Almost everybody already knows about Wikipedia, and you’ve probably visited it many times before. After all, it’s one of the biggest and most visited websites in the world. The good news is that many individuals, businesses and internet marketers can also use it to get traffic, brand recognition and backlinks — but only if they understand how it functions.
Let’s look at how you can benefit your company by creating and editing Wikipedia pages.
What Is Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia owned by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. The content is normally created by users, who open a free account and collaborate with others on the website.
Users can make edits, create new Wikipedia pages and hold discussions on possible changes. All of these actions can be taken with no hidden costs.
Wikipedia was founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Lary Sanger. Since then, it has published many millions of pages and become one of the biggest online communities.
Some people say that the content is unreliable for certain academic purposes because anyone can change it, but millions of people still use Wikipedia as a source of information every day.
How Does Wikipedia Work?
If you want to use Wikipedia for marketing, you need a good understanding of how it works. You can’t just create a Wikipedia page for yourself or business with promotional information. It has specific policies and guidelines that the members must follow.
When you edit or create a page, anything that you mention must be verified by a reliable source. If you add any mistakes or information that does not make sense, other editors will change or remove it from the website. There are many experienced editors with differing levels of experience, who check the improvements on existing and new pages.
There are many experienced editors who check the improvements on existing and new pages. If your additions and edits do not follow the site’s guidelines, they will be found and removed.
Benefits of Wikipedia
1. Wikipedia Pages Are Important For SEO
Most companies who seek to reach their target audience online are likely to want Wikipedia backlinks. Google has many ranking factors that determine the position of a website under specific keywords. The number and the quality of the backlinks can improve their chances for better rankings, giving them more traffic and ultimately more leads.
Wikipedia is an old and authoritative website. These two characteristics make it important for SEO and valuable for the website owners. A website can also get referral traffic through these backlinks when they are on a relevant page. This traffic can generate revenue for a business or more backlinks from people that search for reliable sources on that topic.
2. It Helps with Branding
When your business has a Wikipedia page, mentions, or even just backlinks, many people assume that it has valuable information, and your business is trustworthy. It is a great way to build trust and credibility with your target audience. This trust will help your promotions and sales.
Many websites highlight their mentions from top websites on their homepage or about pages. The fact is that having a presence on reputable online platforms like Wikipedia improves your brand identity.
Can You Create a Wikipedia Page For Your Business?
Yes, you can create a Wikipedia page for your business, and this option has the most benefits when it comes to SEO and brand reputation. However, if you try to create a page without adding enough sources for your business, the chances are high that some administrator will delete it quickly.
You must show that your business is important in your niche and deserves a Wikipedia page. The same editors who will review your page are also likely to check for details from third-party sources. If other big websites that they rank as reliably as Wikipedia mention details about your business, they may allow you to have a page.
Can You Create a Wikipedia Page For Yourself?
This option works best for people that have a personal brand. Also, some business owners avoid creating a Wikipedia page because they don’t want to lose their first position on Google. It’s very common for a Wikipedia page to outrank a business website, so it may decrease traffic and leads by outcompeting your own site. In this case, it might be better to create a Wikipedia page about the owner. Though it isn’t uncommon to do both, as with Tesla and Elon Musk.
The challenge with personal pages is that they are rarely approved by Wikipedia editors. Generally, individuals who have personal pages tend to be experts or well accomplished in their respective industries.
Two Additional Ways to Create a Wikipedia Presence For Your Business
1. Improve An Existing Wikipedia Page
Many Wikipedia pages are short or outdated. While the editors and members do a good job, there are still many pages to improve. This is why they encourage so many people to create accounts, edit pages and create new ones.
Taking this approach could be easier than creating a business or personal page. You can try to find a page in your niche that will accept improvements for you to enhance. You can also add content, remove outdated parts, and add active links. Of course, when you add new links or replace dead links, you can add a link to your website if it’s relevant and authoritative. It is an easy and straightforward way to get a valuable backlink for your business, assuming you follow the requirements.
2. Add a New Citation
On some Wikipedia pages, you will find sentences with a “citation needed” mention. This means that Wikipedia thinks these sentences are correct and wants to find a relevant website to validate them. Users can then find those citations and place them in the article.
If you find some citations that you wish to acquire, you could create content on your site to address these topics.
To do that, your content must be of high-quality and use links to other reliable sites. The best-case scenario is when you already have quality content for these topics, because you don’t need to do any extra work. You should be able to get the Wikipedia backlink by adding your website as a viable source.
5 Steps to Create a Wikipedia Page
1. Create an Account
You cannot make changes to existing pages or create new ones before creating an account. Luckily, the process is quite simple. Wikipedia requests a username, a password, and an email address. They suggest using a pen name instead of a real name unless you feel comfortable using your real name.
When it comes to building a brand, it could help to use a real name and allow people to recognize you. Of course, it depends on your personal preferences. When you fill in these details, you need to log in to your email and confirm the registration.
2. Learn How the Platform Works With Minor Edits
When you create an account, every action you take on the site is recorded on the user page. It is suspicious to try to add links or create a business page on day one. The best approach is to make a few small edits and changes on pages for topics you already know.
Your first edits can be non-business topics. It’s easy to use the Wikipedia search engine to find pages. In this way, you add value to the website before you ask for something. You also gain trust because editors will check your history when they review your pages. Once you learn how it works, you can add a link or create a Wikipedia page for your business or yourself.
3. Do Your Research
Before creating your page, you need to create a structure that fit Wikipedia pages and then gather your sources. You must put some effort into that part because it will determine your results and the chances to get approved.
It’s important to gather all the online sources that mention your business. Then, you can start building the structure based on these mentions. You can filter out the ones that don’t add value or don’t have enough information.
4. Write The Copy and Add Your Link
It’s important to create an excellent article that makes sense and includes all the necessary information. Other editors will review the page, so be mindful of poor grammar or having too many spelling mistakes, which might give a bad impression. If you are not confident about your writing skills, you can hire a writer or request assistance from someone you work with.
Before you complete the writing process, you need to format the page and add your link using the Wikipedia code. It’s basic HTML, but you can always ask for help if this is something you’re not familiar with.
5. Submit The Page For Review
When you completed the page and you made sure that there are no errors, you can send it for review. The editors can approve the page or delete it. The time it can take for the review is not standardized. Essentially, it can take from a few days to a few weeks.
If you have followed all the community guidelines, the chances are that you will get approved sooner or later. However, no one guarantees your approval. Keep in mind that delays do not mean that your page has a problem. Many editors are anonymous, so they just delay the process because of laziness or biased opinions. So, if something goes wrong and they delete it, you can try again.
Once your page gets approved, check if the editors have made any changes and come back regularly to see if everything is fine. You can also make updates when needed.
Get Help From an Expert
Some people have completed this process before and can help you create a Wikipedia page for your business. You also have the option of asking for help from a specialist that has experience with Wikipedia. If you do, you will reap all the rewards that a strong presence on Wikipedia can give businesses.
