No matter what you type in to your Google search bar, odds are that Wikipedia.org will be the top slated search result. It’s no coincidence, and businesses can learn several search engine optimization (SEO) basics from Wikipedia that they can use to optimize their search results.
Wikipedia is specific: Wikipedia articles are focused and cover very specific topics. Most Wikipedia article headings contain only one or a few words – generally the term searched. Google will not give an article a high ranking unless it is sure that the article is correctly focused on a specific search term or phrase.
Wikipedia is up-to-date: Content on Wikipedia is updated regularly – new articles are continuously added and old articles are revised and improved. Google favors content that is up-to-date. It is not enough to just create a website and add content. These days, you must add new content regularly, update existing content, and improve or correct content that is outdated or incorrect.
Wikipedia is used: People use Wikipedia often as a reference source. Its content is well written and comprehensive, and people trust it. But this feat isn’t exclusive to Wikipedia – any good article can be referenced and shared in social media.
Wikipedia is organized: Wikipedia articles are easy to read and very well organized. Document structure is an important factor to Google ranking and is a good indicator of quality content. It is important to utilize a single title tag for each article, and break up pieces of content into logical sections with headers. In addition, make use of tags to specify important SEO terms and phrases in your content.
Wikipedia is full of links: Wikipedia content is full of internal (linking to other Wikipedia pages) and external (linking to other websites) links. Internal links both help connect readers to related content and lowers Wikipedia’s bounce rate (which, according to Wikipedia, is the percentage of visitors who enter the site and “bounce” (leave the site) rather than continue viewing other pages within the same site). Low bounce rate is a good indication that their content is engaging and relevant. Not only does Wikipedia use internal links, but its content also contains external links to high quality sources to cite information used in their articles. Google also monitors external links, and proper use can increase a sites page rank.
In general, content should be specific, up-to-date, trusted, and configured in a way that is easy for real people to read, understand, and use. Also, when appropriate, articles should link content to other high quality websites as well as use internal links to encourage a flow of traffic internally.
To read more about what businesses can learn from Wikipedia, click here.
