SquidU » Lensmastery

Choosing Tags

Squidoo uses tags in several important ways. They're one of the first things that Search checks against. Tag matches affect high placement in search results more than other text matches -- which could boost your LensRank.

Similarly, your tags determine what text ads appear on your lens. The more specific your tags are, the more relevant the ads should be -- which could increase click through and your royalties from the co-op.

So what you choose as tags matter. Tags should capture the core of your lens -- what are its keywords, what is your lens about? In addition to what top-level Category you place your lens in, tags help categorize your lens, making it easier to find and describe.

You might also consider how specific or general your tags are -- and what balance you strike between the two. If your lens is about baking with filo dough, you might consider the tags cooking, baking, pastries, pastry, Greek, and "filo dough." Just choosing cooking -- or baking, for that matter -- might not help visitors find your lens well enough.

Tags can even help you add content to your lenses. Modules that tap into Technorati, Flickr, and other services can tap into your tags to pull in relevant content. Based on the tags you apply to a lens, content from third parties will be displayed.

In addition, Squidoo uses tags to relate lenses, other content, and even lensmasters to each other.