Tips To Gain Respect By Using Wikipedia for SEO
Wikipedia is Google’s 800-lb gorilla.
It’s also a great source of SEO resources alongside Google Keyword Planner and Google Search.
- Wikipedia is human knowledge. Wikipedia uses the same language as humans. Wikipedia is written by humans. It connects keywords and topics in a way that only humans can.
- Wikipedia can be used as an online resource.
This article will explain how Wikipedia can be used to aid in SEO and content marketing.
How Wikipedia can be used for Off Page SEO
Wikipedia was made available to all outbound links in 2007. This means links from Wikipedia do not pass PageRank or anchor text (ie, Wikipedia articles aren’t directly helpful webpages to Googlebot’s eyes span>
This update has made Wikipedia less appealing to SEOs who have a formulaic view (links + keywords = ranking) of SEO.
Google claims that they don’t follow [nofollow] links in general. This misconception is common among SEOs. Let’s now move on to the next tactic. However, the second group focuses more on “In general” and creates a conspiracy theory to spam Wikipedia (the exact people who spam comments on blogs span>).
Wikipedia editors do not like spamming or using Wikipedia for profit.
There are legitimate methods Wikipedia can be used for links that will benefit everyone.
1. Get broken links and citation-needed links
October 2018 Update: This tactic is still worth using. You will have to start with this information and build on it.
It is a fact that these links don’t point to the most up-to-date and current sources. Archive.org may need to be used to locate the broken URL.
Wikipedia links can still be valuable even if they aren’t followed by users. people click on your link span> As a Wikipedia reference, they will link to your website from their websites.
You can obtain a Wikipedia hyperlink without being accused of spam. You don’t have to treat Wikipedia as a graffiti board. Wikipedia’s editors will do the hard work for you.
Google Search for:
site:wikipedia.org [keyword] intext: “dead link” (or “citation needed”)
Wikipedia allows you to search for pages with broken links. WikiGrabber can also help narrow your search.
Can you provide a reference or resource for the missing or deceased citation?
If you have the link, grab it! You will receive referral traffic and a URL nofollow from the most trusted website on the Internet. This is something that I value more than any do follow the link, unclicked or unseen.
There are two choices, one that is similar to the other.
If you see a Dead Citation, then you are Wikipedia broken link building. Claim the link.
*A grey-ish version is to visit a domain registrar and try to buy an expired domain, then rebuild it with links.
This is how many unscrupulous SEOs create “private blog networks” by using tons of expired domains. However, building one to multiple domains is a good idea.
Content for a Citation Needed Link will be required.
You will also get a guaranteed link chance.
Remember your Wikipedia link! You can search the Internet for pages linking to the same resource, and get in touch with them
2. There are many link opportunities to topic pages
Half of all search terms are ranked by Wikipedia pages. This creates a feedback loop. Wikipedia pages are ranked in half of all searches.
Journalists may be required to quickly cite a definition or bloggers will need to link directly to the concept. This is done by performing a quick Google search and linking to the relevant Wikipedia pages.
Wikipedia pages often have the best relevance for broad keywords. This can be used to search for other people who might be interested in linking to your website.
Find relevant Wikipedia pages in your market using SEMrush and LinkMiner. See who links to this page.
You will receive a list of websites, blogs, and other people that are relevant to your website. These sites may link to your content.
3. It is important to look for reference pages.
In the 2000s, when we were growing up in school, we heard the expression “Don’t Cite Wikipedia”. (Remember how this connects with #1).
If they are doing research for their site, they may link to these resource sites. This is a great reason to do #1 since Wikipedia’s human editors determined that these reference pages contained the most relevant citations.
Take all URLs from any citations in the relevant Wikipedia article and plug them into SEMrush/ Ahrefs. This will give you a wider range of websites and people that may be interested in linking to your content.
4. Make Your Own Wikipedia Page
This point was deliberately left out of the original post.
