Getting your own Wikipedia page is tough. You need to have significant news coverage about you, ample articles written and plenty of sources backing up information about you online. Also, in some cases even if you have all of this, Wikipedia will delete your page. They are pretty hardcore about it.
Lately, I have been intrigued with Wikipedia. I decided to put together this infographic on how to get your own Wikipedia page for my own knowledge and for all of you. I am sad to say, it is not that easy.
How to Get your Own Wikipedia Page
How to Get your Own Wikipedia Page – An infographic by the team at How to Get your Own Wikipedia Page
Embed How to Get your Own Wikipedia Page on Your Site: Copy and Paste the Code Below
You need some basic claim to fame
Not everyone can have a Wikipedia page. You need to have some basic claim to fame in order to be important enough to be on the website.
Also, according to Wikipedia, “Articles about living persons, which require a degree of sensitivity, must adhere strictly to Wikipedia’s content policies. Be very firm about high-quality references, particularly about details of personal lives. “Unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material—whether negative, positive, or just questionable—about living(or sometimes recently deceased) persons should be removed immediately and without discussion from Wikipedia articles, talk pages, user pages, and project space.””
You need to reference accurate information online and on Wikipedia
If you do not have accurate information that is 100% sourced your page will be taken down. Make sure you reference all points either by pointing to another Wikipedia article or an online resource.
News articles help
Wikipedia pages for people generally reference credible news articles when sourcing information. Make sure to find news articles and point to them for a better chance of getting your page published.
You cannot add fluff
If there is one sentence of commentary, or random information on the page, expect to have the page taken down. According to Wikipedia, “Articles should cite sources whenever possible. While we cannot check the accuracy of cited sources, we can check whether they have been published by a reputable publication and whether independent sources have supported them on review. Any unsourced material may be challenged and removed.”
Don’t try to sneak in links or over link
Thinking about trying to sneak in a few links to your website? Don’t do it. Also, don’t over link. “Links to policies, guidelines, essays, and articles should be used only when clarification or context is needed. Links to other advice pages may inadvertently or intentionally defer authority to them. Make it clear when links defer, and when they do not.”
You need to segment your information
When you write your page, make sure to break it up into logical sections. Generally, you will have an intro and then subsections on each of the topics the page covers.
Don’t contradict others
If you contradict information that is on Wikipedia or easy to find off Wikipedia, expect to have your page taken down.
Be 100% neutral
Any bias will get your page taken down. Don’t make any outrageous claims, like saying you are the best in the world at what you do. Wikipedia “standards require verifiability, neutrality, respect for living people, and more.”
Make sure you have the right tone
Wikipedia says biographies “should be written responsibly, cautiously, and in a dispassionate tone, avoiding both understatement and overstatement. Articles should document in a non-partisan manner what reliable secondary sources have published about the subjects, and in some circumstances what the subjects have published about themselves.
Attack pages will be taken down
If the page you make about a person attacks them and is overly negative, Wikipedia has clear rules to have it deleted immediately.
Take your time and do it right
If you add a page that is not 100%, it will be taken down. In addition, you might raise a red flag resulting in people watching what you add more closely. Make sure that everything you add is 100% quality. Also, you really can’t add a page about you yourself.
Follow the content guidelines
- Read the post on your first article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Your_first_article
- Check out the content guidelines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_content_guidelines
- Read the policies and guidelines:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines
- Read the rules for writing on living people:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons
