Can You Create a Wikipedia Page for Your Company?

Wikipedia is a vast encyclopedia that contains information on everything from animal facts to our favorite television shows.

The community of editors and writers on the internet is one of the main reasons for the wealth of knowledge that Wikipedia has. You might be wondering, , “How do I promote my brand on Wikipedia?”, or , “Can I create a Wikipedia page for my company?”.

Wikipedia is a great source for ranking high on Google’s first page. This year, we’ll explore the basics of creating a page, the top business pages and guidelines for publishing Wikipedia pages.

How Can You Create A Wikipedia Page For Your Business?

You can make a Wikipedia page with administrative rights, but you must always adhere to the guidelines of Wikipedia and be objective in your additions. Avoid any advertorial material at all cost.

The Benefits of Owning a Wikipedia page

Wikipedia is a non-biased, community-driven encyclopedia. Due to its nature, and its stated mission, biased and overly-promotional material can be removed or go against the guidelines. It’s not recommended to edit or create pages for a company you work with or own. This can be difficult to maintain unbiased listings.

1. Credibility and authenticity of a brand.

A presence on Wikipedia will enhance the credibility of your brand. Wikipedia is trusted by millions as their primary information source. A well-written page with proper citations can show potential clients, investors, and partners that your company is established and legitimate.

2. Search engine visibility and rankings are improved.

Search engine result pages (SERPs) often feature Wikipedia pages at the top. A Wikipedia page will increase the visibility of your company online, making it easy for customers to discover and find your brand. It can help improve your organic search ranking, increase traffic to the website and lead to increased conversions.

3. Access to an international audience

Wikipedia can be accessed in many languages by users from around the globe. A Wikipedia page allows you to reach an international audience that may include potential clients, partners and investors. It can expand your market reach, and create new opportunities for business in different markets.

How to create a Wikipedia page for your company

Please note: This step will show you screenshots from the Wikimedia site that include trademarked logos.

The Wikimedia Foundation has granted permission to use the Wikimedia Foundation wordmarks and logos. HubSpot is not affiliated or endorsed in any way by the Wikimedia foundation.

1. Create a Wikipedia account.

Click “Create an account” at the top-right corner of Wikipedia.

Image Source

Click “Create Your Account” and enter the required information including your username and password.

2. Promoted to auto-confirmed users.

You’ll notice a pop-up box that says “Help improve Wikipedia”, with a button to edit an article.

Image Source

You’ll first need to be an automatic confirmed user.

Wikipedia has a standard set of guidelines that define an autoconfirmed account: “Although requirements vary depending on the circumstances, accounts older than four days and with at least 10 edits made (including those deleted) will be considered to have autoconfirmed.

You’ll have to be patient here. Spend the first few days after you create an account, editing pages of other users. You can edit a page by clicking “Edit a Page”. There are links to “Edit” at the top of each paragraph.

After autoconfirming, move on to the next stage.

3. Create a page.

We’re now at the hardest part – creating the page.

Go to Wikipedia and click on “Writing an Article”. You’ll notice a button in blue that says “Article Wizard: An easy way to Create Articles” as you scroll down. This button will appear (as soon as your autoconfirmation is complete):

Image Source

You’ll then be directed to the Article Wizard on Wikipedia. You have two choices: either click “Next” to create your page immediately, or edit your page first in Wikipedia’s Sandbox.

Click “Next” to proceed.

Image Source

You can add as much information or as little as you like, since your company’s Wikipedia page is likely to be blank. You’ll also want to organize the page so that it is easy to read, putting the most basic and important information first (such as what your business does).

Take a look, for example, at the structure of HubSpot’s Wikipedia page:

Image Source

On the page, you’ll find a brief overview (two sentences) of HubSpot, a table-of-contents on the left and an “information sheet” to the right. You’ll find HubSpot history below the table of content, then a description HubSpot software and services.

The information above the fold on HubSpot’s Wikipedia page is most likely to be useful to a visitor who’s never heard of HubSpot. She can quickly learn what HubSpot offers, how much money it makes, as well as what Forbes and other third-party sites have said about HubSpot.

Wikipedia should be used to spread brand awareness. While the reader can scroll down for product specific information, Wikipedia’s main purpose is to provide a platform that allows readers access more generalized brand knowledge.

Later on, we’ll examine more examples.

4. Citations are required.

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. To prove that your topic has validity, it’s important to include references to articles from other sources.

