Introduction
In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for any business. One way to improve your website’s online presence is by boosting its E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) score. In December 2022, Google updated its Quality Rater Guidelines (QRG) and introduced an additional “E” to the acronym E-A-T, which now stands for E-E-A-T [1]. This article will explain how to improve your website’s E-E-A-T score using Wikipedia backlinks.
Unpacking E-A-T: Why it Matters in Google’s Updated Guidelines
It is a concept used by Google to evaluate the quality of content on websites. The addition of “Experience” indicates that content quality can also be evaluated through the lens of understanding the extent to which the content creator has first-hand experience in the topic [1]. Google also states that “trust” is at the center of this concept and is the “most important member of the E-E-A-T family” [1]. The significance of E-E-A-T in Google’s current search evaluation method cannot be overstated. According to the “Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines” and the “added E to E-A-T section” in December 2022 update [1]. , improving your website’s E-E-A-T score can have a positive impact on its search engine ranking.
Google’s updated search rater guidelines offer insights into how a content creator’s first-hand experience is evaluated. For example, Google asks: “which would you trust: a product review from someone who has personally used the product or a ‘review’ by someone who has not?” [2]. In addition to adding experience as a factor, Google is placing renewed emphasis on trust. Trust is the most critical component of E-E-A-T because untrustworthy pages have low E-E-A-T no matter how Experienced, Expert, or Authoritative they may seem [2]. Experience, expertise, and authoritativeness support a quality rater’s trust assessment [2].
Why Wikipedia Backlinks Matter
Google holds Wikipedia in high regard, primarily due to its collaborative maintenance. The content on Wikipedia is likely to be more truthful and credible than content published on commercial sites, given that everyone can contribute to a topic and rate the quality of Wiki articles. This makes Wikipedia backlinks incredibly beneficial for your site [3].
Pros & Cons Of Wikipedia Backlinks
Wikipedia is a highly authoritative site, and even a single backlink from it can be more beneficial than dozens of backlinks from less credible sites. The return on investment can be quite impressive! Most Wikipedia pages have high rankings and receive a lot of organic traffic every month. If you build backlinks on Wikipedia, you may divert some of that traffic to your site, significantly increasing your bottom line.
Another advantage is that Wikipedia backlinks are free. You don’t have to pay for them unless you hire a link building company to build them for you. Wikipedia itself won’t charge you for them, which isn’t the case with many other high-authority sites [3].
However, building Wikipedia backlinks can be challenging and time-consuming. It requires you to familiarize yourself with and follow strict Wikipedia guidelines, find relevant and non-obvious link building opportunities, and, often, make several rounds of changes before your edits are approved [3].
Building Backlinks from Wikipedia: A Step-by-Step Guide
Building backlinks from Wikipedia can be a powerful SEO strategy if done correctly. It not only boosts your website’s authority but also drives high-quality traffic to your site. Here are the steps to guide you in your link-building journey.
1. Establish a Wikipedia Account
While Wikipedia allows edits from unregistered users, we strongly recommend setting up an account. Editing as an unregistered user exposes your IP address, which is publicly recorded and displayed. To maintain your online privacy, create a free Wikipedia account. The process is straightforward and should not take more than five minutes.
2. Identifying Suitable Wikipedia Articles
The second step involves pinpointing the appropriate Wikipedia articles for your link insertion. You can either use tools such as WikiGrabber, which swiftly identifies Wikipedia pages with dead links or missing citations based on your specified keywords or manually search using Google search operators.
site:wikipedia.org "your target keyword"
For instance, if you’re interested in ‘wealth management,’ your search query should look like this:
site:wikipedia.org "wealth management"
This method can be time-intensive as it requires manual inspection of each Wikipedia page for broken links or missing citations. However, it provides a chance to spot excellent link-building opportunities that automated tools might miss.
Before inserting your link, consider analyzing the identified Wikipedia articles using SEO tools like Ubersuggest to check their traffic.
3. Inserting Links into Selected Wikipedia Articles
This is the exciting part – building your Wikipedia backlinks. Begin by clicking the ‘Edit’ button at the top of the article and switch to the visual editor. Select the part of the page where you want to insert your link and choose ‘Cite’ from the top menu.
We advise using the automatic citation option to ensure your references are accurate and adhere to Wikipedia’s guidelines. Just input your chosen page’s URL, and Wikipedia will create a citation for you. After confirming its correctness, click ‘Publish changes’.
Remember to add a concise summary of your changes to help other editors review your submission.
What Happens After Making Edits?
Every Wikipedia edit undergoes a review process, which may take a few hours to several days. Your edits can either be accepted or rejected based on Wikipedia’s guidelines. If rejected, revise your link and resubmit it for another review.
When adding links, aim for pages that appear trustworthy, such as case studies or research pages. Avoid linking to blog posts as they are generally considered unreliable sources.
What If I Don’t Have Any Relevant Resources?
If you discover broken links related to your niche but lack suitable resources to link to, avoid the temptation to link to unrelated pages. This could lead to your link being removed or even result in a block from Wikipedia. Instead, invest some time in developing relevant, high-value resources that contribute significantly to your chosen Wikipedia article.
Outsource Like a Pro: Wiki Wookiee for Exceptional E-A-T
If you don’t have the time or expertise to acquire Wikipedia backlinks yourself, you can outsource the task to a company like Wiki Wookiee.
How Wiki Wookiee Works
Wiki Wookiee works by first conducting a comprehensive analysis of your website and industry. This analysis helps the company to identify the most relevant Wikipedia pages for your business. Once the relevant pages have been identified, they create high-quality content that meets Wikipedia’s strict editorial guidelines; as well as additional features such as a guarantee of acceptance by the Wikipedia review committee and a 9/10 success rate in making placements stick for the long haul.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Wikipedia backlinks can be a powerful tool for improving your website’s E-A-T and authority. By following the strategies and best practices that I have outlined in this article, you can increase your chances of getting a Wikipedia backlink and rapidly increasing your E-E-A-T score to bypass any ranking filters and unlock the full potential of your website [6].
If you’re finding the process challenging or time-consuming, consider outsourcing the task to experts who can handle the entire process for you, ensuring that your links get placed on the best possible sites. And if your backlinks ever go down, they’ll replace them with new ones for free.
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References
[1] E-E-A-T and major updates to Google’s quality rater guidelines. https://searchengineland.com/google-search-quality-rater-guidelines-changes-december-2022-390350.
[2] Semantic SEO – WordLift Blog. https://wordlift.io/blog/en/entity/semantic-seo/.
[3] Are Wikipedia Backlinks Still Good – Seo 4 You 2. https://seo4you2.com/are-wikipedia-backlinks-still-good/.
[4] Google E-E-A-T: How To Demonstrate First-Hand Experience. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-e-e-a-t-how-to-demonstrate-first-hand-experience/474446/.
[5] Google’s E-E-A-T Update: Optimising For ‘Experience’. https://www.loomdigital.co.uk/insights/googles-eeat-update-optimising-for-experience/.
[6] E-E-A-T: What Do Google’s New Guidelines Mean For SEO?. https://www.vertical-leap.uk/blog/e-e-a-t-what-do-googles-new-quality-rater-guidelines-mean-for-seo/.