When Should You Link To Other Sites When Writing Online?

Slightly random thoughts on external links and content when writing lenses, blogposts, etcetera.
 (This was an email to a friend, and then I realised it was worth tidying a little and posting. I gave up on the 'tidying' part, because my hands are cold.)

On linking to other sites and stuff, shuld one do it? Yes, if it's valuable/helps the reader, but my (acquisitive and greedy? XD ) policy is to try and link to other places that benefit me - e.g. Squidoo, within blogs. Which also means I can vouch for the quality at the other end. Can't always do this, of course, but very often you can recreate a similar resource to link to - such as a new Squidoo lens. The more you write, you'll realise that you'll be referring to the same awards, topics or genres or author or something else, so it makes sense to create an overview/index page about it. These may end up being more valuable than the original posts and lenses, in their way, either for the navigational aspect, or because people really really want a nice guide to that topic. 

Basically:

1. Don't let people leave unless it's via an Amazon or other link that you WANT them to go to.

2. Make people want to return, so if another link adds value, it cancels out the above. So (good, reliable and useful) links means that people will come back to see what you post, even though they leave to visit each link. And that improves their opinion of the site itself.

3. Google does look at what you link to and who links to you, but if you're following the above rules it should even out (basically, on topic and quality. Links from other good sites means your site is obviously good. Roughly. So links from lenses and stuff = good).

4. When considering whether to write about something yourself instead of linking, consider: 

a) can you add something, bring something of your own to it? (if yes = awesome new content, if not = are you just regurgitating existing content? If so, is it worth it for the internal navigation/organisation benefit (e.g. a list of books by an author with links to your reviews) and when expecting no other traffic other than within your blog/portfolio)?)

b) And of course, is it on topic? If it's not then it will probably be a bit too random. Might work very well on a separate site or a Squidoo lens though (you could write it and decide where to stick it later).

So in summary, don't link out, write new stuff instead, unless it is to a better resource that people will want to visit that you cannot recreate and improve without simply copying which is pointless unless it helps you organise your site better AND is very relevant and on-topic.

The Impact of the Google Famer Update On My Lenses

Well, the Google Farmer update was 23rd Feb, and I think it's been long enough now to step back and see if it actually affected me.

Oh. It really didn't.

My Google Analytics traffic has remained completely steady, with an average of 1,400 pageviews a day (range 1,300-1,600).

Many of my smaller pages are starting to pick up a little more traffic, and  I saw three lenses lose large chunks of search traffic. Otherwise I noticed no difference, and even the differences I saw were within normal ranges for Google fluctuations.

The three pages that I did notice something for were three of my top lenses (all top tier, and averaging 50-100 visits a day)

Mother Gothel: Lost most of it's Google traffic for a while, but stayed steady on image searches and . Now back again, so may simply have been rejuggling, as it's a fairly new lens.

This last week, traffic has picked up again - although the total number of visits doesn't seem to change much.

Cosplaying Mother Gothel: Lost ALL traffic, except for image searches, but was also linked from TVTropes, which fed a steady stream of referrals. Newer than the Mother Gothel lens.

For the last week, I've been seeing regular, if inconsistent, search results.

 These first two are entirely original and without much competition. They're also relatively new - I blame most of the changes on the fact that they're competing with sites like IMDB, that the frenzy of the new release of Tangled is dying down a bit, and because they're well within the 'Google juggling results while deciding where they should go' time frame.

Top Lesbian Media however, is the one that hurt. It had just started raking in traffic from Google (previously mainly referral traffic - a lot of it!), and was steadily over 30 visitors a day (which was awesome, as the first few months it was around 10 a day). The DAY after the update, all traffic vanished.

In the last couple of weeks, it received no traffic at all - except for two completely random, and separate, days when suddenly it would get 20-30 hits from search traffic.I did edit and tweak but I don't really think I did anything worth bringing traffic back - and nothing to explain why it then disappeared again, so clearly Google was literally juggling my lens up and down!

The last few days, traffic is back, and better than ever. This makes me happy, as not only was it a huge amount of work, it actually makes sales.


