Do you Squidoo?

[Cosy Candles & Aromas]

For those of you who Squidoo there is no need for an introduction but I’m sure that there are plenty who probably have never heard of Squidoo. In this post I will try and explain what Squidoo is and how you can use it as a useful tool in promoting your craft business.

So what is Squidoo? Squidoo is basically an information website. It is a collection of lenses on a myriad of topics. A lens is an informational website offering expert knowledge on just about anything. Lensmasters are the people who create lenses and are viewed by others as credible sources of information.

Squidoo offers some very useful advantages to a lensmaster.

Fast Google Indexing – Your lens with good target keywords can be indexed in 2-3 days. That’s fast!

High Google Rankings – When you target your lens to a specific keyword it is often picked up within the first 3 or 4 pages of Google. Google loves Squidoo so it makes sense to take advantage of this.

Simplicity – This is what I love about Squidoo it is so quick and easy to use. You can have a lens up and running in about 5 minutes.

Free – I like free and Squidoo is free so you can have an unlimited number of lenses.

Getting Started

The first thing you have to do is to sign up. Remember, it’s FREE. Visit www.squidoo.com where you will find a link to sign up. You will be asked for your name and e-mail address, now you’re ready to start. Click on the Create A Lens button. You will be asked what your lens is about.

Next, you will be asked what you want to do with your lens. I tend to choose the option I want to do my own thing. This will pre configure your lens for you. You can always adjust the lens layout very easily if you don’t like the settings.

You will now be asked to give your lens a title. This should be your main keyword phrase, e.g. your business name or specialised subject matter.

Now you have to pick your URL. This cannot be changed so choose wisely. Ideally it should match your keyword. You could use your DaWanda shop name here.

You will have to choose a topic category. Just ensure your category matches your lens content. If your lens is safe for all ages then click on the option.

Step 4 will give you the option to add more keyword tags to your lens. The tags are mainly for other Squidoo users. You can always add more later on.

Step 5 will ask you how you want to get paid. Yes, that’s right; you can earn money from Adsense clicks as well as eBay, Amazon, Cafepress, etc. This is optional as you don’t have to use any of these modules. You have the option of donating any payments to Squidoo, your choice of charity or you can keep the money for yourself, or a combination of both.
Step 6 will now ask you to reconfirm your e-mail and to choose a screen name. Your screen name will show up above your Bio. You can choose your real name or use a pseudonym. Fill out your real name and enter a password. Finish the registration and then you’ll be ready to designing your lens.

In my next post I will explain more about designing your lens and which modules to use. If you can’t wait then try having a go yourself. The best thing about Squidoo is that it is very easy to follow and much of it is just common sense.

So get yourself over to Squidoo and have a good poke about. Make sure you check out Sara’s Squidoo lens on DaWanda. It can be found at www.squidoo.com/DaWanda_store_crafts. If we can all promote our DaWanda stores then maybe Squidoo will make up a module for use like they have just done for Etsy sellers.