The Ultimate Guide on How to Get Your Website Listed in Wikipedia

A free online user-edited encyclopedia, Wikipedia is one of the most trafficked websites in the world. Used as reference by consumers, casual internet surfers, college students and hobbyists, Wikipedia is a massive online collaboration run by volunteers, enthusiasts and concerned netizens.

Many have downplayed the authenticity and reliability of Wikipedia as reference. For example, Aaron Wall has pointed out Wikipedia’s bias when reporting specific types of information.

None however doubt Wikipedia’s uncanny ability to dominate the Google search results pages. HitWise, an internet monitor has also recently reported that Google Traffic to Wikipedia has increased by 166% year over year and in February 2007, 70% of Wikipedia’s upstream traffic came from search engines.

What do you have here? Tons of people searching the internet for information and coming across Wikipedia most of the time. Wikipedia’s search visibility is something that all marketers have tried to exploit for a long time.

Creating bio-pages and inserting links to their websites in Wikipedia has become a commonplace practice for most businesses and individuals.

Almost two months ago, Wikipedia turned on NoFollow for all links in an effort to combat spam on Wikipedia. With this sweeping move, websites listed on Wikipedia will cease to receive any Google PageRank benefits.

Ever since Wikipedia refused to vouch for its external links, I’ve become even more emboldened with the idea that more high quality websites with authetic and relevant content deserve to be listed in Wikipedia.

This doesn’t mean ballooning Wikipedia with a plethora of unworthy external links but making sure that factually accurate and ideologically important websites be listed based on the merit of their content instead of their notability.

I guess I’m more or less a Wikipedia inclusionist that just wants to see more attention given to websites that are overlooked because of their weak perceived authority.

Hoarding all the link votes from other websites while regurgitating content and staying in the top 5 for most Search Engine Results Pages makes Wikipedia a little all too greedy, in my opinion.

As a response to Wikipedia’s policy and partly because of my interest in link building and marketing, I wrote this little primer on how you can get started on including your website in Wikipedia.

Why should I still list my website in Wikipedia?

Getting listed in Wikipedia is still important for several reasons:

• Highly Targeted Traffic. I’ve been lucky enough that some of my websites are included in several Wikipedia pages. I usually get a minimum of 20+ visitors a day from each page.

  Most Wikipedia pages rank very high in the Google search engine results page. When someone does a keyword search, they’ll very likely to click on the Wikipedia entry and notice your website if it is included as a reference for the topic.

• Credibility and Branding . By being listed or referenced in Wikipedia, you are liable to be perceived as an authority on the specific topic, primarily because Wikipedia is non-profit and claims to offer a neutral opinion on the topic in question. In this aspect, Wikipedia acts as a branding/marketing strategy.




• Want .edu links? I’ve known webmasters who’ve gotten several edu links because they were referenced in Wikipedia. From my personal experience as a college student, I can’t tell you how many academics or students I know visit Wikipedia for a quick primer on a topic, even though we’re told not to rely on Wikipedia.

  Edu links are highly regarded by search engines so you’ll want as many as though as possible to rank well on the SERPs.

How Wikipedia can Monetize Your Website

Credibility from being listed in Wikipedia increases customer and visitor trust, which might lead to repeat visits, bookmarking and a bigger audience base. If you are pushing products on some other pages of your website, you might have a higher potential for affiliate conversions and product sales.

Wikipedia traffic is ultra-targeted. Visitors arrive through a keyword search onto a Wikipedia page and they’ll willingly engage with your link in their search for information. Some have suggested that there is a high contextual ad CTR when it comes to Wikipedia visitors.

Getting listed in Wikipedia has a direct correlation to any website’s long term monetization strategy and should be considered a strategy to explore within any traffic building or marketing campaign.

My Personal Experience with Wikipedia

I’ve an avid Wikipedia user and I’ve successfully included links in over a dozen specific pages on Wikipedia. In my opinion the process of including your website in Wikipedia is often unpredictable because you won’t have a clear indication of what is accepted and what is not.

Getting your websites listed can also be very difficult unless your site is considered an authority in its niche. A lot of my successful link placements were largely due to trial and error.

Perhaps this was also because the pages and links I submitted were in micro-niches that were not yet very popular. However I’ve also gotten links on several semi-popular pages so I’m pretty confident the methods that I’ve used will work for you as well.

A Disclaimer: Keep Wikipedia Clean

I’m not suggesting that you spam Wikipedia. Try to only submit resources and webpages from your website that are genuinely helpful and 100% relevant to the topic at hand.