THIS one I think I can blame on the Farmer update. The vast majority of this lens is just Amazon links (plexos, mostly, because of the number of items I'm listing, and so I can add more, and so people can vote). It is, basically, a nearly pure sales lens. I do have a fair bit of original content, but the ratio of sales stuff to 'me' stuff is markedly different from many other lenses. And I think the fact that it's so wide a niche meant that google needed a bit more overall authority before it would trust it enough to send all the really niche searches to (e.g. lesbian books... okay. What KIND?)

But it's back now. So I'm happy.

There has been one other effect that I've noticed - I'm more motivated to actually write something, add a bit more, make it mine. And editing old lenses, I've been deleting many of the Wikipedia modules - they're fluff, background noise, that doesn't give my lens any extra value or interest or authority. And I KNOW no-one ever clicks the links to read more, whereas they do occasionally in lists of 'further links about this topic'.

---------------------
Topics people think led to penalties:

• Duplicate content
• Content on 'junk/spam' topics
• Belonging to specific types of website
• Evil demons
• Too many no_follow or affiliate or outward links

Personally, I only really think the first two are valid, although I'm holding out for invisible demon lolcats in the internet. But I think they wouldn't be able to resist leaving glowing red pawprints on pages.

Grow New Baby Lenses With Page Breaks (Greenhousing)

Tui Bird Feeding on Cherry Blossoms by Flynn_the_Cat
More Tui Cards

Greenhousing: Use the Page Breaks to grow lenses up until they are big enough to split off!
This is probably my favourite use for the page break module. I've often ended up writing really long lenses, which then grow some more over time - and naturally I now add page breaks.

After a while of that, I can see if I'm still adding more, and if people are actually finding the second page, and can just copy it across to a completely new lens (whether I leave anything behind depends on what I started with).

For example, the Disney Femslash lens used to have a page dedicated to lesbian media recommendations. This got no search traffic and had a LOT of content which kept growing and was good (rare visitors clicked on a lot of items), so I took it out, and created and entirely new lens, with FIVE pagebreaks - Top Lesbian Media. Which stayed happily in second tier (now up in first) and never impacted on the Disney lens' happy first tier ranking at all. This also freed up a page for my rapidly expanding Disney collection (which I am now creating a series of lenses to host, as it is STILL growing!).

A BAD example is the time I split off the How to Make a Tui Feeder topic from the main New Zealand Tui lens. Sure, it deserved it's own niche and both lenses are doing fine now, but I didn't notice that almost all the traffic was FOR the feeders. Which meant that my original Tui lens dropped like a stone for over a year, until it started pulling in traffic in its own right (I also later added a Featured lens module and interlinked them, now I get some of that traffic back and send a lot to the other lens).

The much newer lens on Mother Gothel is another good example - it grew and grew, and then I gave up and added a page break, and then I realised I was getting two separate types of searcher - fans, and would-be cosplayers - so I pulled out all the costume related content and set it up on a new lens about Mother Gothel's costume. And still had two full pages worth on the original lens! (in fact, I need to find a way to break the first page up some more).

I'm following this tactic for several other lenses as well, as they slowly grow over time. Nothing on Squidoo is permanent - make use of this to continually improve your content, and learn to narrow it down as you go, if you're having trouble with getting 'niche' enough! (Write enough, and eventually you'll get chapters out of it!)

Points to consider when breaking up a lens

1. Is a page or section on the page getting ANY search traffic or clicks? If no one is landing on that page, for that information, then it's a waste of space. If the rare people who find it seem to love it, then it needs more attention somehow. DON'T pull out the content that is attracting visitors in the first place. Use Google Analytics to see which pages people are viewing and landing on. (Here's how to add Google Analytics to a lens and here's how to understand the page break hits)

2. Is it a slightly different part of the overall topic - can it be considered a new niche? Niche is GOOD, if you've got enough content to back it up.

3. Have you got enough content to make a lens? If you don't, can you find some? Otherwise, just move it into a page break.

4. Does the current lens have a good ranking/link love? If not, it might be a good idea to wait until it's coasting along nicely. It might NEED that content!

5. When link dropping, do you feel like it isn't a good link to leave, because they'll have trouble loading or finding the bit that is relevant? You definitely need to break it up a bit!

