Using Squidoo To Make Money Online

Note that Squidoo is no longer alive. HubPages purchased them.

Always looking to make a little extra play cash online, I decided to give Squidoo a shot about a year ago. I wanted to post a little of what I have found using the site, how much money I have made and if it is still working.

I started off using Squidoo to build a couple good back links for a couple other blogs I had. I will admit, I didn't read up on Squidoo much and just posted a couple articles I had just sitting around. Not long after posting them, two went to "work in progress" and one had a decent ranking within their system.

Being kind ticked that two articles (which were decent written and 100% unique) were not being shown to search engines, I kind of just turned my back to it and forgot about them. A couple months later, I decided to check up on my one article that was still published and found it was getting a little traffic. This article was very general on my niche and had a couple links to posts on one of my blogs.

Around this time, the latest Google hit came out and killed my main blog which was doing pretty well. My main post was getting 300-400 visits a day but was not converting well before the Google update. I decided to move that post over to Squidoo to see if I could save it and 301 redirected my blog page to the new Squidoo Lens. Of course within 24 hours, my Lens was locked for using duplicate content. I emailed Squidoo HQ and told them that I moved over my post and 301 redirected it to the new Squidoo Lens. Within 24 hours of sending my email, I received a reply telling me they they have unlocked my Lens and it was live.

I left the Lens alone for a couple of weeks with not much action. I decided I would give it a couple months before pulling it to try and use it in another way. After a couple months, a small social media bump and a couple bookmarks, I saw that I started to get more traffic and started to make sales through the Amazon modules. As time went on I made more and more sales. At one point I was selling multiple targeted products per day that was selling for $150 each on Amazon. I was also getting the random sales from people just using the link. At this point I was bringing in between $70-$150 per month from this one lens. I of course got very excited and started creating a couple more lens. So far, none have done as good as my first one but still make sales.

In the past month, Squidoo has come up with some crazy guidelines and seem to be locking lenses quite a bit. I guess Squidoo has also gotten hit by the last Google update as well and they took a hard hit. They are trying to guess at what Google is looking for to regain their authority. In my opinion, they are doing some good, trying to get rid of junk lens made just as sales pages. In this process, I guess they are hitting a lot of good lenses. They are also starting to require you to write lenses in a certain way that they think Google is looking for. I do not agree with all of it.

Squidoo is wants you to only create lenses on products you own and to tell a personal story on every lense. Though Google likes getting personal views and how/why you feel the way you do, "how to" and comparison articles do not need this information. Google "how to whatever" and you will find straight forward articles. When people are looking how to do something or a recipe, they do not want a long story line, they just want the info.

So, can you make money with Squidoo today? Is it worth creating lenses? I say yes but make sure to read the guidelines first. Don't overbuild back links, spam, etc. I believe Squidoo will make a comeback one day and having aged Lenses will be good. Though the past month has been a bust for me only making about $50-$60 total (modules and my own links), I'm still making money. I think it is worth at least putting up one new lens per month. You can always pull them in the future and move them somewhere else.

Cheap Invisible Fence Batteries and Why They Are so Important to Us

Before having kids, my wife and I got a puppy on a whim. Why not, right. We had a huge yard with a privacy fence, and beautiful trees that we were so lucky to have shade to cool the backyard. After some consideration, we rested on a small pug who was 3 years old, and the sweetest little girl you had ever seen. Fast forward a couple years, and were expecting our second child, which meant we wanted to find a larger house. By this time our little sweet pug passed away but we panned on getting a new puppy once we moved so we wanted a fenced yard.

Buy Invisible Fence Batteries

While focusing so much on finding a house with a fence, we were passing up some of the best houses a person could ask for, when it finally dawned on me: What about an invisible fence? We would not have to have a physical one built, stained or painted, nor would I have to weed eat to ensure the grass around it was maintained. With a quick call to the Invisible Fence Company, I was in business and moving into the best house we could have found, without worrying about our new young dog wandering off, or worse, getting hit by a car. The solution was perfect, and as we moved in, I looked forward to our new, safe place together.

