Be Wary of Wikipedia

A client contacted me yesterday because they realised their entry on Wikipedia made them sound bad. In fact, in was full of lies and half-truths.

I’m not sure how long this page had been going but I do know that a fair amount of traffic comes my client’s way via Wikipedia. I just checked the figures.

I went in and edited the entry as requested but the whole thing left me thinking that this is just one more thing your company has to monitor on the web as part of your communication strategy. Clearly, a disgruntled employee (or at the very least someone with an axe to grind) had gone in and done some damage all wrapped up in the disguise of nuanced writing.

The Bottom Line

• Wikipedia entries usually rank highly in Google.
• Monitor what Wikipedia says about your company.
• Make sure the text says what you want it to say.
• Keep monitoring it – regularly.

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