6. Leave a signpost to the new lens. I have links pointing to pages which no longer contain the same content, and by clearly noting that it's moved, and is now 149% more awesome with its own dedicated lens, people click through. And people who weren't even looking, click through (...usually. It is a elated topic, after all!). And leave the headings and images that are pulling in the most traffic, if only to say 'looking for This Awesome Related Thing? Go here!' instead of 'Awesome Related Thing'.

7. If you don't think your lens can stand alone as TWO lenses, but you need to break it up, just add a page break. If you think you're doing twice as well as you need to for lensrank/sales, and half the traffic is 'wasted' on half the lens (i.e. skipping entire sections and only after specific niche content) then split it up.

8. And if you don't dare split your content into completely separate lenses, try adding some fancy banners at the beginning and end, and interlinking the two pages a bit more, and see if that helps people to find the extra pages!

Examples of content you could make a new lens out of

• A GOOD review of a product on a lens where it only needs a casual mention (e.g. I started reviewing my camera and camera equipment on my Auckland Zoo photos lens, which ended up being long, so I just moved it into a new lens.) This allows you to create a nicely targeted lens, AND to feature it on the original as a resource.
• Splitting up a series or collection into more targeted lenses (e.g. I am GOING to do this with my Graphic Novels lens, as most people don't find the following pages - plus the Amazon module limits - and there is search traffic for them). Also, my Disney femslash collection (which always puts me in a good mood because I find it so funny - I grin manically whenever I write the words 'Disney femslash') is being organised into specific character lenses.
• Sections on lenses that end up being large enough to split off, even if they are generally related. 
• E.g. Characters and their costumes - on most of my character lenses (Holli Would, Mal Reynolds, Illyria), the costume information is only about a third of the lens at the most, the traffic is not big, and most of the traffic is for the costumes. If I take that out, I lose those lenses. Actually, the lens about Illyria is a bit odd, as I DO have enough content for two lenses, and it is page break'd, but until the last month (it's been around for four), all the traffic was image searches on the costume page. But now, I think I can safely split it up.
•  But on other lenses, such as Mother Gothel (described above) the traffic is huge, and clearly split into 'cosplay' and 'about Mother Gothel'. 
• Also e.g. - how to use a graphics tablet with ArtRage and which one to buy. Each seriously needs to become its own separate lens (and to be seriously edited... that is one old, old lens! In fact, I think it could easily be a tier two if I bothered to redo it properly. But I am sulking because I still can't find my Bamboo tablet pen and am in ArtRage withdrawal)
• Some lenses, there is just no point as the only thing keeping them 'up' is the fact that several different pages are pulling in traffic and clicks. 

Basically, look at your traffic. If the searches are mainly on the stuff you're taking OUT, then your current lens will probably die, at least initially. If they're half-half, then it may drop, or may be okay. If most of it's on the current topic, and the stuff you're moving is mainly irrelevant, then your lens may even improve!

Amazon Associate Update: Early January

Well, I just found out (at 1.30am, I wish Amazon updated on Pacific time!) that I made it into the 6% tier on Amazon (it's th 9th of January here, but I'm a day ahead, so actual time period here is 31st-7th Jan.)

At last, you can
quit your day job

I am both relieved and analytical - I barely scraped into the 'seven items sold' tier in Oct and Nov (my first two months)... and I do mean 'barely'. I actually made my final sale(s) on the very last day of both months! December was huge because of Christmas - but it also mucked up my stats/idea of the effectiveness of how well I was doing.

January is the test month. Do I have enough links, that are being seen by enough people? Are they being seen by the right people? Am I getting high traffic? Or high conversions? (They can even out, although for ego's sake I'd prefer a higher conversion rate). Am I actually recommending the right products? Is a separate associate account the right direction, or should I go back to concentrating on Squidoo modules alone, and abandon the flexibility? (no point if I can't get it to work!)

Will I see my cheque sometime before 2013?

On current evidence I'd say YES.

As I mentioned, I've made it into the second tier - the measure of success, in my opinion, as it means I'll be getting slightly more than from the Squidoo modules (differences of which are mostly covered in my review of whether it's time for you to try a separate Amazon Associate account or not). It's still very close, though. And I won't be quitting my real job any time soon!