Our new puppy Rosco

Invisible Fence Batteries: They Do Not Change Themselves

Once the Invisible Fence was in place, it took very little time to train our not so little puppy even though everything was brand new to him. I followed all of the Invisible Fence Company's directions, and even talked to other invisible fence owners on the street about their experiences. I was happy to have a wide open yard that I find to be just beautiful, while still allowing my beloved little dog the freedom to roam outside. Life was good, and we all very happy.

Around four months after the fence was installed, I sat on my porch watching my dog roll around in the grass, as I sipped an iced tea and noticed a squirrel pressing his luck by making clicking sounds at my dog. Once engaged, the dog began barking up the tree, incensed by the squirrel seemingly mocking him. I was delighted by the entertainment until the squirrel ran from the tree, and my dog right behind him, into the street, through the neighbor's yard and two blocks over before I was able to catch him.

What could have gone wrong, I thought? What happened to my trusted fence? Puzzled, I called the Invisible Fence Company, and chatted with a lovely lady on the other end who immediately knew the problem and asked, "Have you changed the invisible fence batteries in the dog's collar?" Ashamed that I had missed such an important detail, I did not answer her right away. She quickly let me off the hook by interrupting my silence with, "It happens all the time, hon. Everyone forgets."

The bad news was, I did not have any extra batteries on hand, so my fence was rendered useless until I could find at least one replacement, and so the search began.

Buy Invisible Fence Batteries

Where to Find Invisible Fence Batteries

Apparently I was not the only person that needed to buy invisible fence batteries on the fly because every retail outlet or pet store I tried were simply out of replacements, which left me kicking myself at the exit of every store, as I returned to my car empty handed. What was I going to do? I needed that battery!

Several stores later, I searched online outlets from my phone, looking for retail alternatives where I could purchase the invisible fence batteries in real time. With no luck, I relegated myself to walking the dog while I awaited the online ordered replacements to arrive.

Three days went by before my invisible fence batteries arrived, and each day seemed longer and longer as my dog sat at the door, confused as to why I would just not let him out. When they arrived, I vowed to remain diligent about their replacement, so set a reminder on my phone for three months from the day I changed the battery, and also put a note on the white board on my refrigerator -- where it remains to this day, with a changing date behind the large print "INVISIBLE FENCE BATTERIES".

It is recommended to change the invisible fence batteries every three months, which is four times per year. If you buy a four pack, you can save time and money (without running to every pet store in town!), while stocking up for an entire year. This is a hassle free approach, not to mention a prepared one.

Amazon has a four pack for $35 or a ten pack for $89.50 if you really want to plan ahead (shipping not included). I was able to find a four pack on eBay for $29.80, plus a couple bucks for shipping. The manufacturer also carries the replacements for $19.95 -- FOR ONE. So the obvious choice is Amazon for a sure thing or eBay if someone happens to be selling their unused invisible fence batteries when you need them.

Every Three Months. Four Times per Year. Quarterly.

It does not matter how you associate the timing of changing your invisible fence batteries in your dog's collar, just as long as you remember! It does not even matter where you get the invisible fence batteries, or which type of system you have, just be sure to have a backup battery on hand, so your pooch does not end up as the featured pet on a missing poster, or worse, injured as a result of his or her new found freedom. Just as having a real fence requires shutting the gate to ensure your furry friend does not run off, your invisible fence requires battery replacements to ensure he cannot do the same. Take care of the four legged-ones you love, and keep replacement invisible fence batteries on hand. It will give you peace of mind in a way you never thought possible.

You can find another article I wrote on this subject on Hubpages here.

My First Post

Hello to anyone that comes across my new blog. I will be posting random things that might pop into my head. I like to review stuff, create how to articles and stuff like that. Today I will post my first article. Stay tuned :)