Wikidata: Effective Strategies for Companies, Institutions, and Communicators

Wikidata is a database that anyone can build and modify. The algorithms of search engines like Google or LLMs (like Chat-GPT) rely on it to present information to Internet users when they make queries.

It is little used (or misused) by professionals. This article explains why and how to use it strategically.

Wikidata and Wikipedia: what are the differences?

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. You’ll find articles written in text form, with detailed information on a subject, written in a neutral and objective way.

Wikidata is a structured database. Rather than articles, it contains organized data on subjects, in the form of “triplets” (subject / property / value). This data feeds Wikipedia, but also other projects such as Google, ChatGPT, etc.

And the big difference? You can have a Wikidata entry even if the subject doesn’t (yet) have its own Wikipedia article. It’s more accessible and often under-exploited, especially by companies.

What they have in common is that these 2 projects and “brands” are licensed, hosted and financed by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization based in the USA with “branches” in many countries.

Why should you be interested in Wikidata as a company, organization or individual?

There are at least 3 reasons to be interested in Wikidata in this context.

Reason 1: to gain visibility.

Wikidata feeds all Wikipedia infoboxes. This means that if you add information to it, it can appear on highly-visited pages.

What’s more, Google, ChatGPT, and Bing (and other companies in the industry) use this data to enrich their results. 🤖 This increases your web presence.

However, as almost anyone can have a Wikidata entry, its scope is less than that of a Wikipedia article. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting addition to the list, as it’s relatively simple and quick to set up.

Reason 2: Improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).

Wikidata data is structured to be understood by search engines. This helps improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and your ranking in generative AIs such as Chat GPT.

You can also use Wikidata to generate Schema.org tags, which improve your visibility on Google, especially on the Google Knowledge Panel.

Reason 3: Contribute to a free, multilingual database.

Wikidata is used in over 280 languages, and its data is accessible to everyone, free of charge. So you can reach an international audience by participating in an open, collaborative project.

Are you eligible for Wikidata?

As on Wikipedia, contributors establish criteria for deciding whether or not an entity can have access to your “Wikidata record” (called an element). These criteria are a little more flexible than on Wikipedia.

The entity must tick at least one of these 3 criteria.

Criteria 1 : valid link to another Wikimedia project.

The entity must have at least one valid link to a page in one of the Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wikisource, etc.).

💡 Important: links must lead to a main page, not to discussion pages, files or subpages.

Put another way: there must already be a Wikipedia page on this entity. Or on another similar Wikimedia Foundation site, such as Wiktionary, etc.

Criterion 2: Identifiable and verifiable entity.

The entity must be clearly identifiable, be it a person, a place, an organization or a product, and be described with reliable, public sources.

This may include press articles, scientific publications or references in public databases.

Criterion 3: Structural necessity.

The entity must fulfill a structural need on Wikidata, for example when it is used to enrich other information or to complete existing declarations in other elements.

Source : Wikidata: Notoriété, here.

How do I create a “record” (= item) on Wikidata?

Here’s a step-by-step guide.

1. Create a free Wikidataaccount: free and quick, but mandatory.
2. Check that a record does not already exist for this entity, using the search bar
3. Click on Create a new element
4. Add key information
   • Label (title) and description
   • Structured declarations: add information such as date of creation, founder, website, workforce, social networking pages, etc.
   • Sources: for some data, you will be asked to provide sources. Mention reliable sources, such as articles, institutional sites or public databases.
5. Add a royalty-free image: add an image via Wikimedia Commons to illustrate the entity, if no image already exists on Wikimedia Commons. It can be a photo, a logo, etc.
6. Check data links: make sure that each piece of data is linked to its corresponding element. For example, the founder must be linked to an existing person element.

Finally, you must respect the rules of transparencyand declare your personal or professional link with the entity you are creating or updating on Wikidata.

How to update your Wikidata entry legitimately

You have the right to modify the information of an entity you represent, always in a transparent manner.

Go to Wikidata, then to the page dedicated to the entity, and click on edit in the top right-hand corner. You can then modify each item one by one.

Examples of Wikidata files for organizations and public figures

Here are two examples of content for entities with their own “element” on Wikidata.

The Solution Démocratique political party

The chosen wording is the name of the party: “Solution Démocratique”.

A short, one-sentence description was chosen: “French political party”.

A range of information was then added: date founded, business sector, links to website and social networks, logo, country, political ideology, legal form, headquarters, colors, etc.

See the item on Wikidata.

Writer François Garçon

The chosen wording is his first and last name: “François Garçon”.

The description reads: “Historian and author”.

Several “statements” were then added: sex or gender, nature of the item, languages spoken, occupation, official website, etc.

See the item on Wikidata.