Using Squidoo to Improve SEO Rankings

Do you Squidoo? It may sound racy, but Squidoo is actually a helpful marketing tool for Web site owners interested in driving traffic through social media. While Squidoo doesn’t allow for too much interaction between users like Twitter or Facebook, it can integrate other social networks and popular sites to create a dynamic online place card for any topic imaginable.

The unusual Squidoo logo, that of a squid-like creature bearing one all-seeing eye, best personifies the site in that its many tentacles represents the infinite number of modules one can place in a Squidoo page. Pages, better known as “lenses” among enthusiasts, are comprised of different widgets that permit the user to add different functionalities and content sections on the topic of choice. While it may sound daunting, creating a Squidoo lens to complement your main Web site is probably one of the easiest ways to help boost your inbound link popularity.

Creating a Squidoo Lens

Once you have registered as a member (it costs nothing), you are cleared to create your first lens. The simple creation wizard walks you through entering information that the lens will convey, and the vanity URL suffix that will display on launch. Let’s say you own a baseball memorabilia store and wish to create a lens on rare baseball cards. That will be your main topic, and a URL you could use might be “rare-baseball-cards” if it is available.

Novice users have the option of allowing Squidoo to choose starter modules in which you add content. These may be widgets connected to online bookstores and auction sites, photo galleries like Flickr, or simple text modules for articles. Advanced users can take advantage of a freer options that lets you create the lens from scratch. Suggested modules for your first lens include:

• Text Modules: Here you write about your products/topic, and include keyword-rich links back to your main site
• Link Modules: If you have an interest in a number of related sites, you can group them in this module as a handy reference
• Video Modules: Enhance your lens with embedded YouTube clips
• RSS Modules: Have a blog? Feed the RSS into your Squidoo lens and you will update this lens as you make new posts
• Twitter Modules: Similar to the RSS, you can add your Twitter information to post on Squidoo and in turn attract new followers.

Once you have all the modules in place (you’ll need at least four or five before Squidoo will allow you to go live), you can publish your lens for public consumption. With just the click of a button, you can add your lens information to a variety of social networks and stimulate interest in your content. The beauty of Squidoo, too, is that you are not limited to the number of pages you can make – create a lens for every aspect of your business, condense articles into modules and add related photo and video widgets, and you can turn simple Web content into a dynamic social tool that can increase awareness of your brand.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on professional SEO writing and PPC management services.