Whenever its time to re-evaluate your online marketing strategy, you may want to consider adding a Wikipedia marketing strategy.
You may have ignored doing so in the past due to the number of rules and complications of editing the site. However, it is now a must to implement a marketing strategy for Wikipedia.
This article will help guide you through the process of creating a strategy.
Regardless of your experience, you will see that including Wikipedia into your marketing plan isn’t as difficult as you thought.
Where Does Wikipedia Fit Into Your Marketing Strategy?
Wikipedia is a little bit of a different platform compared to other websites.
It does not technically fall into one of the three categories of paid, owned, or earned media. It sort of falls into all three, but sometimes only one of the three.
Huh? Well, take a look.
- You can “earn” your spot in Wikipedia should someone decide to write about you;
- You can “pay” someone to create your Wikipedia page should you decide not to do it yourself;
- You can consider it “owned” because anyone, including you, can edit Wikipedia (we will call it “co-owned” in this case).“Wikipedia’s popularity is obviously a major reason why companies have started using the platform to market their brands.”
Don’t worry about that for now.
“Wikipedia’s popularity is obviously a major reason why companies have started using the platform to market their brands.”
Let’s look at the benefits so you can decide if it is something you really want to get involved with.
Benefits of Having a Marketing Strategy for Wikipedia:
There are many benefits to having a Wikipedia page which I will discuss in detail in this article.
Some of the benefits include:
- Increased search presence with Search Engine Optimization
- Branded search results in Google and other search engines
- Google Knowledge Panel
- Competition comparison (put yourself on par with your competition)
- Verification – Many people use Wikipedia to verify a product or a company exists
You may decide after reading this that you don’t want to create a Wikipedia page.
But I thought I would at least put this article together so you can have all the information needed to make that decision.
Let me cover a few of the points I mentioned above.
Branded Internet Searches
Google searches related to Wikipedia have changed a lot over the years. In the past, marketers have spammed the site so much that links were set to no-follow.
People also began to spam topics related to their site with their own website link to attempt to rank their site higher in search. Google caught up with this and has since adjusted its algorithm.
Google and Wikipedia have both made adjustments in order to keep out spammers and supply people with the most relevant search results.
So what is the difference between the past and the current?
In the past, you could search for a term such as “consulting agency” and get results for Wikipedia pages related to consulting firms. For instance, results on the 1st page of Google would likely contain companies such as Bain & Company.
A lot has changed since then.
Now, when you search for the term “consulting agency,” you get the Wikipedia page that defines a consulting agency.
The only time you will get a keyword search to come up with a brand is with a list or comparison page. For instance, if you search “car manufacturer,” you will not find Wikipedia results for individual manufacturers. Instead, you will find the Wikipedia article “list of automobile manufactures.”
The important thing here is that you now get branded searches.
When people search Google for specific brands, Wikipedia shows up on the front page for that brand. For instance, when you search for “Bain & Company,” you will see the official website of Bain & Company followed by its Wikipedia page.
In addition to ranking high for branded searches, you will likely dominate search results with a Google Knowledge panel which I will dive into below.
Google Knowledge Panel
People are hot to get a Google Knowledge Graph, one of Google’s new search result panels. It has been coveted by companies since it first started appearing a few years ago.
The panel is the box that appears on the right hand side of search results in Google.
Why should you care about having a Google Knowledge panel?
“If Google decides to show your knowledge panel, you pretty much dominate the search results on the right side of the screen in desktop search,” Yoast.com.
People are attracted to the Google Knowledge Panel for a number of reasons.
The main one is because of the layout of Google Search itself. It is one of the most boring search result pages as it doesn’t contain banner ads or anything flashy.
The Knowledge Panel is something that stands out and naturally draws people attention from the rest of search results.
So how do you create a Google Knowledge Panel?
Well, it’s not as simple as “creating” one.
Google creates and controls the panels. The only thing you can really do is verify the information in the panel with Google after it has been created. So if you cannot create them, how do they appear?
You guessed it. Wikipedia.
Note – Wikipedia is not a requirement for a Google Knowledge Panel, but it greatly influences it. With Wikipedia creation, a Wikidata entry is created which is heavily utilized by Google for information in the panel.
Wikipedia is one of the main factors that drive Google Knowledge Panels. Google pulls information from Wikipedia to populate the various fields in the graph. Without a Wikipedia page, your odds of having a panel are slim to none.
There was even a time when it was thought that the Knowledge Panels were reducing Wikipedia traffic as people got all the data they needed without having to go to Wikipedia.
Keep in mind, Google Knowledge Panels are not going to pull up a business based on a search term. It must be a search for the actual brand name.
For instance, you cannot search for “ridesharing” and see the Knowledge Graph for “Uber.” Panels appear on brand name searches. Search for Uber, you will get the panel for Uber. Search for ridesharing and get the panel for ridesharing.
As a side note, Wikipedia is not the sole factor for the panels.
Google also takes into consideration other websites such as Wikidata (a sister project of Wikipedia) and social media. While Google+ used to be one of the factors considered, the platform is now defunct and no longer used for Knowledge Panels.
Now you know about the SEO benefit and the creation of the Google Knowledge Graph. So, let’s now look at how potential customers use Wikipedia to compare you with competitors.
