Squidoo Pet Peeves - Dumb Things Lensmasters Do
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I look at a lot of lenses.
Tons.
I would say without a doubt the single thing that turns people off to lenses, hurts conversions, and causes visitors to hit the back button is how the page is written.
Common mistakes on lenses I run across all the time:
- Non-specific module headers - If I’m looking through your lens for information and your module headers are all sayings like ‘Here’s a thought..‘ instead of ‘5 ways to reduce your energy bill‘ it makes it hard for users as well as search engines to understand what the heck you are talking about.
- Repeating the same point in the same way - Don’t just re-hash the paragraph you wrote in your introduction and reprint it in 3 different modules throughout your lens. I’d rather have no text to read than the same 4 sentences repeated in different combinations. Squidoo has a huge pile of ways to make your lens interactive, use them.
- Random footer modules - I see a lot of lenses that have random modules tacked on after the guestbooks or a bunch of banners or buttons in a text module. If you are trying to tell someone about the best way to protect themselves from mosquitos, why in the heck is there a banner linking to a ringtone site? or a knitting circle? It doesn’t look as professional and it dilutes the overall relevance of the page. (Note: I’ve seen some people leave a ‘logo’ or ’signature’ in the last module, that can look good if done well and is not what I’m talking about.)
- Grammar…please? - If your English grammar needs some work or your spelling leaves something to be desired, Squidoo is a great place to improve your skills. That being said, I try a lot harder to read through a lens that is poorly written if the lensmaster says something about learning english in the lens. Sometimes very important points are lost in translation…
- Huge intro modules - Intro modules should be 1-5 sentences in my opinion. Max. no extra pictures, graphics, buttons, huge text, flashing gifs, or any of that other junk. 1-5 sentences telling me what the lens is about. Simple.
Do you have a pet peeve with lens content that immediately turns you off?
Am I going crazy and the only one that notices this stuff?
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Comments
My pet peeve is on the forum, when people start threads with vague titles like “How about this” or “Something I thought of”. I won’t even look at these. Tip: title your threads with what it’s actually about.
I just had to get that off my chest.
thefluffanutta
Crazy? No. Notice it? Sure. Guilty of it? Oh yeah. Sometimes I go crazy in the intro…I’ve been trying to restrict myself. Now I’m feeling paranoid and need to go check my module headers. Repeating myself is a way of life though, I remember getting that comment on papers back in high school. I think I need therapy to fix this one.
I have pet peeves too…a simple one is this: No punctuation and spacing between paragraphs. These things really help me feel like I can digest the text. Without it, I’m lost in a sea. Also breaking up things with more modules helps me too…long stretches of text with no breaks just puts me in visual overload.
Bad writing is probably my number one pet peeve, lack of punctuation, poor spelling and grammar, etc. A few mistakes is okay and understandable but some lenses are just unreadable.
Random unrelated affiliate links and banners in the body of a lens really annoy me, more so than when they are stuck at the bottom.
I agree with your list Captain. I’d have to say that misspelling is my top pet peeve. It’s so simple to check correct spelling. No excuse.
Huge chunks of text not broken up with breaks, and graphics. I have a short attention span. I’m bored after the first sentence unless it’s reaaallly compelling.
I agree with you on the random stuff, banners, and random modules people stick in their lens. Excess banners, Amazon modules, travel modules, etc. not related to the topic make no sense.
I guess the immediate one is unrelated affiliate links. Or huge gaps of just affiliate banners.
Another one is hoards and hoards of links with no visual break up in between.
I also find the huge skyscraper affiliate ads in the mini bios annoying.
Affiliate links that have nothing to do with the subject right in the intro are a peeve of mine.
Asking anything of your readers before the actual content.
I do the unrelated links at the bottom bit - totally guilty.
Oh - and turning a useful lens into a list of affiliate links and banners. That’s just squidoo-evil. All those people voting and supporting you, and how does that get repaid…
Ahoy Captain, long time reader first time poster.
An affiliate link or banner in the intro is the only way to get a link above the fold? When I look at ctr and cr, a lens with a affiliate link in the intro outperforms a lens with the affiliate link 3 or 4 pages down.
This is for lenses that targets very specific keywords.
(btw..I’m a real midget squid so I have lots and lots to learn)
One expert recently said to always put a link in the intro. So, guess that is a personal opinion.
I think my biggest pet peeve is a lens without a guest book of some sort. I want to comment. I want to tell someone if I enjoyed their work. I feel unwelcome when I cannot communicate with the creator!
My other pet peeve is to read a lens and not learn one single thing. I like for a lens to make me think.
A couple things that annoy me…
1. People stuffing their profile page with a zillion ugly affiliate banners and links
2. Mile-long lenses. For goodness sake, please split it up into 1 or two smaller lenses.
I am annoyed when lenses are comprised of a quote bubble, then a post-it note, then a polaroid, then another post-it note, then a big black box, then another post-it note, then a Most Important Thing box, then a polaroid, then a post-it note….
Enough! Those modules are like animal print to me. One piece on a well put together outfit looks nice, but seven of them and you look so gawky I have to turn away.
My greatest peeve is no contact information. If I see a misspelled word or incoherent sentence on an otherwise good lens, I will let the author know but not necessarily in the guestbook. I hate to waste time going to tell them something only to find they couldn’t be bothered to leave a way to contact them. If they are afraid of spam, they can use a gmail account.
RE Jennifer, My opinion is that if the link is good enough for me to click on it, why would I stick around to read your lens? I think that it’s poor craftsmanship. - Good answers everyone. I think we all hate the same stuff!
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Ahoy there Capt’n,
Seeing affiliate links in the intro module automatically causes me to hit the “back” button.
Cheers!