Started in 2001, Wikipedia has grown into a massive knowledge base, with more than 75,000 contributors and nine million articles.
No doubt Wikipedia is a great resource to learn about the bigger companies – such as Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX), Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), and Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT). But there are also many smaller businesses on the site.
So, should you jump in too?
"Wikipedia is one of the most frequented databases on the Web," said Dan Nichols, director of marketing communications at RightNow Technologies (Nasdaq: RNOW). "We posted an entry on RightNow to make sure we were accurately represented on the site and to increase awareness."
Keep in mind that a Wikipedia page can help improve your website's search engine rank – and perhaps drive some traffic. What's more, a Wikipedia page can lend some credibility to your business.
However, you need to consider some things: