Squidoo is easy enough to navigate. So easy, in fact, that it may lure you into a false sense of confidence. That's because there are quite a few pitfalls that could trip you up. And the worst thing about them: You may never notice. Or not for a while. Meanwhile, you wonder why your lens doesn't bring you the visitors or the sales you thought it would.

So here are three tips that will help you avoid those embarrassing pitfalls:

1. When you start a lens, make sure you have enough time to set up at least 4 modules or so. Why? If you try to leave earlier than that, Squidoo may not let you publish it. Or so it seemed anyway. Although I now realize that it will allow us to save it in draft stage. But the tricky thing is -- once you've worked on a lens, you may think it's finished, and yet it is still languishing in draft land.

2. When you insert links, be sure to remember to include the "http://" bit! Why? Try to leave it out and watch what happens: If you click on the link, it will take you to an "under construction" Squidoo lens. That lens will have the name of your link and Squidoo will invite you to take it over! Ouch! Imagine someone else had clicked on that link.

3. Don't forget to hit the "Publish" button after editing or modifying your lens! Sure, you may have "saved" the individual parts, but that's not good enough. If you don't click "Publish," your lens will remain exactly like it was before you invested all that hard work with your revisions. Ouch again!

No, those aren't necessarily a big deal. Not for some people. But they can be for you if you think your links lead back to your website, yet what they really do is invite your hoped-for visitors to build their own Squidoo lens -- with YOUR website's name on it! Not only does this defeat the purpose, it also makes you look unprofessional.

So there you have it: Make sure you allow enough time to finish what you start - or at least make enough progress to have a lens that's solid enough so Squidoo will let you publish it. Or, if you've saved it in a draft, be sure to remember that it isn't published yet and go back to work on it soon.

Then, double-check all your links after you've saved your lens (this really should be "good practice" but how often do we skimp on that step. And lastly, make sure you re-publish your lens after any and all changes. Because if you don't, the changes won't stick. Easy? Yes. Insignificant? Not if you miss even one of them!