You’ve used Wikipedia at least once in your lifetime. The quality information that this site provides is enough to make it a high-authority website. Now, if you’re a webmaster, it must have been at the back of your head if getting backlinks from Wikipedia is a good move.
Apparently, it is! You can reap the benefits of having links on Wikipedia.
In this article, we’ll teach you how to get a Wikipedia backlink using 6 methods. We’ll get to them one by one – but first, we’ll look into Wikipedia and why getting a backlink from this site is important.
In this article:
- Why Do We Need a Wikipedia Backlink?
- 6 Methods to Get Wikipedia Backlinks
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Relevance is Still a Factor for Backlinks From Wikipedia
Why Do We Need a Wikipedia Backlink?
Wikipedia is one of those websites that you can rely on when you need information on virtually anything under the sun. The website is a reliable source of information and a good addition to your backlink profile. Here are some other reasons why a Wikipedia backlink is good for your website:
- Wikipedia has an aDR of 96 and sits at Ahrefs Rank 21.
- Wikipedia has over 4 billion backlinks. That’s a lot of external links.
- There’s also a lot of backlink opportunities on Wikipedia pages.
- Getting a backlink from Wikipedia will get you a lot of traffic.
- Having a Wikipedia page builds credibility and authority for your site.
But for years, Wikipedia backlink is a hot subject among link builders and SEO professionals. While some might say that it’s pointless to get Wikipedia links because they’re nofollow, we think otherwise. Even if the links you get are nofollow, search engines like Google see this website as a provider of relevant content.
This is impactful, especially for gathering organic traffic and content marketing. It’s also easier to get a link from Wikipedia because it’s a user-generated platform where anyone can edit an article. But there are Wikipedia editors that manage the quality and legitimacy of a piece of content and the links to it.
A Wikipedia backlink can also boost your credibility as a source. If you have Wikipedia backlinks pointing back to your site, other sites will see you as an authority, too. Although the links are nofollow and don’t pass authority, these backlinks can still boost your site’s credibility.
Is it Safe?
There was a time where Wikipedia offers follow links to websites. And since it passes link equity, spammers and black hat SEOs started to swarm it and damage the quality of the articles and links. Since then, the website decided to label all links as nofollow to avoid spammers and maintain its authority.
It’s safe to build links to Wikipedia pages. But you have to maintain the relevance of the URL to the content of the Wikipedia article you want to edit. You have to remember that this website is maintained by a Wikipedia editor.
Here’s what editors want to see from your submissions on Wikipedia:
- You have to be a reliable source. You will be considered reliable if you’re compliant with their reliability standards.
- Your self-published source must be credible and produced by an established figure in your niche.
- Language usage must be consistent. Your additional input must be English if you’re adding it to an English article.
- Provide additional facts and credible resources for the benefit of the readers.
These editors are meticulous when it comes to checking new submissions. Therefore, for this to work, you have to keep your link relevant to the content of the Wiki page. If a Wikipedia editor noticed that your contribution is made for the sake of a backlink, your link can be removed. Your account could also get banned from contributing to the website’s content.
6 Methods to Get Wikipedia Backlinks
We’re going to discuss 6 methods that you can use to gain Wikipedia backlinks. These methods will require knowledge about link building and your niche. You will have to do a lot of digging into Wikipedia pages to find the perfect content for your link.
1. Go for Nofollow Links
Wikipedia backlinks are labeled as nofollow links to avoid spammers from using them to manipulate search engine algorithms. Though nofollow links offer very little link advantage to your site. But when it comes to promoting your website, links from Wikipedia will do the job.
Since it’s an open-sourced platform and anyone can edit any content, you have to do well in making your content impressive. You have to provide additional value to the existing content on the Wikipedia page. Even if you’re not getting a direct ranking advantage, you can get organic traffic if readers get interested in your link.
Let me show you an example.
For this one, a fact from an article is missing a citation and it needs one. Let’s say that you have a blog post (or create one) that talks about backlinks and their effect on SERP ranking, then you can add your link as a credible source.
If you were able to pass the vetting process of Wikipedia editors, your URL will replace the “citation needed” superscript. You can also add a whole paragraph of factual information and add your URL as a credible source. But this will only result in nofollow links. Therefore, these links won’t affect your ranking directly.
What this will affect is your site’s credibility when it comes to providing niche-related facts. When other bloggers see your URL on an important niche article, they will see your site as an authority. This will open up other backlink opportunities to other bloggers in your niche.
2. Build a Wikipedia Page
A Wikipedia page of your business is a good way to gain popularity for Wiki users. You can promote your website’s content and link to top-performing articles on your blog. The page should contain details and information about your business and your importance in the community.
When people type your business name on Google Search, this Wikipedia page will also appear on SERPs. And if you have links to your website on your Wikipedia page, you can redirect this traffic back to your site. Once you created a Wikipedia account, you can make an article for your business on Wikipedia.
However, take note that linking back to a landing page might appear irrelevant for Wikipedia editors. You have to link directly to the content that’s relevant to the anchor text you choose. You have to cite your article just like how you cite a credible source on a research paper.
Once you’ve established your page on Wikipedia, you can link to this page on your main website. You gain a high PR backlink for your website and get exposure on a high DA website like Wikipedia.