Also, interestingly - I've had 245 clicks in the last week, but I see that the vast majority are looking at all the various Tangled related items on the Mother Gothel lens, most of which are either sold out (e.g. Art of Tangled), not yet available (e.g. the film itself) or more along the lines of research than ordering (e.g. possible costume/Disney villain stuff). Whether people come back later or not, or are just happy browsing and don't ever plan to buy, I guess I'll find out. 

Finally - about 80% of my orders since Christmas are items I am actually promoting, and sales are mostly of single items. This is in comparison to the roughly 50% overall 'recommended' sales in December, and the bulk orders of presents! (Sometimes one item I recommended plus extras, sometimes nothing to do with the items I linked to at all). The topics are all over the place, though.

My sales, so far as I can tell (not having bothered with tracking/different referral code stuff yet), are coming about equally from Squidoo and Best Reviewer. I also made about the same number of sales through Squidoo's own modules (eight Amazon and three eBay, to be exact).

 I love my Squidoo lenses and the former has a lot more content - but the latter is really good for extremely niche 'top ten' type lists of items. Some just become background internet noise, but others are in the first couple of results for certain searches. And the more niche you get, the lower the traffic - and the higher the conversion rate if you are recommending the right products. The more niche you get? The less leeway for the 'wrong' recommendations. So do the research, (how many reviews would YOU read through before you decided this item was okay to buy? Use that to judge when you feel secure in adding it to your list, and to decide what you'll say about it) or write on stuff you know about.

If people are interested... or heck, if I feel like it! I'll keep some kind of running update on how Amazon is working for a semi-amateur internet person. And if you found this post relevant to your interests, then you may also be interested in these posts:

How I Make Money Online: Overview of the various sites and programs I use, and their effectiveness
Is It Better To Use Your Own Amazon Associate Account On Squidoo? : A comparison of whether it's worth signing up as an Amazon Associate or just using Squidoo's modules, and my earnings immediately after signing up.

Is It Better To Use Your Own Amazon Associate Account On Squidoo?

There are two different ways of earning money from Amazon sales on Squidoo - the Squidoo modules, and your own associate links. But which is better? I know I was wondering a lot before I jumped in - didn't want to expend effort and time on something that didn't convert, and diverted attention from the links I was making sales from. This post covers the various points to consider as well as some of my own conversion rates, successes/failures, and observations. I expect it to grow over time!

Squidoo Amazon modules use its own associate account. Any sales via these are attributed to Squidoo, who then splits the commission with you. You can also create your own image, text and SquidUtils links using your own Amazon Associates account. If you don't have your own account, you can also extract each lens' affiliate ID and use it on that lens in your own links and SquidUtil's banners (this is a good backup option for people who've been kicked out of the affiliate program due to the Nexus tax).

What are the differences in earnings?
With Squidoo, you get HALF of the commission, but Amazon's tiered payouts mean that Squidoo makes twice as much on commission.

Amazon pays more based on the number of items sold (with a few product-type variations). When you are just starting, you'll be struggling in the less than seven items a month tier, and Squidoo will pay you more.

If you can make it to the next tier, with seven to thirty items sold a month, then it's worth using your own links.

But consider the main points of Squidoo versus Amazon:

1. Squidoo's Amazon modules tend to sell well, and update the prices automatically.

2. Amazon pays out only via direct deposit in the US or cheque. Overseas people must earn $100 to claim the cheque. Squidoo pays out via Paypal from as low as $1.

3. Sales via Squidoo give you a lensrank boost (depending on how much you sell).

4. ANY clickouts are good, anyway.

5. Squidoo has just brought in limits on the number of Amazon modules (which has everyone quite upset and may change again - but lenses can often sell well with only a few items on offer)

6. You can use both on the same lens

7. You can use your associate account elsewhere (actually, you can use the Squidoo one elsewhere by copying the link too, and have sales count to that lens, but this is getting complicated!)

8. Every month, the Amazon tiers reset, so if your sales aren't consistent, you'll be losing out.

9. You are not allowed to buy (and earn a referral) through your own Amazon links. You CAN buy through Squidoo's and get part of the referral.

10. Some states in the US are bringing in laws to tax affiliate income - as Amazon isn't based in those states and it all gets very complicated, it may just stop offering affiliate accounts to people who live in those areas.

