[tweetmeme]Search for almost anything on the Web — from foreclosure to oven — Wikipedia is almost always at the top of the search results (or at least in the top 10).
Instead of getting mad that Wikipedia is hogging the search results, learn the strategies Wikipedia employ to stay on top of the search results. WebmasterWorld.com has a very interesting discussion on how Wikipedia creates content that win in the search engines:
Create content rich definition pages that explain your products clearly
- Wikipedia’s success comes from people knowing what to expect when they click on the site — “encyclopedia-like explanation of plausible quality.” Since your site is probably not as well known as Wikipedia, improve your landing pages to align users expectations based on what they read in the search engine results and the actualcontent of your site.
- Definition pages work, as these are the types of pages that the search engines typically love — and are loving with Wikipedia.
- Be clear regarding the expectations you convey about the page. What does the page actually convey? Put that clearly in your title and description tags, and combine it with a well-thought out URL. People are finding what they are looking for, and that spells the reason for Wikipedia’s succes.
- Use intra-site links, instead of navigation. Wikipedia uses an intensive intra-site linking strategy where a new page is “linked to (with the key term in the anchor text) from one (usually more) other Wikipedia pages.”
- Make more — and more — content.
- Don’t be afraid to edit your site, especially if you are creating new intra-links
- Create an authority page that attracts links
- Whenever you add a new page, skim through the rest of your content to look for ways, even creative ways, those other topics relate to your new page
Leave a Reply