Wikipedia is a great source for information on all types of subjects ranging from current events to people. It is most widely thought of as a resource for college and high school students doing school work, but Wikipedia also has other implications in the professional world. Wikipedia is the fifth-most popular site on the internet, and it can be an invaluable way to improve the PR of either yourself or your business. But, is it true that people would pay to create a Wikipedia page for themselves? The answer to that question is, “absolutely.”
But, why are people so keen on having a Wikipedia page written about themselves that they would pay someone else to write it? For starters, Wikipedia is popular. It’s easy to find up-to-date information on celebrities and other people of interest on Wikipedia, and more people use Wikipedia to learn things about others than anything else. In fact, it’s much more common for someone to search for a person’s Wikipedia page before searching for their official website. Indeed, if you search virtually any public persona on Google, then you will undoubtedly find that their Wikipedia page comes up long before their personal website.
So, it’s clear that Wikipedia is an important PR tool for many people. Being able to oversee what content makes it on to a Wikipedia page is vital for their reputation. Because Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, it would be very easy for a negative news story to make it onto someone’s Wikipedia page that could tarnish their reputation. But, if you pay to create a Wikipedia page for yourself, then you have total control over what initially makes it onto Wikipedia. Of course, others might ask, “Why don’t you just create a Wikipedia page on your own?”
If you don’t want to spare the money to create a Wikipedia page, then you might simply try creating one on your own. After all, you know more about yourself than anyone else does and it would be easier to simply create a page on your terms. But, that’s not often (or ever) the case. There are certain rules and guidelines that preclude people from editing or creating page’s if they have some kind of conflict of interest. Wikipedia is meant to be an unbiased platform, and it can be very difficult to be unbiased in an article about yourself. You may also be confused by the required writing style and the somewhat intricate coding requirements on Wikipedia.
That’s what leads many people to pay to create a Wikipedia page. An expert writer can ensure that everything works within Wikipedia’s guidelines while also providing a narrative that suits your personal preference. Although Wikipedia isn’t necessarily a promotional tool, it obviously helps to have information on there that sheds a positive (or, at least, neutral) light on you and your activities. Having a Wikipedia page also increases your profile and ensures that you and your brand will receive much more internet traffic than you normally would have.
by Michael Wood – Michael Wood is an online marketing expert and owner of Legalmorning.com. He specializes in reputation and brand management, article writing, and professional Wikipedia editing. He is an expert Wikipedia editor and has helped hundreds of businesses and people post their articles to the site where they have otherwise failed. He is a regular contributor to many online publications including AllBusiness Experts, Yahoo, Business Insider, Business2Community, and Social Media Today.