11. Finally, Squidoo's modules are much easier to use, while building your own Amazon links requires some knowledge of HTML (this does give more flexibility, but if you don't really know how to build text or image links, much less make it look fancy or position the image, you may want to wait a bit).

12. However... the higher payout levels (if you can reach them) mean more money. I have consistently sold more items per month on Squidoo, but earnt approximately equal or higher Amazon royalties.

My story: what kind of success I've seen with Amazon

I opened an Amazon account when I found that the fees were waived for sending cheques overseas, and after I was making consistent sales (5-10 a month) on Squidoo. I had about 100 lenses at the time, and had been on Squidoo nearly two years. I opened my Best Reviewer account at the same time as I opened the associate account and I think I sell about half from there bearing in mind that I haven't really gone back and added Amazon links on old lenses yet.

I just managed to make the 6% tier for the first two months (a great surprise! That's seven items a month and about $11 each month)... and by 'just' I mean the last orders scraped in on the last day or so - one month I thought I'd missed it!). And then it was Christmas. I won't know for a few more months if it was ALL because of Christmas, or if that's simply the month when I finally had enough links, lists and reviews out there to start making better sales, but for December 2010, I made $111 and sold 94 items. (Earnings count in the month in which they were shipped - a half-dozen of these orders where actually placed at the end of November).
(Update: I've made it to the 6% tier by January 9th, 2011 so it wasn't entirely Christmas shopping).

On Squidoo, I made $69 in sales (early under-approximation from Squidoo; more likely to be about $80 on payout in February) and sold slightly little less via the Amazon modules (maybe 60-70 items). This is three times what I made last Christmas, with about 50-60 lenses.

My conversion rate and sale numbers on Amazon:

I did surprisingly well before Christmas, right off the bat, but I'll want to wait and see if I'll continue to do so. I'm keeping a running tally of the conversion rate for each month here.

Update: By 9th Jan, I'd passed the 7 item target and made the 6% tier, so it looks like it wasn't just the lead-up to Christmas (*breathes sigh of relief*). Interestingly, I've had about the same number of orders from Squidoo, although some were eBay orders, so I'd have to check the exact details. Read my observations for early January for more details.

Conclusion?

It is not worth using Amazon rather than Squidoo initially, but over time the more links you have out there the better, so you may want to start building early.


Amazon has better reporting and offers more control and potential for growth, but Squidoo makes it a lot easier to both sell and claim your money. While it is possible to earn big on Squidoo, most of the big earners on Squidoo use it as a base and pull in the majority of their income from other sources.


I like to use both together - such as an Amazon module with my own associate links in the text itself. I've also had some luck with using Amazon on Best Reviewer - it's a good site to whip up a simple list on, which can then be developed into a lens. I've started using this approach a bit more consistently now (make list, see if I sell anything, or just if it inspires me later, then develop it into a full and interesting lens) and had some success. So a separate Amazon account does give you more freedom, if you know enough about the web, coding and SEO to use it. I've been advising the people I'm helping set up on Squidoo not to worry about it yet.


If you are making more than four sales a month, consider it. Actively using your associate account will lead you to push the boundaries, experiment, and find other places to use it.

If you are making ten sales a month, go for it.

Check if you can actually claim the money - are you in the USA or overseas? Can you wait to earn the money, or dare you risk a posted cheque? What are your local bank's fees for foreign currency deposits?

Don't switch entirely to Amazon Associates immediately - Squidoo gives you a back-up if something goes wrong with your account, or you can't get your links to work or to make sales. Amazon can also be a little finicky about where and how you make sales and has been known to simply deny you royalties if they deem your practices shady.

Do check out the links below:

• First, here's an overview of Amazon modules and other modules that sell stuff
• And Amazon Module Basics
• Squidutils is a separate site run by TheFluffanutta that offers various extras, add-ons and tools for Squidoo lenses, including some Amazon banners and links that will update prices for you.
• Fixing Missing Images on Amazon Listings is designed for Squidoo modules, but can be helpful for figuring out how they work, explaining how to add pictures when there's a problem with the default Amazon feed (which can then link using YOUR associate account) ... and then you can take it a step further with Hacking the Amazon Spotlight to use your associate link and image, while pulling the price using the module.
• Amazon Referrals: Third Party and External Websites
• Which is the best Squidoo earning module? From Amazon to iTunes!

