Most people think getting a Wikipedia entry is just about typing up a bio and hitting publish. It isn't. Honestly, it’s more like trying to pass a bill in a very cranky congress where everyone is looking for a reason to say no. If you’re wondering how to make a wikipedia page that doesn't get deleted within six minutes, you have to stop thinking like a marketer and start thinking like a cynical librarian.
Google loves Wikipedia. You know this. It’s why the "Knowledge Graph" on the right side of your search results usually pulls directly from a Wiki summary. If you land a page, your SEO basically wins the lottery. But the barrier to entry is high—and for good reason. The site is a non-profit encyclopedia, not a PR wire.
The Brutal Reality of Notability
Wikipedia has this thing called the "General Notability Guideline" or GNG. It’s the gatekeeper. Basically, if the world hasn't already talked about you or your company in significant detail, you don't exist in the eyes of the editors. You need "significant coverage in reliable, independent secondary sources."
What does that mean? It means a mention in a "Top 10 Startups" list doesn't count. An interview where you talk about yourself? Doesn't count. Press releases you paid for? Absolutely useless. You need deep, investigative, or feature-length pieces from places like The New York Times, Wired, or The Guardian. If the source is "pay-to-play," the editors will sniff it out. They have lists of "deprecated" sources they check religiously.
Conflict of Interest: The Elephant in the Room
Can you write your own page? Technically, yes. Should you? Probably not. Wikipedia calls this COI (Conflict of Interest). If you are the subject or work for the subject, you are supposed to disclose it. If you don't, and they catch you—and they usually do because of IP tracking and behavior patterns—your page gets a big "COI" tag at the top. It’s the digital equivalent of a scarlet letter. It looks terrible for your brand.
Actually, the best way to handle this is the "Article for Creation" (AfC) process. You submit a draft and let a neutral editor review it. It takes forever. We’re talking months. But it’s the honest way to do it.
The Anatomy of a Surviving Draft
A good page looks boring. If it sounds exciting, it’s probably going to get deleted for being "promotional." You want dry, clinical, and factual prose.
Instead of saying "The company revolutionized the industry with its cutting-edge AI," you say "In 2024, the company released an LLM-based software used by 15% of Fortune 500 firms." See the difference? One is an opinion; the other is a verifiable fact. Every single sentence needs a little blue number next to it. If you make a claim and there isn't a citation from a major news outlet to back it up, delete the sentence yourself before someone else does it for you.
How to Make a Wikipedia Page That Google Actually Ranks
Google Discover and Google Search don't just want a page; they want a page that people are actually reading. To rank well and appear in Discover feeds, your Wiki page needs to be "alive." This means regular updates, a well-structured "Infobox" (that box on the right with the quick facts), and internal links.
Internal links are the secret sauce. If your page is a dead end, it won't rank as well. It should link out to other relevant Wikipedia topics, and other pages should link to it. But don't go spamming links to your new page from random articles. That’s called "orphan" fixing, and if it’s done poorly, it looks like a bot.
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The Importance of the Lead Section
The first paragraph is everything. This is what Google pulls for the featured snippet. It needs to define exactly what the subject is in the first sentence. "X is a [Category] known for [Major Achievement]." Keep it simple. Don't use adjectives like "leading," "innovative," or "unique." Just state the facts.
Common Pitfalls (The Deletion Nominations)
There’s a special place on Wikipedia called "Articles for Deletion" (AfD). It’s a graveyard. Most pages end up there because they fail on one of three fronts:
- Puffery: Using "PR speak."
- Non-notability: The sources are just blogs or local news.
- Primary sourcing: Using the company’s own website as the main source.
If your page gets nominated for deletion, you’ll see a giant warning box. Don't panic and delete the box—that’s a quick way to get banned. Instead, go to the talk page and calmly provide better sources. If you can’t provide better sources, the page is gone. That’s the game.
Steps to Take Before You Even Open Wikipedia
You've got to do the legwork first.
- Audit your press. Do you have at least 5-7 deep, independent articles about you?
- Create an account. Don't edit anonymously. Anonymity looks suspicious to veteran editors.
- Build a history. Don't make your first edit the creation of your own page. Go fix some typos on other pages. Add a few citations to existing articles. Show that you’re a member of the community first.
- Draft in a Sandbox. Every user gets a "sandbox." Write your draft there. It’s a safe space where you can format everything correctly without the "speedy deletion" hawks circling.
What to Do If You're a "Red Link"
A red link means someone linked to a page that doesn't exist yet. If you see a red link for your name or company on a high-traffic Wikipedia page, that’s a huge green light. It means the community already thinks you should have a page. In that case, how to make a wikipedia page becomes much easier because the demand is already documented.
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The Technical Side: Wikitext and Citations
You don't need to be a coder, but you should learn the basics of Wikitext. Use the visual editor if you must, but the source editor is more reliable for complex citations.
Citations are not just URLs. You need the author, the date, the title of the article, and the publication. Use the "cite web" or "cite news" templates. This level of detail shows the editors you’re taking the project seriously.
Actionable Next Steps for Success
Don't just jump in today. Start by searching for your topic on Wikipedia. If it's already there but redirected to a broader topic, you have an easier path. If it's not there at all, follow these specific steps:
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- Source Gathering: Create a spreadsheet of every major news mention you have. If they are all interviews or press releases, stop. You need to earn more earned media first.
- Account Warming: Register an account and make 20-30 small, helpful edits across the site over two weeks. Fix grammar. Add missing dates.
- Drafting: Write the article in a neutral, "boring" tone in your sandbox. Use the "Article for Creation" (AfC) route to submit it. It’s slower but much safer.
- Monitoring: Once the page is live, add it to your "watchlist." People will edit it. Some might add negative info if it's factual and cited. You have to let them. That’s the price of a Wikipedia presence.
- Image Uploads: Use Wikimedia Commons to upload a high-quality, rights-cleared headshot or logo. Without an image, you're less likely to trigger a Google Knowledge Panel. Make sure you actually own the copyright or the photographer has released it under a Creative Commons license.
Following this path doesn't guarantee a page—nothing does—but it moves you from the "deleted in five minutes" pile to the "permanent encyclopedia entry" pile. It's a long game. Play it like one.