How do you construct a Squidoo lense....

@coffeebreak (17798)
United States
June 21, 2010 10:43am CST
...for maximum preformance on my side, but also maximum entertainment and usage for the reader? I would like Squidoo users to give me your thoughts and opinions on lenses. Here's my issue: I have a lens about cupcakes - its in my profile called Ideas for Decorating Cupcakes - if you'd like to see it. Now, you can add unlimited modules to a lense. ANd they offer a Table of Content so that although your lense will show ALL the modules/posts that you have done, you can pick and choose what goes in the Table of Content. For example.. I have a module/post about decorating football theme cupcakes and if you scroll down my lens far enough, you will see it. However, I have not put that module/post in my current Table of Content as it isn't football season anymore so why promote it? It is baseball season, so I have my How to Decorate Baseball Cupcakes in the Table of Content. ANd I have done other modules/posts similarly. My holiday theme modules/posts are done this way also...why promote a Valentines Day cupcake now in June? However, in always trying to earn money and get page rank and all...here is my delima. I of course want to add more modules/posts about more ways to decorate cupcakes, but when is a lens "to long"? Do I just keep adding and adjusting with the Table of Content...or....do I make a new lense about each new decorating idea/theme and then link the 2 lense together. For instance, I make a new lense about How to Decorate 4th of July cupcakes. Then on my main lens called "Ideas for Decorating Cupcakes"..I just put a module with a brief explanation, a photo and a "Read More" clickable link which will take the reader to the specific and detailed lense about just 4th of july cupcakes. My thinking is...don't make the main lense to long as readers might not want to scroll through looking for something, however, they also might not want to do yet another click to another page to read about the 4th of July cupcakes. Plus, since there isn't much on the main lense in the brief explanation...there are few keywords there so it might not get picked up well in a search. I don't want to come across "to much" so that a reader runs, yet I want to have everything there that they need to create the cupcake and buy what they don't have. I don't want the lens cluttered with more modules that a reader just leaves cause it is just "to much". So... what are your thoughts about how to handle the construction of a lense to make them the best for page views, search engines and make them interesting and not cluttered with hopefully the option of a reader coming back or forwarding it to someone, and even when using the Amazon.com affiliate link to sell items related to what you are talking about. In my case, I will display cupcakes liners, icings, decoration tips etc that you can buy that will help you create the cupcake I am demonstrating. Thanks for any comments.
3 responses
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
14 Jul 10
I like Squidoo and find the lenses pretty easy to edit, so I suppose you could go in and change the seasonal stuff if yu had ever-present spare time. But I hardly ever get a chance to do that. Too much fun going places and doing things, not enough time to hang out on the computer. Awwww, poor me...lol. Did you add me to your Squidoo friends yet? My name there is Janet Jenson.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
25 Jul 10
Hey, ya gotta prioritize! How do I find you?
1 person likes this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
26 Jul 10
You can find me here: http://www.squidoo.com/JJmanga Oops, you are right, my username there is JanetAnnJenson
@diamania (7011)
• Netherlands
25 Jul 10
All nice and well to make such a huge opening post but why aren't you responding? Just split them up and interlinking them. Get all your lens some backlinks and you'll be fine with the traffic ( provided you've done your keyword research)
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
25 Jul 10
I've responded when someone makes a comment to respond to. I have split them and interlinked them as i said above - which is what promoted my post in the first place, i.e. is this a good way to go? I wanted others thoughts about how they think this would work or how they do their lense for max exposure and earnings. You haven't told me anything I don't already know.
@calpro (930)
• India
4 Nov 10
Hi I am new here as well as in squidoo.Your Post gave me some idea on squidoo,and in fact i am also in dilemma on how to make squidoo lens and on what topic. I think some experienced squidoos can throw some light on it. So that most of new squidoo users would be much benefited. I will go through the entire discussion to enlighten me. Thank you.