Blog Redesigning

You may or may not notice, or care (I ... have no idea who visits this blog, or for that matter, if any of them are repeat visitors. I know I GET visitors, but I don't know if you, reading this, have any idea what the blog looked like last week) but I've been tweaking the blog colours and layout and stuff.

Sadly, my artistic rule of dramatic cool doesn't always translate into what is actually readable. Black and orange = bad. Guess I should change the header, too...

Best Reviewer : A Bucket List Article Backlink Site

SheToldMe is the only place I've ever earnt any AdSense money - about $1.20! (not that I use it much). It's a good site to get extra linkage, and often the STM link will appear in Google when my actual link doesn't.The internal search is pretty screwed, though. SheToldMe gives you certain ads on the page, and you just hope those are the ones people click on. I still use it, it's a pretty solid site, and very tightly focused.

Anyway, the same guy who created SheToldMe has also created the very new Best Reviewer which gives you 100% of adsense earnings from one ad. I also like the concept of it - rather than just a blurb and a link, you write a 'Best Of..." list and fill in with links. So niche writers should do well here!

...It is very new, I must stress this, and I stress this for two reasons. Firstly, it's untested, although based on SheToldMe, it is both safe and fairly solid, although not necessarily a huge earner. Secondly, the Top 100 list only has about fifty articles written!

Here's my first attempt, if you're curious: Best Review - Top 10 Portal Memes and Characters

EDIT: and it's actually quite fun!
Best Review - Top 5 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel T-Shirts from Amazon
Best Review - Top 18 Famous and Obscure Real Gays and Lesbians
Best Review - Top 5 Sexy Cartoon Females
Best Review - Top 10 LGBTQ Entertainment Resources

Best Review - Top 20 Terry Pratchett Articles

On Losing An Eyeball, Women's Suffrage and Other Links

Here's a quick lists of dos and don'ts for when you lose an eye, tooth, or finger. Or an eyetooth.

Plus a bit of promotion for an Auckland friend who's trying to take over local politics from the inside. Specifically, he's running for the 'Albert-Eden-Roskill Maungawhau subdivision Local Board election'

He's a good guy; educated, very into the environment (and lives it), more transport, that sort of thing. A bit idealistic (my disagreements with his Grand Plots usually centre around "yeah, but people are idiots and won't let you") and despite his education has still been attacked by the dread Alot. Once. And I don't think I'll tell him where *cackles*

And he seriously lucked out on his last name - I mean, imagine the puns and slogans! Goode Enough, Goode For Auckland, Goode for You, The Goode Guy, ... they just weren't Goode enough *zing* His blog covers general Auckland issues and analyses the actual campaign (which is a relief - now I don't have to do it!)

...also, he made me find an excuse to buy a Lego cannon today.

(and going to find his links, I found he'd posted about Women's Suffrage Day - today in 1893 women got the right to vote in New Zealand, so I better do it too!)

Sarcozy's kicking all the gypsies out of France, Frollo-style.

This image is hilarious!

And weirdly, my unicorn painting from a couple of posts back is ranking quite highly in Google images for "unicorn shark". I have no idea why!

Blessing GreekGeek: SEO and HTML

Right, time to start my attempt at actually blogging about some of the lenses I've blessed! I decided to start with GreekGeek because I keep blessing their lenses!

There's the old classics, like "Is Squidoo a Scam? An Honest Answer" which is a good introductory lens explaining how to get started on Squidoo and what you can earn.

And GreekGeeks Squidoo Tips: How To Get Your Lens Found is a useful lens explaining how to set up a good lens that deserves visits.

More recently, the Flapping Photo Gallery of DOOM is a fun way of pointing out just HOW ANNOYING the Photo Gallery module can be. I'd actually kept meaning to write a lens about this, because I use this module a lot, but I've procrastinated for months :D (And I have list of... well, dozens of things I'd like to write about)

And finally, Getting The Most Out of Squidoo's Traffic Stats explains how to interpret the dashboard, and what to do with that information.