Wikipedia editors are pretty strict and they’ll definitely remove your link within minutes if it is irrelevant or seems spammy. Don’t even bother submitting Made for Adsense websites or an affiliate landing page because no trick in the world is going to ever get you listed.

Wikipedia and Notability: Treat Wikipedia as your College Professor

Before we get started, you’ll need to be aware of Wikipedia’s Notability guideline:

All topics should meet a minimum threshold of notability for an article to be included in Wikipedia. Notable is defined as “worthy of being noted” or “attracting notice”, but is not synonymous with “fame” or “importance”. It is not measured by editors’ subjective judgment.

A topic is generally notable if it has been the subject of published material which is independent of the subject, reliable, and most importantly, attributable.

The depth of coverage and quality of sources must be considered in determining the number of sources required and whether the coverage establishes notability. Multiple sources are preferable and should be independent of each other.

Notability is by far one of the most important factors when it comes to being successfully listed in Wikipedia. Notability also limits the amount of material that can be created on Wikipedia.

For instance, you can’t write about your secretary or co-worker unless they have “been the subject of published material which is independent of the subject“. This also means well known personalities or events can be a placement target for webmasters with relevant web pages. More on this later.

Notability also means you need to create Wikipedia pages that are similar to college essays: Attribution and authentic references are requirements you need to fulfill.

If you are creating a fresh page on Wikipedia, make sure to include as many references as possible from other websites, personalities and even blogs. A good rule of thumb for me is to include at least 3 references within the first two paragraphs.

A good example of this is Problogger Darren Rowse’s biography on Wikipedia. Note the large number of references to published material.

Like a college essay, your sources will need to have some authority while relating to the topic. Three day old blogs or your favorite Uncle won’t cut it. Ever got mentioned by your local newspaper, CNet, Matt Cutts or Wordpress.org? Use those sources.

Wikipedia is Not a Soapbox: What doesn’t Work in Wikipedia

To understand what type of material will work for Wikipedia, you need to understand what Wikipedia is not.

Articles about companies and products are acceptable if they are written in an objective and unbiased style. Furthermore, all article topics must be third-party verifiable, so articles about very small “garage” or local companies are not likely to be acceptable.

External links to commercial organizations are acceptable if they can serve to identify major corporations associated with a topic.

This means that overt commercial self-promotion will not work in Wikipedia. Your Wikipedia page must also refer to a verifiable entity. The easiest way to circumvent this is to refer to entities that already have their own page in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia does not like Selling: Develop a Neutral Point of View

How you frame your words is very important when it comes to creating a Wikipedia page. Wikipedians have always stressed that attribution and the Neutral Point of View (NPOV) are the two core content policies.

The neutral point of view is a means of dealing with conflicting views. The policy requires that, where there are or have been conflicting views, these should be presented fairly.

None of the views should be given undue weight or asserted as being the truth, and all significant published points of view are to be presented, not just the most popular one.

It should also not be asserted that the most popular view or some sort of intermediate view among the different views is the correct one. Readers are left to form their own opinions.

Superlatives are definitely are not encouraged and your content should be purely descriptive. Opinionated evaluations need to be attributed to verifiable sources so stay clear of that unless you have specific references at hand.

Dosh Dosh’s Ultimate Guide to Getting Your Website Listed in Wikipedia

Now let’s examine the various tips you can implement to maximize the potential of your website being listed in Wikipedia.

My personal trick for getting listed is to look for specific niches or related topics that don’t enjoy mainstream popularity but are well-received by a search audience.

There are two main ways to get listed in Wikipedia:

1. Get listed as a resource. This means inserting the link to your website in the “External Links” or “References” section for existing and related Wikipedia pages.




2. Create a new Wikipedia page describing a personality/event/business entity/profession/website.

You should create a new Wikipedia page only if you are unable to find the topic in Wikipedia. When targeting a specific subject, do a search and make a list of the pages that you want to edit.

I usually keep them on my Wikipedia watchlist so I can refer to them easily when I’m ready to include some links.

How do I get started with Wikipedia?

1. First, visit Wikipedia and choose which language to log into. I’m assuming that you’ll pick English.




2. Then, click on the “Signup/Create an account” button on the top right hand corner of the screen. Fill in a username and password. Email addresses are optional.




3. After which, you’ll see a row of tabs show up at the top of the screen. This includes your watchlist, contributions and messages.




4. Surf to a webpage you want to edit and scroll all the way down to the “External Links” section. There’s an “edit” link at the right side of the screen. Clicking it will allow you to start editing the External Links page.




5. If you want to edit the content for the entire page, click on the ‘edit this page‘ link right at the top of your screen. Not recommended if you don’t know what you are doing.