3. Convert Dead Links to Your Backlinks
There are dead links on Wikipedia and you can find them almost on every page. This is a good linking opportunity for you because you can claim these dead links and replace them with your URL. But you have to find the right page with the right dead link for your backlink to be valuable.
But what are dead links anyway? Dead links arise from link rotting, a phenomenon in Wikipedia where existing links are taken down because of different reasons. Links can be considered “dead” because 3 reasons:
- Outdated content from a resource
- Expired domains
- Site reconstruction without a redirect
As we mentioned, they’re all over Wikipedia. Thus, the challenge is not WHAT to find, but HOW to find them.
Are Wikipedia Backlinks Worth it?
Wikipedia is one of the oldest and most authoritative websites on the internet. So getting a backlink from such a highly reputed site is definitely worth it. However, before jumping onto the wagon, you need to understand that there is a high chance of deadlines on Wikipedia. Let’s look at the various benefits and judge whether they are worth it.
- Wikipedia regularly checks for spam and inconsistency. This makes it a highly reliable site in the eyes of Google.
- Wikipedia backlinks are good for SEO since they have high relevancy and exact matches when it comes to content.
Linking to Wikipedia is an effective way of ensuring quality links to your posts and articles. The content that you link to is also important. If you add citations or facts, Wikipedia is the best website to take links from. This is because of the stringent measures that the site has in place to ensure content relevancy and user-centricity. Also, Wikipedia’s domain rating is another factor that proves this point.
How to Find a Dead Link on Wikipedia?
There are 3 ways to find dead links on Wikipedia. These are:
- Wikipedia’s list of articles with dead links
- Finding dead links manually using Ctrl + F and typing “dead link”
- Use online tools like Wiki Grabber
Wiki editors update the articles if a dead link is found. They label it as “dead link” so you can easily find them by pressing Ctrl + F. But remember, you must only add a link to the article on Wikipedia if your content is relevant to it. This way, editors won’t question the credibility of your URL as a resource.
4. Capitalize on Broken Link Opportunities
You don’t stop by finding a dead link and replacing it with your URL. You have to realize that since this link is a dead link, every other website that links to that domain also has a broken link on their page. This is a great opportunity to capitalize and make these broken links your own.
You can gain hundreds, even thousands of backlinks when you find a niche-related broken link. Once you find a relevant broken link, you can reach out to these opportunities and build links with them. You gain a lot of link building opportunities from Wikipedia broken links.
Finding broken links on Wikipedia is like finding dead links. If these resources are broken, you should capitalize on these broken links to gain Wikipedia backlinks. By providing editors with your high-quality content, you’re helping them keep their external links active and healthy.
5. Use Image Links
Images are essential elements in a Wikipedia article. If you take a look at Google search results for an item, say for example a pen, Wikipedia will give you an image of a pen. Remember that Wikipedia is a high-authority website, and having an image link on Wikipedia is a good way to market your product.
You’re in luck if you have original and HD pictures of pens as your product. You can link to an image in Wikipedia and link back to an article from your site. But to do this, you have to comply with Wikipedia’s image linking to article guidelines.
To upload an image on Wikipedia and gain a link, you have to follow these simple steps:
- Go to Wikipedia Commons and go to the Welcome page.
- Find the “First Steps Tutorial” section just below the main text of the article on the Welcome page.
- Click on the “upload files“. This Wikipedia link should take you to another page where you will find the Upload Wizard tool.
- Log in to your Wikipedia account to start uploading images on the wizard.
People on Wikipedia commons will now be able to see the image you uploaded. It can be used by other users and gain backlinks pointing back to your website. As long as you put your URL in the “original source” box, you can get links from the images you upload on Wikipedia.
6. Reference and External Links Section
The External Links section is located on almost every page of Wikipedia. It’s the same as the reference section so you can use this one as well. This is where you will find the important resources used for the page.
Simply edit the ‘References’ or ‘External links’ section and add your link as a reference. This will be checked by Wiki editors so make sure that your URL is a credible source for the content of the page. Double-check the ‘edit summary’ and show a preview of the page before finalizing the edits you’ve made.
You can also edit an existing citation and replace it with your URL. But if you do this, you have to make sure that your content is better than the existing link. You’ll gain a Wikipedia link after the editors take a look at your URL and check if it’s related.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do Wikipedia backlink help in SEO?
Although the links are nofollow, Wikipedia links contribute a lot to SEO due to their relevance and have pushed sites to higher positions on Google SERPs. So there is an overall positive impact on SEO.
2. Are NoFollow links backlinks good?
To make sure that Google finds your site natural, you should focus on adding DoFollow and NoFollow links to your site.
3. How do you make a link on Wikipedia?
To add a link on Wikipedia, you need to place the URL inside a set of single brackets. Within the brackets, leave a space and type the anchor text.
Relevance is Still a Factor for Backlinks From Wikipedia
Essentially, getting a web 2.0 backlink from Wikipedia is a risky play to do. And since the backlinks you get are labeled nofollow, they don’t directly contribute to your authority even if Wikipedia is an authority site. But having links from Wikipedia scales your online marketing efforts to a whole new level.
Remember to keep your URL relevant to the content of the post to add value to the page. Search engines will see this as an act of help to the editors and adding value to existing content. However, don’t overdo it because Wikipedia can track your IP address and see if you’ve been adding too many links on their site.
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