Belatedly, that wretched person keeps writing more good lenses, thoroughly unbalancing my list of blessed lenses (eh, I'm behind anyway).

So more recently, I've blessed:

"My Plight" - My Gmail Was Hacked, And I'm Not Alone!

Hotlinking: What Is It, And Why Is It Bad?

Is Image SEO Good For Traffic? How to use it on Squidoo Lenses

A lot of you probably know that you should SEO the hell out of your images, but you may not bother to do it much! I'm here to share a few facts that just might motivate you...

My top Squidoo lenses are (with a couple of exceptions) surviving on image traffic. By which I mean they're in the very top results and pulling in more image searches than normal ones. Most people looking for pictures then click out to the original. Clickout ready visitors = <3 style="font-weight: bold;">Examples:
The Disney Femslash lens... is starting to pull in 'normal' disney related searches, and if you search for Disney Femslash, 'my' images dominate the first couple of PAGES. (17/21 on the first page; 16/21 on the second and so on for a fair bit :D )
In the past week, my visits were:
Referral 926
Direct 170
Google 22
Yahoo 2
Bing 2
AOL 1

Of the referrals, 700 were image searches. (incidentally? this lens is insane. The visits have just been going up, I had over 200 unique visitors yesterday. And yes, they were mostly image searches)

For my Chell (from Portal) lens:
Referral 146
Direct 16
Google 3

100 from image searches.

Mermaid posters lens
Referral 81
Google 26
Direct 11
Ask 1
Yahoo 1

About 70 from image searches

Even my little Invisible Cupcakes lens is pulling in a few (though I wonder what they're looking at!)
Source Visits
Referral 43
Google 7
Direct 4
Bing 1

(about half the referrals are image searches)
*heh, this lens is on the second page of Google for "cupcake decoration"

What I Do

1. Rename the file I'm uploading/adding where that is an option to a bunch of (relevant) descriptive keywords
- separate the name with hyphens like this : red-artrage-lady-digital-painting (completely conjecture on my part; it just makes sense that as that is the best format for URLs because of how Google will see them, it should be for images as well)
- try and get very specific with the description (extra keywords = good, keyword stuffing = bad)

2. Always, always ALWAYS add an alt="words here" into the code (or use the title field of Squidoo images when uploading). You can do this with any image you're adding yourself - affiliate poster codes from Zazzle, your own art...

3. Sometimes, if it's not too repetitive or I can be bothered - or it's not obvious what people will be clicking on - I add a title="description" as well. I'm a bit lazy there though...

If you want to know the HTML:

<a href="http://www.blogger.com/LINK%20HERE"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/Image%20link/location%20here" alt="awesome picture of me" title="sneaky caption shows up when people hover over it" /></a>

*note; Google also looks at words written next to the picture/on the same page, so the words attached to the picture aren't everything. But they seem to be a lot.


The search referrals from images are a pain, but you CAN break them down. Right+click and copy them into notepad.

This search result, for example, landed on the second page for the search term "the last unicorn almathea" and clicked on this image (it was next to the word 'Almathea')

I'm actually doing the artists a bigger favour than I ever expected to, as they're getting found! (Of course, without them, I wouldn't have much of a page, so it's a mutual favour) ...that sounded rather egotistical. Heh.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/234/9/8/The_healing_of_Helga_by_nana_51.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.squidoo.com/disney-femslash/101044531-MultiPairing-Femslash-Vids&usg=__Ov9TgiMkCPNaDY9Vh1TeRaZBYR8=&h=566&w=800&sz=88&hl=en&start=345&zoom=1&tbnid=cxGb-Kk9IB9gyM:&tbnh=114&tbnw=160&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2Blast%2Bunicorn%2Bamalthea%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1406%26bih%3D770%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C8189&um=1&itbs=1&ei=MY-ETOz8JJHCsAPmtuQF&iact=rc&dur=442&oei=0YqETIuKEYyisQOknPX2Bw&esq=14&page=13&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:28,s:345&tx=88&ty=57&biw=1406&bih=770


Useful image-related Squidoo pages:

http://www.squidoo.com/free-squidoo-images-and-graphics
http://www.squidoo.com/free-web-graphics
http://www.squidoo.com/hotlinking
http://www.squidoo.com/upload-images