“If you build it, they will learn.” - A Squidoo mantra.

First things first - what the heck is a Squidoo? It isn’t a snowmobile that can drive on water. At it’s simplest, Squidoo has been called a sort of MySpace for adults. While that analogy is becoming popular, and is oh so clever, it couldn’t be less accurate.

The official word from the horse’s mouth is that Squidoo is an “… online platform that makes it easy for anyone to build lenses on topics they are passionate about. These lenses help you find a unique, human perspective on things that interest you… fast. Not only can Lensmasters spread their ideas, get recognized for their expertise, and send more traffic to their Web sites and blogs—they could also earn royalties.” Former luddites can become online authorities and the possibilities are astounding. Over 20,000 lenses and 8,000 lens masters currently make up the network, and there is no end in sight.

The private Squidoo beta launched in October, and already some of the earliest lenses have Google Page Rank and are pulling in signifigant search keyword referrals from major engines. Google’s affinity for Squidoo is especially noteworthy, and many search engine marketers and optimizers are taking notice. And it’s official: In a recent interview at SXSW, Squidoo’s Senior Director of Community Development - Heath Row - was quick to point out the rate at which new lenses have been getting indexed. Listen to the full interview here.

So a lens can be a lot more than a shortcut for searchers to subject matter on a focused topic. From an SEO standpoint, it can also serve as a shortcut to getting newer websites indexed by search engines who regularly crawl, and give creedence to, Squidoo’s growing network. Make lenses for your clients, your company, or anything you are passionate about. It’s the next big thing in so many ways.

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The SEO game has changed frequently and drastically during it’s short existence. Meta tags gave way to hidden text which gave way to Page Rank, incoming links - and the list will continue to grow each year. The big players, Google, Yahoo and MSN, strive to differentiate their directories by offering the most comprehensive and relevant results possible. This fact is great news for consumers and retailers alike - it keeps the playing field fierce, but level.

“Most search engines have developed comprehensive spam filters that weed out the spammers from the legitimate sites and penalize sites caught trying to cheat the system. Google in particular has led the charge for quality over quantity“. (site-reference.com)

Simply put, SEO is becoming a simpler practice. Not simpler as in “easier” - it’s as competitive as ever. But it is harkening back to the pre-spamming days when good content and a few basic search friendly ground rules were all you needed to ensure the majority your traffic.

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