What’s Your Biggest Question?
Sep 27
There’s been a lot of people downloading the Squidoo Christmas Cash Blueprint today. Some of you have had questions ~ that you’ve asked, and I’m sure some of you have questions that you haven’t asked.
I’d love to be able to answer as many of your questions as I can. It would be best for me if I could answer them on this blog so everyone can benefit from the answer ~ because, believe me, if you have a question I’m sure there are plenty of others with the same question.
So… what’s your biggest question about Squidoo, building lenses, the Blueprint, or anything else related to making money with Squidoo?
Leave your questions in the comment section and I’ll go through and answer them, and if the answer’s too long for a comment I’ll go ahead and do a whole blog post for it. 
Remember, if you’re having trouble I’m always here to help, whether you need 30 minutes to ask a few questions or a month of phone calls and email questions.
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thanks a lot. My lens is actually dancing, today it jumped from 6 page to 2nd page all of a sudden. Strange but great..
Washburn D10S´s last blog ..Washburn D10S
I personally don’t do bookmarking backlinks ~ but if you are going to do them I suggest you choose one or two, and use them to bookmark not only your stuff, but other stuff you like ~ as they were intended to be used.
I would say build a fair amount of backlinks ~ 10 or 20 (depending on the kw you chose and how competitive it is) and then move on to another lens.
Check back in on it in a month and see how it’s doing. If it’s not on page one then do some more links for it.
I wouldn’t keep messing with one lens for too long though. It takes time for your links to be found and counted. It’s normal for lenses to bounce around in the ranking in the beginning. It’s part of the “dance”. Give it time, and see what it does.
Hi Jackie
The lens that i have given above was ranking on the 5th page without any backlink but now after it has 10 odd backlinks reflecting in the SEO quake, it has slid down to the 6th page.
My question is… do you keep building backlinks till the time it gets on to the first page, or do you build sufficent backlinks to a page and get down to the next porject ?
Moreover none of my social bookmarking links are showing as backlinks. Does that mean it is not worth backlinking from social bookmarking sites ?
Thanks a lot.
Washburn D10S´s last blog ..Washburn D10S
Hi Susan,
Here’s what I suggest.
1. Choose a system. Whether it’s One week Marketing, or if you want to create micro niche sites ~ go with Commission Ritual ~ but choose one thing.
2. Follow the steps as outlined to follow that system.
It may appear that the LearnIt lessons jump around ~ but actually they take you through each thing you need to do, in the right order to create a successful campaign as outlined in the OWM manual.
Certain things go in certain order ~ if you don’t do them in the right order you’re going to find you may have to go back and start over again.
ex. you have to do keyword research before you create your lenses.
You have to choose a keyword before you can check competition.
Following OWM you create lenses first, and then if you see a campaign take off you can (if you want) build a small niche site on the topic ~ which you then own.
Every system has its own order ~ so the first thing is to decide what you’re going to do, and then follow the system.
If you have questions regarding the LearnIt tutorials ~ make sure you ask on the site ~ we’ll help you figure out why things are when they are.
Jackie, I think the Squidoo Blueprint and the creation checklist and videos are what I have been looking for. The videos, the simple step by step approach to lens making is brilliant.
Let me confess. I have had a stroke and my short term memory was affected. I don’t hold onto the thought very long, thus I get lost quickly. Having these videos to go over and over is wonderful.
For instance, I’ve been through the lensmaking videos, all of them. I wanted to see the whole picture. I’m tickled pink. I’m excited because I think I have a plan to get going. But now, I can’t find my way back to how to find the keyword tool on google (I think, google).
I have no doubt that you covered that, but for the life of me I don’t find it. I realize you have many things to do and I’m embarrassed to ask you, but can you point me in the direction of the keyword tool. I want a lens up by the first of the week.
Thank you,
Hi,
Is there not an organized, orderly, step-by-step one can follow to break into Affiliate Marketing. I’ve been reading and trying forever. I have so much information floating around in my head! I’m so overwhelmed with the sheer volume of “stuff” each guru publishes. Even the Learn It Tutorials don’t seem to follow any real order, but bounce around from one subject to another.
Am I asking too much? It seems to me that there just has to be a starting place, and then a next step and a next step until one has built whatever it is, website, blog, lens, something.
I certainly do not mean to be critical, but I do need some real direction.
Please respond.
Thanks.
Thank you, Jackie, that makes sense. I followed all the links you provided to see how the urls read, and I see how using a subdomain works. Appreciate the response.
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This is using subdomains a little differently than putting your site on them. This means using the subdomain address to point to your affiliate page.
You set up a subdomain like cheaphosting.internetmarketingformommies.com and now I just have to remember that address if I want to point people to hostgator instead of having to remember this link: http://secure.hostgator.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=momtohanna
They both go to the same place, but it looks better to use the cheaphosting subdomain address, and it’s much easier to remember.
