An online encyclopedia as a marketing tool? At first, that sounds adventurous. However, if you want to increase your website authority, you know exactly how important good links are on the Internet. Therefore, it is desirable for many companies to have their own company represented on Wikipedia. So, how to create a Wikipedia page for your company?
If you look at the instructions for “Creating a new article” on Wikipedia, it doesn’t look all that complicated. We share with you a few tips that are clearly laid out for beginners with practical hints:
Importance of relevance criteria for new entries on Wikipedia
Wikipedia uses relevance criteria to ensure the relevance and quality of its content.
Relevance criteria are set guidelines that help determine whether a new Wikipedia entry is appropriate for publishing. These criteria ensure that Wikipedia covers only the most relevant and important topics. They may vary depending on what type of entry is being made, but they all focus on assessing the topic’s importance and notability.
The concept of “notability” is one of the most important relevance criteria for new Wikipedia articles and pages. A topic must have had significant coverage in credible, independent sources such as books and academic journals to be considered noteworthy. This ensures that Wikipedia information is not self-promotional or commercial.
Verifiability is another relevant criterion. This means that any information on the site has to be verifiable by trusted sources. This ensures that Wikipedia information is both accurate and impartial.
Relevance criteria also include being neutral while writing your company’s page or article for Wikipedia. Thus, you should not promote any particular view or agenda.
Insider tips: How to successfully get your company’s page or article published on Wikipedia
In general, larger companies, in particular, have a chance to easily generate their own Wikipedia article or page. Because Wikipedia formulates the requirements for relevant commercial enterprises very clearly.
Even more specific criteria exist for different sectors, such as banks or breweries. The decisive factor is that the criteria listed do not all have to be met, but that one can be sufficient. Especially for smaller startups, for example, in the online sector.
Anyone who has just developed a new type of app should already be an innovative pioneer. A medium-sized machine builder who has developed a special process for a niche product also deserves mention on Wikipedia.
So,here are what we consider to be the most important insider tips for sustainable Wikipedia entries:
Develop a reputation as a Wikipedia author
Anyone who has already written numerous successful articles on the Wiki will find it much easier to add new articles. Of course, the admins on the platform are very careful with texts about companies and check if it clearly looks like the marketing department of a company wants to publish nice texts about themselves. Some companies, therefore, seek help from wiki professionals, who, of course, already write regularly for Wikipedia. They know the ropes better than anyone and can get your page published faster.
Research evidence first or ensure that qualified evidence is produced
Some companies can access scientific publications that describe their own product or company. Such sources are considered particularly trustworthy on Wikipedia. In addition, the most common, accepted source of evidence is the press medium. Anyone who has been quoted or described by trustworthy media can very well put it as a source in the Wikipedia page or article. If you don’t have any sources, you should first take care of your public relations first.
Integrate information and references from other Wikipedia articles
Another, perhaps most important, insider tip is the organic integration into the online encyclopedia. Let’s take the example of a small but innovative pioneer again. Anyone who has developed a new technology with their company should first try to incorporate references to it in the relevant topic articles. Does your innovation concern, for example, modern plasma technology? Then, in an article on plasma tech, you can usefully include that the latest achievement in the industry comes from your company – let’s just say Plasma Heroes here. Of course, I have to be able to back this up with evidence from science or the press.