Let’s face it; Google’s first page is like the Garden of Eden. It is everything your company could ever want. A lush garden of possibility and all the attention your site could ever need.
Unfortunately, many of the people using the Internet aren’t very savvy. Even more, they aren’t good at searching for what they are looking for. Your company can have a great site filled with top of the line SEO, and it can still be buried under a heap of other, unrelated results.
So how does one battle this? Well, the Holy Grail, of course!
Ok, not actually the Holy Grail, but something similar. I’m talking about Wikipedia. Go ahead, type something into Google. One of the first results is going to be a wiki page for your search.
Explore it a little, take the time to get to know and play with Wikipedia. There is a lot of information on there, but for small companies, it seems like a pretty unobtainable goal to get listed on Wikipedia. It is the Holy Grail, and if you can get listed, you are in golden territory.
So, how exactly does one get listed on Wikipedia?
This is a very good question, but first we should discuss all the caveats of this venture.
First off, while Wikipedia identifies itself as an encyclopedia, it is important to note that this does not mean it is a hand out club. Companies are vying for position and exposure on the web as if it is a cure for cancer (it’s not). Wikipedia defines the companies it represents by notoriety. Essentially, the only things on Wikipedia should be things worthwhile. Is that your company?
Did your company do something important? Do you have a notable employee? Do you work for some movers and shakers? Have you changed the face of technology or created something ground breaking?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then we are off to a great start.
Wikipedia wants to display pages for notable companies. But this on its own isn’t near enough.
Like I mentioned before, we are trying to crack the code for posting on the Holy Grail of sites.
So, the next thing to consider is how readily available is your company (or site). Is there a lot of information about you? If so, are they links from other pages? And are they your links, or someone else’s?
The key to increasing your notoriety is to have a lot of links referencing your company already. Even this isn’t a sure-fire way of landing your own Wikipedia page, but this makes your company tangible, and real. When you can cross-reference the facts on your page to links externally, the gate keepers at Wikipedia will know that you are real.
It is important to come up with links of other people talking about your company, not just your company talking about your company. If you are lacking in this department, you may want to start sending out some press releases and generate some news about your company. People will start talking on their sites, and you can reference those pages with your Wikipedia “application”.
Lastly, Wikipedia scrubs all content submitted to reduce the chances of unneeded advertisements. What this means is that Wikipedia is looking to post articles from a biased standpoint. Keep everything you write as un-salesy as possible. Stick to the facts and write your article like an encyclopedia entry. Write everything as if it is being written by an outsider to your company, not someone from the inside. This may be the most important step in getting your company a Wikipedia page. Try to come up with as much content as possible, but save the ads for your own site.
Now, while these steps may not ensure that your article gets posted, they will greatly increase your chances.
Before you step into creating a page for your company on Wikipedia (and ultimately getting denied), consider Mix Media Solutions to help create the page for you. Supplying a neutral voice may be hard when writing your own entry, and Mix Media Solutions has the experience writing copy from a neutral stand point, while researching and finding all relevant information for your company.
The end result is still a risky one, as Wikipedia is monitored by humans and not machines. But going into the battle with as much information is key.
To quote my childhood, “Knowledge is power” or “Knowing is half the battle”. I’m not sure which one of these applies more, but I will side with GI Joe.
