Wikipedia is a well-known online resource frequently visited by many to gain information as an information repository. Despite its reputation for sometimes harboring inaccuracies, it remains a valuable platform for readership. In December 2023, it attracted approximately 4.3 billion global visitors. The significant traffic presents substantial business opportunities, which prompts organizations to consider establishing a Wikipedia page for their company. Today, we will explore creating a Wikipedia page for your business through a few simple steps.
What Is Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. It was developed collaboratively by a community of users known as Wikipedians. The platform allows registered and unregistered users to modify content, although article creation requires registration. The term “wiki” refers to the server technology that facilitates web content editing directly through a browser.
Co-founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in January 2001, Wikipedia began as a supplementary project for Nupedia, a more traditional encyclopedia. Wikipedia quickly expanded, surpassing its predecessor in breadth and depth.
Although Wikipedia operates without overt corporate funding, which might suggest a neutral stance, the open-editing nature allows for personal biases and misinformation to seep into articles. Despite efforts by administrators to verify and cite accurate sources, not all inaccuracies are caught. This has led to caution against using Wikipedia as a definitive source in academic and professional contexts due to potential reliability issues.
How Can Your Business Benefit from Wikipedia?
Other than the fact that Wikipedia is a completely free source of marketing, here are some other ways how your business can benefit from it:
- Control Over Your Brand Narrative:
Creating and managing a Wikipedia page for your business allows you to shape the narrative surrounding your brand. You can portray your business in a favorable light, showcasing its achievements and providing a detailed account of its history and offerings.
Working with a reputation management company can help ensure that your Wikipedia page’s content is compelling and accurate.
- Building Trust:
Trust is a critical factor in any business’s success. A presence on Wikipedia can enhance your brand’s credibility with your audience.
Although Wikipedia is not always suitable for scholarly purposes, it is regarded as a relatively trustworthy source for general information. Featuring your business on Wikipedia signals to customers and stakeholders that your brand is reputable.
- Search Engine Visibility:
Wikipedia pages often appear near the top of search engine results on platforms like Google, enhancing the online presence of your business. By collaborating with a reputation management firm, you can optimize your Wikipedia page for search engines to ensure it ranks highly for pertinent keywords.
- Value of Backlinks:
Backlinks from Wikipedia are highly advantageous for businesses, enhancing a website’s credibility, visibility, and organic traffic. As the fifth-most visited website globally with a domain authority score of 100—the highest achievable—links from Wikipedia are highly esteemed and can elevate your site’s reputation.
You should look for relevant Wikipedia articles that contain broken links or lack citations and offer links from your website to address these gaps. Strategically placing relevant links can not only secure valuable backlinks but also increase traffic to your site.
Opportunity for Organic Brand Awareness:
As previously mentioned, Wikipedia ranks highly in Google search results, often appearing as a primary source of information. Consequently, a Wikipedia page about your brand typically appears at the forefront of relevant searches and may even be featured in the Google Knowledge Graph panel at the top-right corner of search pages.
This visibility provides current and prospective customers, as well as potential investors, with easy access to well-structured and credible information about your brand. This exposure is often more influential and convincing than sponsored ad links to your website.
8 Easy Steps to Create a Wikipedia Page in 2024
Before you begin creating a Wikipedia page for your business, it’s crucial to ensure that your business meets Wikipedia’s notability criteria.
Wikipedia requires that organizations or products be notable, which means there must be verifiable evidence that they have been recognized by reliable sources that are independent of the organization or product itself.
To be eligible for a Wikipedia page, your business needs to be substantiated by substantial, independent, and credible sources. Once you have established that your business qualifies, you can proceed with the following steps:
Step 1: Create an Account
Before you begin creating pages, having a registered account on Wikipedia is essential. This is advisable as it prevents your IP address from being publicly visible in the edit history. If Wikipedia detects any inappropriate edits from an unregistered user, they might block the associated IP address.
A registered account not only adds to your credibility but also helps build trust with the website, which is crucial for the sustainability of your page. With an account, you gain access to a personal user page where you can post a brief biography and photos and a talk page that allows you to interact with other Wikipedia users.
To create an account, visit the Wikipedia homepage and click on “Create account” at the top right corner. Fill in the required fields with your username and password, then click “Create your account” to complete the registration process.
Step 2. Contribute to Existing Pages
The next step would typically involve creating your new page using Wikipedia’s Article for Creation (AfC) submission template. This template simplifies the formatting and submission process. However, due to manual reviews, each submission has a three-month waiting period.
An effective way to expedite this process is to establish yourself as a credible contributor by actively editing existing articles. This helps you become an autoconfirmed user and demonstrates your familiarity with Wikipedia’s editing standards and practices. Gaining a reputation as a knowledgeable and trustworthy contributor is crucial for the eventual acceptance of your page.
Starting by editing existing articles is advisable. This approach allows you to showcase your reliability and expertise, facilitating your promotion to an autoconfirmed user. This status grants you the ability to edit pages without immediate review or approval.
Typically, user accounts on the English Wikipedia that are at least four days old and have made a minimum of 10 edits (including any that have been deleted) achieve autoconfirmed status. Engaging with existing pages before submitting your company page can be highly advantageous, as it often eliminates the lengthy wait for manual review of new articles.