See the screenshots below:

Here are some tips you should note when creating or editing a page on Wikipedia.

Creating a New Wikipedia Page

• Build up your editing history. This is crucial. Try not to make your first edit a link placement. Most editors at Wikipedia check your history of involvement. Try improving other articles that interest you and develop a background. This will prep you for the first time you try to edit a link.




• Is it Notable? Has it been the subject of published material? If the answer is no, you’ll probably find that the page will be deleted rather quickly. If it is notable, prepare a list of references to use when creating the page.




• Find your Competitors. Are your direct competitors listed in Wikipedia? If they’re not listed, there might be something wrong with your niche or topic. Try submitting a brief skeletal description of your website with several external links to gauge the response.




• Include other sources. God forbid that you create a fresh Wikipedia page and only include your website as a source. Mix your link among other sources.




• Avoid Links in Content. Do not put any links in the body of text. Most of the time, Wikipedians will include the internal links for you. You’ll just need to place the link to your website in the External Links section.




• Cite experts. Experts add authority to your page and increases its credibility.




• Check your copy. Never, ever write in first person when creating a Wikipedia page. Stay politically correct and strive for the semblance of objectivity. Use jargons as much as possible to keep your copy niche-centric.

Submitting your Website as a Resource

• Get some background info. Click on the “discussion” tab and find out how Wikipedians perceive the webpage. Find out what they need or don’t need and use that to your advantage. Come up with what they need and submit it as a reference.




• Review the Page History. Click on the “History” tab and review the history of edits. Do they come fast and furious after a change has been made? Or are they hardly re-edited? Good way to determine the popularity of a Wikipedia page.




• Leech off personalities. Try adding links to specific personalities if you have a related web page. The more popular the personality, the harder it is to keep the link up.




• Include as References. Very useful when you come across a Wikipedia page that is calling for more references. You’ll need to be familiar with what type of material you actually have on your website.




• Find a less popular topic that is still partially related to your niche.




• Don’t submit more than one link in a day for each website. Submit too much too fast and you’ll definitely be marked as a spammer. Submit every three days or once a week if possible. Squeeze in other legit submissions in between submissions for your website.




• Make your Site Ad-free. Remove all ads and affiliate links before inserting your webpage as a reference. Editors are extremely sensitive to commercial ads, especially if your website is not an authority in the niche. If you feel the need to, reinsert the ads after 3 weeks if your link is still up.




• Make Attribution visible. You could try leaving a section after each article on your website for references. Referencing others makes you accountable and possibly, more liable for approval.




• Aim for indirect traffic. This should be the last resort. If you write for more established websites, submit the page with your article and byline. For example, if you syndicate your internet marketing/SEO articles on WebProNews, try submitting the link for that instead.

Getting your Blog Listed in Wikipedia

Blogs are similar to websites in that you’ll need to follow the same protocol mentioned above. There are three steps I usually take when attempting to include blog links in Wikipedia pages:

1. Go through all your blog posts. Make a list of those that concern external entities such as companies, personalities, websites, applications, events or news.

   Make sure that at least 95% of the content is laser focused on that one topic. I usually run a search using specific keywords in the Dashboard.




2. Search Wikipedia by entering specific names or titles and examine each page’s external links.




3. Include the blog posts which are most relevant to the Wikipedia entries. Deeplink your entries to the specific blog post permalink. Don’t point the link directly to your homepage unless the entire blog is relevant for the Wikipedia page.

After you’ve finished listing your website…

• Monitor Edits. Click on the “Watch” tab to include the page with your link in your Watchlist. This allows you to be notified when changes are made. If inaccurate factual statements are inserted, you can revert the changes. Do not remove counter-arguments that are well attributed and verified.




• Make edits for other Wiki pages. Submit other links that are not your own or you can choose to correct sources or spelling/grammatical errors. Basically, try to be a team player and build your user reputation among the community. You might even find it fun!

My Favorite All-time Wikipedia Hack: Geo-Targeting for Traffic.

Wikipedia is a massive network of websites which are virtually segregated by both nationalities and languages. Wikipedia doesn’t just exist in English, in fact Wikipedia is available in a vast array of languages.

Want traffic from Germany? Post in the German Wikipedia. Need to reach an audience in Korea? Try creating a page in the Korean Wikipedia. As you can probably tell, there is a Wikipedia for every geographic or cultural strata you have in mind. The full potential of Wikipedia is revealed when you take a global perspective that truly comprehends it’s reach.

Now for the best part: Each Wikipedia in a different language is an opportunity to include your website and receive geo-targeted traffic from specific localities.

