Wikipedia is much more than a digital encyclopedia, with 89.2 million articles in more than 300 languages. It is a highly desired online reputation profile site. Wikipedia boasts billions of unique visitors monthly. The site’s popularity stems from its ever-increasing content on any subject imaginable.
Its international appeal makes Wikipedia a suitable place to establish and boost an organization’s brand. Marketing professionals, like those at Garden of Ads (GoA), understand the potential of a skillfully-crafted Wiki page’s ability to drive customers to a business’ website.
The Garden of Ads Wikipedia team encourages clients to increase visibility with a Wiki page since 81% of customers research products online before purchasing. Moreover, the website has impressive Google search results. A recent Search Engine Watch report revealed that Wikipedia is the No. 1 result for 56% of Google searches, while 96% show up in one of the top five positions.
These factors explain why businesses in any industry should consider adding Wikipedia to their search engine optimization (SEO) and online management (ORM) approach.
Of course, using this online encyclopedia as part of an SEO/ORM plan requires time, but the results are worth the effort.
Recaiya, Chief Gardener of GoA, explains why it is worth the time:
Creating a fair and neutral Wikipedia page increases a company’s legitimacy as it is pretty challenging to get a page approved. Additionally, it helps businesses and individuals get verified on various social media and a Google Knowledge Panel.
The agency also boldly declares that Wikipedia is not a marketing platform and clients should not expect to promote their products or business directly through Wikipedia. So, while hiring Wikipedia experts is the best decision to save time, one shouldn’t expect to get a page for promotional purposes.
Wikipedia Guidelines and Requirements
Anyone registered with Wikipedia can create a page. But the page’s subject must have “notability,” or the new page will likely be deleted. A subject has “notability” if there are several third-party articles, references, research papers, or other well-known publications about it online.
There are two general guidelines to determine “notability.” First, the references should have significant coverage of the subject. Second, they need to be reliable and organic from a site approved by Wikipedia.
While there is plenty of information on building a Wikipedia page, creating one requires unbiased and verifiable content from reliable published sources to the website’s standards.
There are other criteria to create a permanent page on Wikipedia, but having proper references remains the primary criterion. Subjects are also notable if they have won or been nominated for a major award like Oscar or participated in a significant event like the Olympics.
Work with Marketing Professionals
The Garden of Ads aims “to take your business to the next level.” Their SEO and Online Reputation Specialists craft Wikipedia pages that meet the site’s strict requirements. A successful page requires a strategy that abides by Wikipedia’s hundreds of policies, including declaring any conflicts of interest.
Recaiya points out that unaware clients can be scammed by freelancers and agencies worldwide:
There are hundreds of rules that must be understood and followed to create a new Wikipedia page. Unfortunately, no client has the time to learn these rules, and so-called Wiki professionals end up scamming such clients by offering a quick but temporary page.
In a nutshell, without proper references and a neutral tone, it is not possible to create a permanent page.
GoA reports it has charged clients anywhere from $500 to $150,000, depending on the work required. In addition, the marketing agency has helped celebrities, companies, and politicians worldwide with their Wikipedia pages.
Recaiya states: “A heavy price is usually paid to get new references that help with a permanent Wiki page. The references are also required to update an outdated page. While there are many Wikipedia agencies, Garden of Ads is the leading and the most transparent one.”
Another thing to remember is that Wikipedia is an open platform that everyone and anyone can edit. If a negative event is reported about the subject, nothing stops it from appearing on the subject’s page.
Written by Cathy Milne-Ware
(Originally published on Guardian Liberty Voice)
Sources:
Garden of Ads: Interview December 11, 2022
Neil Patel: How to Create a Wikipedia Page
Reputation X: How to get a Wikipedia page: Start with notability
Featured and Top Image by Headway Courtesy of Unsplash
Inset Image by John Schnobrich Courtesy of Unsplash