Therefore, take your time and contribute thoughtfully to the Wikipedia community. Once you attain the necessary status, you can create your company page.
Step 3. Research
Thorough research is important before you start writing your Wikipedia page. Begin by exploring existing Wikipedia content related to your brand and industry. Use the search feature on Wikipedia to look up relevant industry keywords, your competitors, and your brand name to see if there are existing pages where your brand could be mentioned.
Then, gather a list of references, including publications, articles, and mentions of your brand, as these will be necessary to cite as sources on your page. Also, examine the pages of your competitors for valuable insights. They include details such as the brand’s history, product lineup, founding date, revenue figures, service areas, and trademarks. This information will help you structure your page.
If a page about your brand already exists, consider enhancing it with additional information. Use the search bar to navigate and find any related content that might influence your page creation or updates.
Step 4. Create an Outline
After collecting sufficient information about your company, begin structuring the outline for your text. Start by providing a basic introduction, which should include a history of your company and an overview of the products or services offered.
Organize your information into clear, manageable sections. These should be easily navigable through a table of contents on every site page.
Proceed to elaborate on your products or services in greater detail. Ensure your descriptions are thorough and informative, maintaining a neutral and objective tone. Remember, a Wikipedia page is intended for information, not promotion. Lastly, ensure that reliable sources can support all content on your Wikipedia page. Avoid including any information that cannot be substantiated with citations.
Step 5. Draft Your Page
When creating your Wikipedia page, using a style that differs from standard blogs or articles is crucial. Reflect on the Wikipedia pages you have read and aim to replicate their structure by following fundamental principles:
- Neutrality: Maintain a neutral tone throughout your page, focusing on factual information rather than emotional expressions.
- Simplicity: Use clear, straightforward sentences and avoid complex jargon to make your content accessible.
- Originality: Interpret and rephrase information from your sources instead of copying it directly, maintaining the uniqueness of your content.
- Verifiability: Support all your claims with citations from reliable sources, demonstrating the credibility of your information.
- Objectivity: Avoid biased language and promotional content to ensure the text remains unbiased and factual.
Taking these steps seriously is crucial, as promotional content and lack of notability are common reasons for rejection. Review your draft with an unbiased third person (your employee may also have a biased view) for a fresh perspective and further refinement.
Step 6. Create Your Page
After writing your page and having it reviewed, proceed to Wikipedia’s “Writing an article” section. You will find a blue button labeled “Article wizard: an easy way to create articles.”
You will then be taken to Wikipedia’s Article Wizard. Here, you can start building your page immediately by clicking “Next” or practicing editing in Wikipedia’s sandbox first.
Click on “Next.”
You can include as much detail as you deem necessary. Remember, using citations is critical to the credibility of your page. Citations help establish trust in the information you present, so ensure you use reliable sources to substantiate your claims.
Step 7: Submit Your Page
Once you have completed all the necessary steps, you are ready to submit your company’s Wikipedia page. After submission, you must wait for Wikipedia’s review process.
This process can take several months and may require multiple attempts before successful completion. A volunteer reviewer will examine your draft and decide whether to move it to the main article space. If the article requires further improvements, you will receive feedback on how to enhance it. Keep in mind that reviews may take time since all Wikipedia editors are volunteers.
Step 8: Maintaining Your Wikipedia Page
Publishing your page is just the beginning. To ensure your page remains relevant and accurate, update it as your company progresses.
Again, anyone can edit Wikipedia pages. While the site generally ensures that edits are appropriate, some inaccuracies can slip through, particularly for smaller businesses.
Make it a habit to check your Wikipedia page every few months to ensure its accuracy and add any new mentions or publications. This will help keep Wikipedia reliable and ensure your brand is presented accurately and positively.
Conclusion
Creating a Wikipedia page for your business offers valuable opportunities to enhance your online presence, build trust, and increase visibility in search engine results. By following the steps outlined, from ensuring notability to maintaining the page, you can effectively establish and manage your brand’s narrative on this influential platform.
Regular updates and active participation in the Wikipedia community are essential to keeping your page accurate and relevant. Although the process may be time-consuming, the potential benefits, such as improved search engine rankings and increased credibility, make it a worthwhile investment for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I start the process of creating a Wikipedia page for my business?
First, create a Wikipedia user account by visiting the Wikipedia homepage and following the instructions. To get more editing privileges, aim to become an “autoconfirmed user” by making several edits and having an account for a few days.
What are the key guidelines I should follow when creating a Wikipedia page for my business?
Ensure your business meets Wikipedia’s notability guidelines by having significant coverage in reliable, independent sources. All information must be verifiable and properly cited. Use neutral language and follow Wikipedia’s style and citation guidelines.
How do I submit and get my Wikipedia page approved?
Submit your drafted page through Wikipedia’s “Article Wizard,” which helps ensure your draft meets standards. Your submission will then undergo a review process, which can take a few weeks to several months.
What should I do after my Wikipedia page is published?
Keep your page accurate and up-to-date with new business developments. Engage with the Wikipedia community by responding to comments and suggestions on the talk pages to maintain credibility and factual accuracy.