Wikipedia cautions that you should check independent sources for the topic before you start creating your article. Journals, books, magazines, newspapers and websites that have a good reputation for fact checking are all examples. social media, press releases, or corporate/professional profiles do not qualify”:

Image Source

Citations give credibility to your company and let the reader know that you are a real business. Search for articles in magazines or newspapers that refer to your business, websites with backlinks to your site as a source, and directories which link to the profile of your company.

5. Make sure you follow the Creative Commons guidelines.

You should follow the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 Guidelines when using images or other content from Wikipedia.

• Credit You are required to give credit and provide links back to the original license. If you have made any changes, please indicate this. This can be done in a reasonable way, but you cannot suggest that the licensee endorses your use or yourself.
• ShareAlike – If you modify, remix or transform the material you are required to distribute it under the same licence as the original.

• No restrictions – You cannot apply any legal terms, technological measures or other means that would restrict the rights of others to do anything they are licensed for.
• If you are using material that is in the public domain, or if an exception or restriction applies to your use, then it’s not necessary for you to adhere with the licensing. There are no warranties. Licenses may not grant you the full permissions required for your intended usage. Other rights, such as privacy rights, publicity rights, and moral rights, may restrict how you use material.”

6. Audit neutrality is maintained.

Remember that even if you think you are being objective about your own company, or the company that pays you, you may be subconsciously adding information which could feel biased or too promotional.

Avoid having a page that is overly promotional by reading the text you have added before publishing it. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes and imagine what the person would think. Consider moving anything that sounds aggressive or salesy about your business.

If you’re unsure, add links or citations from other sources than your own. When in doubt, add citations or links to sources other than your company.

Last but not least, to make sure you have covered everything, read through and review the Conflict of Interest Guidelines on Wikipedia one final time.

7. Send the page to be reviewed.

Once you are finished, send it to Wikipedia for review. When Wikipedia approves your page as a reliable source, you will see it become an official Wikipedia.

If you read the Wikipedia Article Wizard Common Mistakes, you will be able meet the guidelines of the website when you submit. Many people are rejected at:

• Use of over-promotional words instead of being objective.
• You can copy-paste your material rather than submitting the original.
• Lack of citations is a major problem for building credibility.

8. Regularly update your website.

The hard work hasn’t ended yet. It’s important to regularly update your Wikipedia page as it begins to rank on Google page one for your business name. This will ensure that it contains the latest information about your products and services.

By updating your website regularly, you can maintain transparency and comfort both for customers as well as leads.

Characteristics of the Best Wikipedia Pages

Over 6.7 millions articles are available in English Wikipedia. Many of these are company pages. These are the characteristics of great company pages.

• Describe the business accurately
• Keep a neutral perspective
• Mention notable independent sources
• Include a link back to the website of your company
• Ideal disclosure is that this post was originally published by members of a company, or by entities who were paid by the firm. It should also be disclosed how the editors worked to maintain the neutrality of the article.

Here are two company page examples that you can use to get ideas for your own.

Examples of Company Pages on Wikipedia

1. World Wide Technology

The Wikipedia page for World Wide Technology is a great example of an effective company page. It begins with a short overview of the company, its revenue, and number of employees. The timeline includes notable dates, from the company’s founding to its most recent recognition by TIME in 2021.

This page concludes with an extensive list of reliable independent sources that have published information about the organization. This list will help Wikipedia to understand the significance of the organization and prevent the appearance of conflict. Your company’s page may be removed if you don’t provide a reference list.

2. Urban One

Urban One’s page on Wikipedia is an excellent example of how to create a page for a business. The page begins with a description of the company, its main audience, and size. While details like the fact that it’s the largest African-American-owned broadcasting company and one of the highest-earning African-American-owned businesses in the United States are impressive, it’s stated objectively and cited properly to avoid the appearance of self-promotion.

Wikipedia’s requirement for articles about organizations that are noticeable is significant coverage from multiple sources. Urban One easily meets this requirement. You’ll see a section of references with 54 entries at the bottom.

Get Your company on Wikipedia

A quick Google search can provide us with a wealth of information, including directories, social media profiles and press releases, on any given topic. You can give viewers reliable information by maintaining an updated Wikipedia page.

How to Write a LinkedIn Recommendation in 2023

How to Create a Landing Page: The Ultimate Guide

How to Get a Google Ads Certification

How to Start a Podcast on Spotify for Free

10+ Reasons Why Overworking is Bad for Your Health