Why Your Business Needs A Wikipedia Page Now
From people to animals, to products and companies, and much more, you can type just about anything into Google and a Wikipedia page will appear as one of the top results. This is because search engines love the world’s free encyclopedia. Knowing that, it makes sense to question whether your business to be on Wikipedia too.
Creating a Wikipedia page has several benefits for your brand. That said, establishing a presence on the site isn’t as straightforward as it might seem, so it’s a good idea to understand some basic principles before going ahead.
Let’s take a look at how your business will benefit from having a Wikipedia page.
Perception & Reputation
As you’re probably aware, the way your brand is perceived by potential customers is a make-or-break factor for success. Appearing credible, trustworthy, and reputable is the ideal. This can be difficult for small businesses that are still busy establishing a presence in their industry. Fortunately, Wikipedia can help with that.
Aside from your website, Wikipedia is a logical place for customers to obtain more information about your company. This is particularly important when you’re offering something new. Today’s consumers are wary of scams and will likely be skeptical of your website if it’s the only source of information on your brand.
While having social media profiles and listings on Yell and Google My Business can also help improve your credibility, anyone can create those. A Wikipedia page suggests a higher level of authority, which can be extremely valuable for your brand’s image as a growing business.
While it’s something you’d rather avoid, there’s always the chance that somebody will post defamatory or otherwise negative content about your business. Since anyone can edit a Wikipedia page, you have the chance to remove that information and ensure that your brand is reflected in the best possible light.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Another top reason why your business needs a Wikipedia page is for SEO rankings. In addition to your audience, Google will also be impressed with your Wikipedia presence.
Being one of the most visited websites in the world, Wikipedia has the highest possible domain authority score (100), making it a valuable addition to any backlink profile. Moreover, the site has the potential to send high amounts of qualified traffic your way.
The size and credibility of Wikipedia also make it a popular candidate for featured snippets and other key search engine results page elements. It can be particularly advantageous to have a knowledge graph feature, which includes your company logo, a short description, and other key information. This goes a long way in improving your credibility and visibility.
How to Establish a Wikipedia Presence
Now that we’ve covered the why, let’s look at the how. There are several ways to go about the process of creating a Wikipedia page for your business. Reading up on a more detailed guide as to how to create a Wikipedia page should be your first step, as it helps to know exactly what to do.
Wiki Expert has some useful information on how to create a Wikipedia page. They also offer a comprehensive service for helping you make it happen. This includes performing the necessary research, updating your page, translating it to multiple languages, writing unique copy, and monitoring the information to ensure that nobody tampers with it.
Creating Your Page
Remember that qualifying for a Wikipedia page involves meeting certain criteria. This includes at least six third-party (independent) references reviewing your company, such as blog posts and reviews on other websites. It’s also worth noting the encyclopedia’s tone rules, which outlaw anything that resembles an advertisement.
Wikipedia’s guidelines also highlight the importance of references, so your page needs to be backed up with as many links as possible to support the information it contains.
Perhaps your business isn’t yet ready for its own page. Below are some solutions so that you can still leverage some of the advantages of Wikipedia.
How to Use Wikipedia Without Your Own Page
One option is to improve an existing page. There are many entries in Wikipedia that are classified as ‘stubs’ due to the small amount of information in them. They often have ample room for improvement which you can leverage with a bit of creativity.
The alternative is to add your business’s website as a reference. This is a potentially powerful way to attract some referral traffic, especially if the reference is posted on a relevant page, such as a popular industry topic. Look out for pages that are in need of citations (they have a “citation needed” tag) as those will be most likely to value your link.
Establishing a presence on Wikipedia is a good idea for any business. Considering the advantages, it’s safe to say that it’s worth a shot.
