Wikipedia is one of the best backlinks to have due to the site’s credibility, authority, and traffic. However, it’s notoriously difficult to create pages for a business on Wikipedia.

There are many guidelines outlining what content can be added, but the most important is that the business is noteworthy, has credible citations, and the content is written from a neutral perspective.

Creating a Wikipedia Page

Here is a guide for how it can be possible for a business to create a page for themselves on Wikipedia:

1.Create an Account

• Click on the “Create an account now” link and fill out the required fields.
• Do not choose a promotional username to avoid violating guidelines.
• Your username will be public and cannot be made private.

2. Become an Autoconfirmed User

• Having a good reputation with Wikipedia as a user will increase the chances of your page being approved. Contribute to the community by making authentic, effective edits to pages in your niche to reduce the chances that your page is challenged or deleted when created. 
• After your account is over four days old and you’ve contributed at least 10 edits, your account is promoted to an autoconfirmed user, where your edits are confirmed with less extensive review, and you will be able to submit a page.

3. Create a Page

• Wikipedia pages must be written in an objective and unbiased style like it would be written in an encyclopedia. Pages written in a promotional tone will be removed.
• It’s somewhat discouraged to write a page about your own business since it’s easy to be biased even subconsciously. Using AI tools like ChatGPT to ensure the content is written in an objective tone can be helpful here. Omitting newsworthy information will be seen as bias and decrease the chances of your page being approved.
• You must disclose a conflict of interest if you write or edit articles about your own business, have someone else do it for you, or if you are paying someone do it for you. Walking this line may be the trickiest aspect of the process — you want to be transparent to avoid having your page rejected, but the very transparency could result in your page being rejected.

4. Provide Citations

• An organization must have “verifiable evidence that the organization or product has attracted the notice of reliable sources unrelated to the organization or product” to be eligible for a Wikipedia page.
• Reputable journals, books, newspapers, magazines, and websites known to fact-check qualify as citations. 
• Social media, press releases, and corporate profiles do not qualify as citations.
• Links to your website are acceptable if they “identify notable organizations which are the topic of the article.” You should include one link to your website, but excessive or unnecessary self-linking will reduce the chances of your page getting approved.
• Mentions of the company on other Wikipedia pages are especially helpful since they reiterate the company’s legitimacy. Be sure to include any references to the business.

5. Submit Page for Review

• This process can be lengthy, and the page may be rejected a few times before getting approved. When and if Wikipedia deems it as a credible source, it will be uploaded as an official Wikipedia page.

6. Update Regularly

• Ensure that your page always has the most up-to-date information about your business.

It’s that simple! Have questions or interested in taking your link building to the next level? Talk to Arc about additional options and tactics.