SquidU Review: Squidoo’s Gone Stats Happy

The latest ‘SquidU Review’ has been released. The featured article is titled “Squidoo’s Gone Stats Happy”. [SquidU Review]

The latest SquidU Review is reprinted here.

SquidU Review: Squidoo’s Gone Stats Happy

The SquidU Review: Squidoo’s Gone Stats Happy!

Just when you thought Squidoo couldn’t get any better, the Squid Staff reveal a spectacular new update for statistics! The new updates are very impressive, indeed, but did you know they do more than just look good? Today, find out how you can use the new stats system to get more eyeballs on your lenses, make more money, and get more exposure for yourself and your business.

1. A Statistics Primer 2. Traffic at Highway Speed (and a new tagging trick) 3. Monetize More Lenses 4. Hottest Traffic Tips from High $$$ Lenses (don’t miss this special report!)

This past week I got to talk to some of the highest earning lensmasters on Squidoo about their top traffic tips (see #4 below). What I learned was surprisingly valuable, AND surprisingly easy. These tips are sure to put your traffic on the fast track.

Happy Squidooing,
my fellow Squids! ~Kimberly Dawn Wells
Editor of the SquidU Review

1.A Statistics Primer

Change can be hard, but once you get used to it, you often wonder what you did without the new updates. Our new lens stats reporting system is the same way. It looks a little intimidating, but in the end it offers more flexibility and options than ever.

First things first – how does this thing work anyway?

Login to your account to visit your Dashboard and view the new stats system. You’ll see that everything is still there, just in a slightly different spot. On the left you see the titles of your lenses, followed by four links for viewing, editing, deleting, and getting the statistics on your lenses. Next are the columns for your LensRank, Star Rank, visit count, pending commissions, and the date your lens was last edited. For each of these columns, plus your lens titles, if you click on the header at the top you can toggle back and forth between A to Z and Z to A ordered lists. Read more on how to use this below!

Some links that used to run across the bottom of your screen are now on the right side. In the section labeled Tools, you can still access the “transfer a lens” and “bugs & feedback” links.

The “stats” tab at the top of your dashboard zips you over to the new and improved stats page where you can see which lensmasters and members are new to Squidoo because of your influence! If you’re seeing new members who haven’t yet created lenses, why not send them a personal note? It’s the quickest way to get five bucks and they’ll appreciate the extra help. You can also see the statistics for any of your lenses by selecting it from the drop-down menu at the top of this page.

On the individual stats page for each lens, you can now get a lot more goodness about how busy (or slow) your lens has been. The Summary tab gives you vital info about traffic and Lens Rank. The Traffic tab shows you where people are coming from, and where they’re going after leaving your page. Here you can also view traffic for just one day (today or yesterday), for a seven-day window, or for the last month. BIG TIP: See how the keywords have a little + sign behind them? We’ll come back to that later! The Royalties tab is the best new part. Here you can view a chart of how much money your lens has made, when each royalty has paid how, what people have purchased from Amazon.com after leaving your lens, and (coming soon!) eBay sales!

Whew! Spend some time getting to know your stats. They can do a lot more than just tell you what happened in the past. They can help you learn how to do better in the future.

2.Traffic at Highway Speed (and a new tagging trick)

One of the new changes with the dashboard is your ability to organize your lens list based on traffic. This allows you a quick glance at which lenses are getting the most eyeballs and which need a little help.

Toggle your list of lenses to bring the lowest traffic lenses to the top. You may see many with 3, 8, or 11 visitors for the past week. Or, you may have a bunch of lenses sitting at *gasp* zero!

Never fear, there are many reasons your lenses might be lonely:

1. They’re new New lenses need TLC. Join some groups, email them to friends, and ask the friendly Angels at the SquidU Forums to bless them. Start spreading the word about these lenses so they can get found.

2. They’re unpublished Oops! Remember that lens you started last month that you never finished? Now is the time! Find some great products and photos to share, fill in your text modules, and polish your link list. Now it’s ready for all the world to see.

3. They’re a secret Sometimes lenses never get off the ground with traffic because no one knows they exist. If no one knows they exist, they can’t talk about them, blog about them, email them, or all around enjoy them. Just like new lenses, promote them through sharing, bookmarks, groups, and outside forums.

4. No one can find them! Even the greatest lenses can suffer from low traffic if no one can find them. What’s the key to getting found? Tags. The new statistics have a built in tool for adding tags to your lenses based on how other people have found them in the past. Ready to learn? Log in to your dashboard and click on the “stats” link for one of your lenses. In the “stats” tab, you’ll see a list of keywords that visitors have used to find your lens. Keywords and phrases that you DON’T have on your lens will have a little + behind them. If you would like to add these keywords to your lens, simply click on the +. Only add keywords that will truly help your lens. Some people may find your lens using terms that don’t apply to you 100%. Select the best ones. After you’re done adding keywords, go to the editing page for that lens and republish it.

Voila! You’ve just added new tags to your lenses!

3.Monetize More Lenses

Are you suffering from a lack of cash on your lenses? Are they complete, well written, informative, and still lagging behind on the cash-o-meter? The new stats page can help you identify your lowest earning lenses so you can get them back on the cash-track.

Here’s a friendly little exercise regiment for cashing in.

1. Reorder your lenses on your dashboard to bring the lowest earning lenses to the top. 2. Brainstorm ways to incorporate moneymakers into each of your lenses. Can you sell a book on the topic? Would a t-shirt for the cause be appropriate? Can someone learn more on eBay? 3. Edit your page for overall completeness. What’s missing? Are all your modules completely filled in? Are all the module titles well written? Is all your content relevant to your topic? 4. Republish and re-promote. 5. Lather, rinse, and repeat weekly.

Keeping track of your highest and lowest earning lenses can help you identify areas where you can better serve your readers. Learn from your highest earning lenses and give, er, apply to the lowest. Help your visitors use Squidoo as a starting point, and direct them to what they need to do next, whether that be buy a great book, watch a great movie, relax with a great cup of coffee, or go spend some quality time surfing eBay.

4.Hottest Traffic Tips from High $$$ Lenses

We queried the lensmasters of the top earning lenses on Squidoo to learn their secrets. They gave us a lot to think about! Read more on this special traffic report here: http://squidu.com/profiles/hot-traffic-tips

About Squidoo

Squidoo: SKWID-OO, n. v., adj., addiction. 1) thousands of people creating a handbuilt catalog of the best stuff online 2) a free and fun way to make your own page and get traffic 3) a place to find what you’re looking for, fast.

*IMNewswatch would like to thank Squidoo for granting permission to reprint the latest SquidU Review.