When someone types your company name into Google, you want to own as many of the results as possible. Your company web site, your blog, your Facebook business page, your Yelp listing, and other business profile pages will often rank highly. This is good. You control these pages, and the more search results you control, the less likely an angry blogger or questionable news article will show up on page one.
Wikipedia is a rankings powerhouse and almost always shows up on page one of a search, especially on Google. Getting published on Wikipedia would dramatically increase a brand’s SEO. However, there are some challenges to having your business on Wikipedia. The first and foremost challenge is qualifying for a Wikipedia Page. Because Wikipedia is not a directory, if there is a page for a business that doesn’t belong, moderators will remove it.
To qualify for a Wikipedia article, the company must have received some measure of notoriety; it must be noteworthy for some kind of accomplishment. Wikipedia has a page detailing the notability guidelines that determine what fits and what doesn’t. Notability will often come in the form of high-level media or news exposure.
The exposure and status of being the subject of a Wikipedia article provides amazing notoriety. However, once on Wikipedia, you will need to dedicate time and resources to monitor your Wikipedia article. Here are some pros and cons of having a Wikipedia article:
Pros
1) It provides great exposure. Wikipedia is a heavily used web site, and having an article about your company means more exposure, and ultimately more eyeballs.
2) It provides reputation management. Your Wikipedia article will probably rank on page one for their company name and that helps with online reputation management.
3) Wikipedia is a trusted, reputable site which creates a feeling of confidence from users.
The Cons
1) You don’t have a say in what’s said about you. There is a neutral point of view policy, so even if you qualify for a Wikipedia article, they will frown on you or an employee creating the page. And they make it even more difficult to update or correct the page.
2) It requires constant monitoring. If you have competitors and/or angry or upset customers, they can negatively influence the article, and ultimately your company’s reputation. Constant monitoring can be very time-consuming.
3) There is no room for error. The exposure and notoriety that comes with having a Wikipedia article means there is almost no room for error when it comes to future business mistakes. For example, if a disgruntled employee files a law suit or complaint against your company, that will show up on your Wikipedia page.
Image coutesy of www.wikipedia.org
