Providing high quality resources
An attractive and logical layout
Attention to specific details
Providing interaction with visitors

These four concepts are vital to creating a viable revenue stream with Squidoo. In addition, the reader needs to have a good understanding of keyword and niche research, as well as the importance of tags.

About Squidoo

Squidoo is arranged into a series of Lenses. Each Lens is a user-owned piece of Web 2.0 property, which can be updated in a very intuitive click-and-type interface. This removes the need for strong HTML or web publishing skills, putting it in the same ease of use category as a blog. But, unlike blogging, a Lens is designed to be a collection of resources, and not a daily delivery of opinion on a given subject.

Squidoo Lenses are also designed to be strictly focussed on a specific topic. The tighter the focus, the better the Lens will be, and the more popular it will become.

First Steps with Lens Publishing

To get started, the best approach is to pick an area in which the Lensmaster has some expertise. Remember this is a new publishing platform, so it will help if the only research that needs to be done is to learn how to use the interface, rather than having to look around for content.

The next step is to start building the Lens skeleton. This is as easy as clicking the ?Make a Lens? button on Squidoo. The whole process is wizard driven, starting with picking a name for the Lens. This name needs to reflect the topic, but also be optimized for Google : not just in the keywords that it contains, but also in the way that it is presented.

For example, ?waterproofpatiospeakers? is meaningless to Google. On the other hand ?waterproof-patio-speakers? is treated as three separate words, which si probably what the Lens creator intended. So, the title might be ?Waterproof Patio Speakers? and the lens URL end in ?waterproof-patio-speakers?.

The next step, after naming, is picking the tags which best represent the content. The primary tag should reflect the content that the Lens owner is going to use to introduce the topic. This means that it should be a three word phrase that is used in the very first paragraph of the Lens. It can be changed at a later stage, following analysis of the Lens statistics, so the inital choice can afford to be set to a reasonable default.

Next, tags should be added that reflect the rest of the topic. The definitive limit is set at around 30 individual tags (three to four word phrases), so do not overfill the tags at first. Leave some slots to add more further down the line.

Having created the basic skeleton, the Lens owner can start to add modules.

Squidoo Modules

A module is just a place in the Lens into which content can be inserted. There are many kinds of modules, from basic text blocks, through to lists of links (with voting), and, more importantly, places to showcase products from third party suppliers, such as Amazon.

And this is the key to making money on Squidoo - choosing modules that keep interest, engage the reader, and generate sales. The most popular are:

Text/Write Modules : basic content
Blackbox : a ?shouty? content box
Quote : for one-line quotes
Amazon : direct link to Amazon products
Ebay : links to auctions
Link Lists : lists of links (some with voting)

The Lens owner receives a percentage payment for every Amazon and eBay product sold. This revenue is accrued in the Lens owners account, and then paid out through PayPal (or similar) at the end of a period. There are some $1,000 Lenses out there.

The best approach seems to be to mix up visual modules (like the Blackbox or Quote modules) with pure content (Text/Write modules). The revenue generating modules can then be added at appropriate ?break points? within the other content. Interactive modules should appear lower down in the Lens, with a guestbook at the end, so that visitors can leave their comments.

This will make the content more likely to be indexed by search engines, as it will be freshly updated with comments on a daily basis. Visibility will give the Lens owner the chance to tweak (and keep fresh) the content, and reap the rewards through product sales and advert click-throughs.