Why?
Spam is not something we like, even though it’s a great open resource like Wikipedia.
This is the problem. Wikipedia pages are a great idea if you’re worthy. It should be well-structured.
This information will be used by Google, and other data sources and it is most likely to be accurate. Before you upload or modify it, make sure to review Wikipedia’s guidelines.
How to Use Wikipedia Page SEO
Real data is essential for any content strategy. Understanding your audience’s language and questions will help you understand their needs.
It can be difficult to establish a solid strategy. Make educated guesses by interviewing customers.
The human-edited Encyclopedia can be used to rank almost all topics.
1. Gauge Interest in Topics
Search volume is the most important factor in SEO research. Google’s move away from keyword matching in Keyword Planner can make it difficult to figure out how many people might be interested in a piece.
Wikipedia is more likely to rank for keywords that are related to a topic. It is possible to also determine how many people visit the article. Domas Mituzas has created a tool that makes this easy.
Head over to http://stats.grok.se/. Add your Wikipedia article. Track traffic statistics every month going back to 2007.
It is very unlikely that a well-edited Wikipedia Page will get more than a few visits per month. This could be a sign that you’re not a great content marketer.
Combining this data with Google Trends and Keyword Planner will give you a solid idea of the potential traffic for new content.
2. Keyword Research using Wikipedia + Keyword Planner
The keyword strategy portion of SEO is all about figuring out both what language your audience uses to describe your products/services/content and figuring out how search engines understand that same language.
Keyword research can be hard for the human side. This is true whether you are working with clients in new industries or creating content that appeals to your target audience.
SEOs often outsource the heavy brainstorming work to…a computer. It is limited by keywords that were initially entered by humans.
You will keep going down the rabbit hole if you don’t have enough keywords.
We are back at the beginning of the problem: how do you find solid keywords that are understood by a human brain?
Wikipedia allows you to find information written by experts. (h/t Dan Shure) Read his original post
Copy the URL to a relevant Wikipedia article. Click on Google Ads-> Keyword Planner.
Click on New Keyword Ideas. Enter the Wikipedia URL into the Landing Page field.
A solid seed list with keywords will be provided to you that can be used for refining and expanding your keyword list.
Google Ads has been tightening its search engine optimization policies, but you can still use tools like SEMrush or SiteProfiler to do keyword planner research.
3. Plan Content using dead links, citation required & stub webpages
The idea of grabbing hyperlinks has been discussed before but Wikipedia [citation needed] also offers unique content opportunities. This indicates that Wikipedia must provide content to support a claim.
Similar to answers.com, Merriam-Webster, and a PDF file (all low-quality results), it is a sign from Google that they are looking for better content. If there is no trusted option immediately, a [citation needed], [dead link], or stub page indicates that there are not any options.
Anyone who creates content to meet this need is not only an expert but also a person well-prepared for off-page ideas #1.
This shortcut allows you to create this content quickly and conduct outreach. Improve your content and reach out to everyone who is linked to it.
Remember the dead link we mentioned in off-page Idea #1? It can be found in the Internet Archive…
I now know the content used as a source of information. We can also rebuild the link to Wikipedia…along with any other links to the page.
4. Plan Content Around the Reference Pages
This idea inspired Brian Dean’s guest post at OkDork. These pages can be used to find link opportunities and generate content ideas.
What if these pieces of content can be found and cited in Wikipedia?
What are some of the most popular themes and questions on the reference pages’ pages? Can this data be repackaged into useful content?
Next steps
Wikipedia does not provide a quick and easy way to improve your website’s SEO or content strategy. This is not the place to ignore.
You can use this resource to build your site and add it to Wikipedia. Next, you will need to compile a list with relevant Wikipedia pages for your audience.
Register now to get a free trial for SEMrush (most data) or SiteProfiler (budget but great).
These can be used to perform keyword research, off-page research, and improve Wikipedia pages.
