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Wikipedians backlash against Search Engine Land article

Manipulating Wikipedia could land you in a world of hurt

Stephan Spencer
Search engine optimization expert Stephan Spencer shares late-breaking SEO tools, tips, trends, resources, news and insights. Stephan is the founder and president of Netconcepts, a web agency specializing in search engine optimized ecommerce. Clients include Discovery Channel, AOL, Home Shopping Network, Verizon SuperPages.com, and REI, to name a few. Stephan is a frequent speaker at Internet conferences around the globe. He is also a Senior Contributor to MarketingProfs.com, a monthly columnist for Practical Ecommerce, and he's been a contributor to DM News, Multichannel Merchant, Catalog Success, Catalog Age, and others.
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Stephan Spencer

Wikipedians don't like editors who are disingenuous. Playing games within Wikipedia in the hopes of not getting caught is just asking for trouble. I was reminded of this fact while reading the Search Engine Land article What To Do When Your Company Wikipedia Page Goes Bad. On the surface, Jessica, SEO at Business.com, offers some no-nonsense advice on removing or minimizing negative material on Wikipedia. But be advised that you are entering into dangerous territory if you employ Jessica's tips. Read the comments and you'll find some very negative reactions from respected Wikipedians JEHochman and Durova about the proposed tactics. I would heed their words of caution if I were you.

The comment from Seth Finkelstein sums it up nicely: "The Ranger won't like that, Yogi."

Read my Search Engine Land article The Art of SEO for Wikipedia and you'll get some tips that aren't out-of-bounds. Remember, if you are sneaky, you will leave tracks, and when you're caught by the wikisleuths, you won't get the benefit of the Wikipedia 'assume good faith' provision.