How fun!  (And addicting!)   Do you Squidoo?  If not, you should try it!  It’s FREE!

Using some SEO techniques I learned from Holly Mann, some keyword searching at Google, and some basic knowledge of my own, I’ve been creating a bunch of Squidoo lenses on a variety of topics.   After only one week of this, I’ve been gaining high Google rankings on my selected keywords and website traffic to my affiliate programs.   I plan on using this technique to get traffic to my websites too.

How does it work?  Squidoo is HUGE!  With massive amounts of interlinking pages.  It’s SEO Heaven!  Pick the right keyword and optimize your Squidoo lens and BOOM!, there you are on the search engine front page within days.  I’m not kidding.  Do a search on “honest affiliate marketing” (use the quotes) and it shows up fourth on Google.  That’s my page.  I made it just a few days ago.  Okay, so its not the most sought after keyword phrase, but it makes my point.  Link your ranked Squidoo lens to your website or affiliate program and you’ve got traffic!

Squidoo also has modules that you can add to your lenses (pages) to gain you affiliate income from places like Amazon and CafePress.  You don’t even have to be an affiliate.  Of course, Squidoo gets their percent, but that’s only fair.  You can get some Adsense revenue while you’re at it too.  Part of the  income gets split between all lensmasters who bring traffic to Squidoo.  

So… Go to it! 

Step one:  Find a great keyword.  Look for a phrase with at least average searches and less competition.  This is the hard part, but the most important.

Step two: Build a Squidoo lens on it.

Step three: Go to http://www.pingomatic.com and put in the title and URL.  (This tells the blog services that there is new content.)

Step four:  Add some money-makers or links to your site.

Step five:  Come back and post it here. I’ll rank even it for you (more SEO happiness).  I’ll be posting my lenses in a comment as well, so if you want to check them out and rank them for me, that would be greatly appreciated.

If you get addicted and want to learn more about how to build traffic and make money with Squidoo, check out this link:

Is SquidooSecrets Right For You? Check Out The Free Preview First!

Last night was my daughter’s preschool graduation.  I don’t even know where to start with all that I’m feeling.  I almost wonder if it is more of a transition for me than it is for her.  Even though I was right here for the past five years, I don’t know where they went. 

When the children received their diplomas, the teacher read quotes from the children on their future.  My daughter’s went like this:

“When I grow up I want to be a mom, just like my mommy.  I am going to live at home with my mom and dad.  I am going to have two kids.  I am going to make $2.”

What I heard out of that, loud and clear, is that I have done a good job as a mom so far, that my daughter looks up to me, and that there is nowhere else in the world I should have been for the past five years.  (Even if I only made $2!)

This is really the beginning of the end of my “stay at home mom” years.  Even though I don’t intend on working outside the home once Kindergarten starts, I won’t be staying home with my baby any more. 

But….

I am so proud!  She looked so grown up already.  She was happy and smiling and oh so sweet. 

Everything is as it should be.