Now whenever, wherever I want to send people to my hostgator affiliate link I just use the cheaphosting.internetmarketingformommies.com address.
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I have a question about your post regarding using subdomains to redirect affiliate links so you don’t have to keep looking them up, and you can easily use that address elsewhere – that’s pretty much the quote.
How do you use the subdomain to redirect, how does having it on the subdoman help not having to look them up, and did you mean use the subdomain address elsewhere or the post address? Just looking for clarification on how you use the subdomain that way.
I have several subdomains, basically because I was running out of money buying domains, and I also wanted to have a couple of practice sites as I am learning a lot of new technical as well as informational techniques. I didn’t want to crash a domain site. LOL!
Thanks!
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Hi Jackie,
I have a few questions regarding building backlinks to Squidoo lens using blog commenting.
(1) Do you only comment blog post at a certain time frame? For instance, you only comment on post that is dated less than a year.
(2) Is there any difference in obtaining link “juice” when comparing making one comment with making more than one comment within the same blog?
(3) After you have submitted a comment, do you use any method to get the link/post indexed at a faster rate?
Paul@Zojirushi BBCC X20´s last blog ..Zojirushi BBCC X20 – Baking Homemade Bread The Easy Way updated Sun May 9 2010 2-36 am CDT
Hi Paul,
I swear I answered your question but I don’t see it here, so I’ll do it again.
I usually comment on the newest blog post or something relatively recent. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a post on your topic, especially if you’re using commentluv. You can choose a blog on any topic ~ just put your lens url in the url field.
It’s my understanding that you can get about 20 links from one site counted by Google. So you can use the same blog for multiple comments, but it’s smart and good to use a variety of blogs as well to get links from different domains.
If you are commenting on popular blogs ~ with other comments it will get indexed. I don’t worry about doing anything additional ~ and it’s always nice to tweet or bookmark a good post.
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Yes, it’s fine to use the images as an affiliate ~ and just don’t try to say the reviews are yours, talk about the fact it’s what other people are saying. You’ll be fine.
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Hi Jackie,
Very useful report, thanks. But is it really okay to take product pictures and reviews straight from Amazon? I’ve been wondering about possible copyright issues.
It’s not about someone clicking the link ~ it’s about Google finding the link. You can help that process by bookmarking your article ~ or tweeting the article. Any links pointing to your article make it easier for Google to find it.
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Hi Jackie, My question is about backlinks using articles. Does the backlink work as soon as you publish your article, or does someone have to read the article and click on your link to activate it? Reason I ask is that when I list my backlinks for my site not all of the articles that I have written are showing, so I was not sure if some other process has to be done before they show.
Joey´s last blog ..How To Draw Cars Like a Pro … Nurture Your Natural Artistic Talent! updated Sat May 15 2010 …
Another question for you? When submitting comments to blogs or bookmark sites etc you are often asked to leave a description of your site. Should this description be different for each site?
Jon´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at
Commission ritual is a very specific type of site. Since they are so small and so specific I think that he’s probably right about the affiliate links (and he’s done a lot more testing about it than I have). When I do commission ritual sites I make sure to cloak the links ~ on bigger sites, and lenses I don’t worry about it as much.
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What makes you think Google won’t rank sites with affiliate links? It ranks plenty of pages from this site and many affiliate sites I have very well.
I wouldn’t worry quite so much about these little details. I also think links directly to amazon are fine ~ without cloaking them. The links I worry about cloaking are clickbank links since they are so easily stolen.
I also like to use subdomains to redirect the affiliate links I use the most so I don’t have to keep looking them up, and I can easily use that address elsewhere.
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I have been following the commission ritual program and there they advise that you cloak all affiliate links but as you say maybe this applies specifically to clickbank links only. I will give it a try and see how I get on.
Once again a big THANKYOU from here in the UK for all your excellent work!!!!
Jon´s last undefined ..Response cached until Sun 6 @ 20:33 GMT (Refreshes in 4.66 Hours)
Hi Jackie what is your view on masking links to Amazon? I have done that on my site using the tinyurl masking program. the program makes all your links start with tinyurl and then /yourpage name, but what I am wondering is if Google does not rank sites with affiliate links on them, such as all pointing to Amazon, does it know that you have masked them and because all my links start with tinyurl will it not think this is an affiliate?, or does it look at the whole url including sub directory?
Hope this made sense.
Jon´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at
Good job first of all. Things will bounce around for a while. If you got to the first page once it generally means you can get there again. I’d say build a few more links and then be patient and see what happens. Wait a few weeks and if you’re not on the front page again, then build some more links.