What a Marketing Strategy for Wikipedia Looks Like:
A Wikipedia marketing strategy involves a number of things, including using sister projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation.
A marketing strategy can include:
- Creating a Wikipedia Page
- Including Brand Information in Related Wikipedia Pages
- Finding Link Opportunities in Wikipedia
- Leveraging Other Wikipedia Projects such as Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons
You will also want to include Wikipedia monitoring into your marketing plan.
Creating a Wikipedia Page:
Now, don’t get too excited yet. There is no need to jump into creating a Wikipdia page until you know the requirements to do so. There are a few things you need to know which I will cover in this section.
First, you must determine if you even qualify for a Wikipedia page.
“Just because your competitor has a Wikipedia page does NOT necessarily mean that you qualify for one. You must be notable according to Wikipedia guidelines, regardless of what industry you are in.”
How do you know if you are notable?
Wikipedia has a list of guidelines on notability. There is a general notability guideline and then individual guidelines specific to your industry (sports, companies, music, etc.).
Basically, you will need significant coverage in reliable sources that talk about the subject of the page you want to create. This coverage must be more than a brief mention (the articles need to focus on the subject) and they must be independent of the subject (press releases, official websites, and user generated content do not qualify).
I put together a guide that summarizes the Wikipedia notability guidelines. If you are still unsure if you qualify after looking through the guide, you can always contact me and I will let you know.
Once you know that you qualify for Wikipedia, you need to make sure that you adhere to other guidelines when creating the page.
Make sure that you:
- Include proper references
- Write in a neutral tone
- Are NOT advertorial
- Adhere to all policies and guidelines outlined on the site
Wikipedia has a guide they put together called Your First Article. It will help guide you through the process of creating a Wikipedia page, including showing you how to find references and how to submit your draft Wikipedia article for review.
Including Brand Information in Related Pages:
You will want to include yourself in every Wikipedia page possible due to competition comparison.
What do I mean when I say “competition comparison?”
Well, people will want to look at you and your competitors when doing research. Wikipedia allows them to do this. If they use Wikipedia for comparison purposes, you may be missing out if you do not have a Wikipedia page.
Here is what I mean.
Wikipedia pages are categorized for ease of use. When you go to a page (for example, let’s look at E-Trade), you will see categories at the bottom of the page.
In the example above, you will see the category for “online brokerages” at the bottom of the page. When people click on this link, they will be taken to a category page containing all Wikipedia pages that are online brokerages.
If you are an online brokerage and don’t have a Wikipedia page, you will not show up in this category and people may not even know you exist; or, if they do know you, may forget to include you in their comparison as you’re not in front of them on the list.
It gets even better. Wikipedia has pages that list out specific companies in a category; and, sometimes have comparison pages to help you choose the right provider for the service you are looking for.
In this case, Wikipedia has a page for comparison of online brokerages. It allows you to sort by name, initial funding amount, commission, etc.
Wikipedia has a number of list and comparison pages for various industries. Just a few include:
- Comparison of web browsers
- List of online marketplaces
- List of digital camera brands
- List of car audio manufacturers and brands
- One of my favorites is lists of companies that contains the names of companies that you can find by type or country location.
They even have a page for comparison of file comparison tools. (comparing comparisons?)
Backlink Opportunities:
Wikipedia is not a direct SEO tool but having a Wikipedia page can benefit your other SEO efforts.
Here is how.
Backlinks are one of the main factors in SEO. Having a backlink from Wikipedia is one of the strongest backlinks available. Based on the quality and relevancy of the site, Wikipedia is a great source for a backlink.
Now, I don’t recommend going to Wikipedia and trying to place a backlink to your website in just any page. Doing so is likely to get your website banned and you may even get blocked from editing.
Only add branded links to branded Wikipedia pages. The official website of the topic of each article is acceptable and even encouraged on Wikipedia.
Adding backlinks to your site in articles that are NOT about your brand is not.
Wikipedia backlinks are no-follow but do not let that discourage you. Many marketers, myself included, believe (and have seen) that no-follow links have authority when it comes to SEO. They are considered overall as part of link diversity.
Wikipedia can also help with SEO of other articles related to you, but not just your own website. When these sources are cited in Wikipedia, you give a backlink which will rank them higher in search.
So, positive articles about you that are included in a Wikipedia page are going to rise in the search engines.
This is also why I recommend not using Wikipedia for reputation management as it can have the opposite effect (having negative articles rise in the search results).
In addition to the link juice you are getting from Wikipedia, the site is also vital in the creation of a Google Knowledge Panel (which I have also covered in this article). A Google Knowledge Panel shows your Wikipedia page, website, and social media profiles among other information.
Keep in mind that you will need a Wikipedia page if you want to help jump start the creation of a Knowledge Panel.
Final Thoughts
You need to start thinking about implementing a digital marketing strategy for Wikipedia. Even if its only for a Google Knowledge Panel or SEO purposes. Make sure you qualify prior to creating an article. Always and adhere to guidelines on referencing, tone, and others when submitting your draft.
Use all options available to you including finding ways to place your brand in different Wikipedia pages. Understand that having a Wikipedia marketing strategy can help with branded searches, competition comparison, and overall verification of your brand.