I’ve successfully placed links in the Japanese and French Wikipedia and I can absolutely assure you that not all Wikipedias are equal when it comes to editorial decisions. This is most apparent in the different types of external links and web pages permitted.

Let’s take a look at Paris Hilton, a popular celebrity that is well known in several countries. In the English Wikpedia page, you’ll have her official website as well as an interesting website which chronicles Paris Hilton’s genealogy.

In the French Wikipedia page, there are only three links. One to IMDB, one to Paris Hilton’s listing in DMOZ and the last one is rather interesting. This particular fan site was extracted from DMOZ and the link actually points to an sell page that promotes the website to potential advertisers.

What’s more interesting is that this overtly self-promoting website is actually in English and not French. It also doesn’t show up on the English, German or Italian Wikipedias. Looks like somebody slipped through the cracks and placed their link in Paris Hilton’s French Wikipedia page.

What does this prove? That different Wikipedias have different policies when it comes to link inclusion. If you can’t get your website listed in the Wikipedia that you like, try submitting it for Wikipedias in different languages.

It’ll even be better if you could write the name of your website with the native script for each Wikipedia. I’ve tried this strategy hundreds of times and have found it to be the most effective way to get websites listed in Wikipedia.

Is Wikipedia worth all the time and effort?

Wikipedia is a wildly popular and heavily trafficked website. The same principle applies when you are trying to game or work your way into the top echelons of any popular social community like Digg, Reddit, Myspace or Stumble Upon: You’ll need to prove yourself by contributing to the community and actively networking with other users.

This will eventually allow you the ability to place most websites on specific Wikipedia pages. The investment in time and effort is high but the end results is consistent amounts of traffic and recognition if your website is successfully listed.

If you don’t have the time to go through this process, try outsourcing the work by hiring a copywriter to help you draft up well-written Wikipedia pages and submit links to your website on your relevant and targeted pages.

Just remember that notability, attribution and a neutral point of view are very important when it comes to link placement in Wikipedia.

In any case, the whole Wikipedia process can be very frustrating so always remember to treat a link from Wikipedia as an add-on and not as an indispensable limb of your marketing efforts.

That concludes my article on Wikipedia. Please do leave a comment if you have any thoughts on this fascinating topic or have any other suggestions on getting one’s website listed in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia References : Understanding the System

General List of Wikipedia Policies and Guidelines

While we strive to build consensus, Wikipedia is not a democracy, and its governance can be inconsistent. Hence there is disagreement between those who believe rules should be explicitly stated and those who feel that written rules are inherently inadequate to cover every possible variation of problematic or disruptive behavior. In either case, a user who acts against the spirit of our written policies may be reprimanded, even if technically no rule has been violated.

Wikipedia administrators are known as sysops (system operators) and they have editorial powers above normal members:

Administrators, also called sysops, are Wikipedians to whom the community gives access to technical features that help with maintenance. Administrators are expected to respect and be familiar with Wikipedia policy because they are known and trusted members of the community. They can protect and delete pages, block other editors, and undo these actions as well.

If you’re interested in becoming an omnipotent Wikipedia admin, you can request for adminship by being nominated or nominating yourself.

The community will grant administrator status only to trusted users who understand policy. Therefore, nominees should have been on Wikipedia long enough for people to determine whether they’re trustable and knowledgeable about policy. Administrators are held to high standards of conduct, as they are often perceived as the “official face” of Wikipedia.

Other References

Stephen Spencer interviews a Wikipedia editor who also happens to be an SEO consultant and gives us the lowdown on how to network and edit your way into any specific page on Wikipedia.

Here are some of the tips listed:

Reputation is everything. Do this by building a solid history of edits that aren’t self-serving.

Engage with Wikipedians through your Talk page, their Talk page, and the Talk pages of entries you wish to contribute to.

Monitor entries that are important to you by using the “watch� function within Wikipedia so that when you log in you will be alerted to any changes to those entries.

After adding a new entry, build PageRank by internal links from other Wikipedia pages.

Nick Carr has a good roundup of the various opinions on Wikipedia’s move towards NoFollow as well as its dominance in the SERPs.

I wonder, though, if it could also have the effect of reinforcing Wikipedia’s hegemony over search results. The sources cited in Wikipedia, many of which are original sources, will no longer get credit for their appearance there, which should cause at least a little downward pressure in their own search rankings (hence providing a little more upward pressure, relatively speaking, for Wikipedia’s articles).

Although the no-follow move is certainly understandable from a spam-fighting perspective, it turns Wikipedia into something of a black hole on the Net. It sucks up vast quantities of link energy but never releases any.