You’ll need to build links until you stick ~ it will be different for every keyword and every site. Do some links, then wait and see what happens. If you’re not where you want to be, then build some more.
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Hi Jackie
I have a question about backlinks. I managed to get about 16 backlinks on my site and at one point was on page 1 of Google and while it was there I made a sale which made me very happy, however over time it has slowly moved down and is now on page 5. My question is has this happened because I stopped adding backlinks and for how long after you build a site should you add new ones?
Thank you so much for your great advice
Jon´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at
Hi Mike,
Affiliate marketing being only for the big boys? That’s complete bull$#@&. In fact, affiliate marketing is one of the very best, easiest, fastest ways for a beginner to get started.
The best thing to get started… if you’re reading the warrior forum… stop.
I’ve personally found the warrior forum to be a show stopper ~ every time I thought I was on the right track something bursted my confidence. Once I stopped reading it, action was much easier.
Go to the articles page of this site. Start with the first link, read, take action on the post, and then go to the next link and do the same thing.
I’m setting up a challenge this month related to consistent action… making some decisions about what you want to accomplish over a certain period of time absolutely helps me keep taking action.
As far as Amazon… you can use any affiliate network. I use shareasale a lot, as well as commission junction and linkshare. Try those ~ you’ll be able to find tons of stuff to promote there.
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Two questions, if you don’t mind.
1. How do I get out of the Ready-Aim mode and pull the trigger. Just when I think I am about to pull the trigger someone in a forum somewhere says something like “Affiliate marketing is just for the big boys” and then I start second guessing my self. (I never knew a person had to be born an Affiliate Marketer).
2. I’m in Colorado and Amazon “fired” Coloradans. Any suggestions on what to use instead of Amazon?
Odie if you want to find out how you are ranking and what pages on your site are ranking then take a look at Free Monitor For Google
http://www.cleverstat.com/en/google-monitor-query.htm
supposed to help give you pointers on what to do to enhance your rank
Doug Orchard´s last blog ..Keyboard Illuminated – Article – Top Gaming Keyboards
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Anita on the keyword tool in the bottom right hand corner is an option to export that list of keywords to a text or cvs document you then have all the keywords in a list and you won’t have to manually take them from the keyword tool and enter them in the keyword list box on wordpress or ezine sites.
With squidoo you have to do it one at a time, and that bites but oh well.
Doug Orchard´s last blog ..Keyboard Illuminated – Article – Top Gaming Keyboards
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Gosh I didn’t know it was gonna do that Jackie, you’ll have to remove that post sorry.
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Hi Anita,
Welcome ~ check out the articles page (top right hand corner). You’ll see a few posts on keyword research there. I’m not sure what exactly you’re doing so it’s tough to be specific. Those posts are pretty good for creating squidoo lenses and any other long tail keyword research you need to do. Hope that helps.
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Hi, Jackie –
First, it’s nice to “meet” you and your wealth of information! I’m VERY NEW to internet marketing, so please forgive my ignorant question or questions.
I’m trying to break into affiliate marketing with zero investment – which I know can be done. Is there any way that I can get the all important keywords that I need for articles that won’t take me an entire day? I’m using the free keyword tool that Google has. Do you have any shortcuts that won’t cost me any $$? Thank you soooo much! (If you have info about this somewhere in your blog, could you point me in the right direction?)
Thanks again!
~AZ
I imagine you can just use amazon.com ~ and the money will be sent to you via whatever payment method you have set up. If you’re using the modules in squidoo it will use Amazon.com ~ and Squidoo will pay you via paypal. Most americans will use amazon.com ~ and most of your sales will come via americans is my guess.
You could always ask at the squidu forum to be sure, and read through the squidoo FAQ.
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Hi Jackie,
Wanted to find out whether people who reside outside US can make money with Squidoo using Amazon? I live in the UK and was wondering if I could use amazon.co.uk.
Thanks.
Amazon.co.uk also have the same affiliate tools as .com so you can sell to a UK market, though you do need to make sure your keyword is relevant to that market
Jon´s last undefined ..Response cached until Wed 2 @ 16:01 GMT (Refreshes in 23.85 Hours)
I can not possibly answer that because it completely depends on the keywords you’ve chosen.
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How many directories would you say is considered enough to get the lens moved up to first page.
Your overall goal is different than what your PURPOSE for your articles is.
direct traffic from an article is best done by submitting unique articles to a few big directories. Using articles to get your lens to move up in the search rankings comes from many links which means submitting to many directories to get those links.
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the goal is to get more traffic to the lens. Are you saying if I want more backlinks then send articles to more directories?
Depends on what your purpose is? If it’s to get traffic I’d submit them to EZA and maybe articlebase.com or goarticles.com ~ if you’re going for backlinks then a lot more.
