write the best article you can. Remember, the more you write, the more text Google can index. Be sure your keywords are totally appropriate for the article you’ve written. For more information, see my newest lens, Website Content Writing for Squidoo, Your Website or Blog.

And whatever else you do, think twice before believing everything you read. You’ll find a list of credibility criteria in that new content writing lens I just mentioned. It is worth giving some thought to!