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Hello,
In writing articles, how many directories do you think is enough to send?
did not think about that way but I will do that now.
While whether or not there are other lenses at squidoo on your topic can matter ~ what really matters is if there is a lens featured in the search engine results for your keyword.
If you go to google and put your keywords in the search box is a lens coming up on the first two pages?
If not then I’d say you’re fine.
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I know that keywords play a big part I do understand that if someone has made a lens in squidoo on keywords that I am using, I do know that it would not be good for me to build the lens. But what if they are not using all of the product keywords? Would It still be ok to build the lens around that product?
look for a related keyword that does have search volume.
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Ok,
Say I do a lens on something that I am interested in, what if there is not enough search volume for it?
You don’t necessarily have to have the specific product keyword. The more specific it is the better ~ but it doesn’t have to be the exact product name. I worked on a lens for “diamond cat pendant” ~ I just picked on out that had reviews and a good price point. You could also add a “amazon search” module near the bottom to let them search for something else if that wasn’t the pendant they were looking for. The key is to get them to amazon ~ let Amazon do the selling and upselling.
You can monetize just about any interest or hobby ~ think about what you need to do/make/participate in it, or what people might need to learn more about it, a related and relevant product that would make it easier to do it.
My Lasagna Gardening lens is a good example of this. I just wanted to do a lens on this to share my gardening technique ~ but I added the book ~ links to raised beds, links to some great tomato towers ~ and it brings in some income.
You don’t have to have a specific product to build a lens around ~ it’s just one really easy way to make sure the sales process is congruent ~ it’s easy to put exactly what people are looking for right in front of them ~ but it’s certainly not the only way.
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Hello,
Jackie, I really like the fact of picking products out on amazon that people are searching for. I have 14 lenses up but I am finding it to be kind of difficult now to find products on amazon and then using google to match the exact product keywords. I have taken a look at alot of your past lenses, and I understand they are not all amazon related. They are mostly things that you are interested in, I have a few things that I am interested in but I do not know how to put that in a lens and make money.
I sent you an email directly.
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So are you going to answer my previous question that I cannot seem to find?
If you do not use a spinner, to get different variations of your articles, do you mind me asking your what you do use. Does the UAW spin your articles for you?
Internet marketing is all about writing content. If you find it too much there are some options.
1. outsource content creation.
2. Hire a writer to write articles for you
3. use plr.
4. Use UAW or a spinner to create unique articles to use for all those different purposes.
hth
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Hello,
On your Squidoo Christmas Mindmap you list 9 free adblogs (and ezine) that I would write articles for and submit. After I do a lens with content, write an article for ezine, and change my articles many times for the free ad blogs, I am burnt out. Is there any way to just write one article and just submit it to the directories. Or is there some other way to solve this issue. Because it is very time consuming when you have to write nine different articles.
Take a deep breath and go for a walk.
There are times when Squidoo acts crazy. You’re going to drive yourself nuts trying to force it to do what you want when it’s acting crazy.
When you’re having issues with squidoo then work on other things. There’s always linking to be done. There’s always articles to be written ~ even if you just write them to submit later.
I have no control over the crazy stuff Squidoo does and neither do YOU! Focus on the things you do have control over and work on them. Go back later when you’re not as frustrated and my guess is you’ll have better luck then. (at least that has been my experience).
The other thing is from my seat it looks like there’s some “perfectionism” going on over there ~ it may be time to look at that and see if/how it serves you. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be profitable.
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When I go to my squidoo dashboard one of my lenses is in a non published status and I know I published it (because I keep pushing publish) But everytime I come back to my dashboard it remains the same. Jackie sometimes these little things are frustrating. It took me amost 7hrs to publish a lens yesterday (and thats without writting articles and other linking) What is the problem? I am spending so much time at this and no sales since November. My friends are telling me to quit because it’s not working, You will never get anyone to buy something from your lens, if they do, maby you will get a sale in 5 or 6 months. WHAT DO I DO!!! I am spending way to much time on this. I am lucky I do not work full time because at this rate, things would never change. I uploaded a photo to my squidoo intro, decided I did not want to use that one, tried to delete the photo, squidoo is not letting me. It is very frustrating, I waste lots of time and I just do not know what to do anymore, because as of now it is just not working. I have spent half my morning on nothing. WHAT DO I DO!!!
Hi Jackie,
Thank you for sharing the method of using affiliate program
Thanks
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You do it the same way you add links to a squidoo lens. Get the code from your affiliate program and then paste it in your blog post. Make sure you’ve clicked over to the “html” side before you do it.
Same thing with putting a banner in.
To add the pdf you have to host it somewhere ~ then add the link to the place where it is hosted in your article so people can go there and get it.
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