Wiki - What SEOs can learn from it
I've been actively researching ways to quickly and effectively
build content to websites. And while blogs tend to be near the
top of the list, there are other opportunities out there.
One such opportunity is a Wiki. And while a Wiki won't suit all
sites, there are those that can use a Wiki effectively. If you
think you are one of those sites, take a look at this article.
What is a Wiki?
Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely
create and edit web page content using any Web browser. Wiki
supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating
new pages and links between internal pages on the fly.
Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it
allows the organization of contributions to be edited in
addition to the content itself.
Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound and
subtle effects on Wiki usage. Allowing everyday users to create
and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it
encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content
composition by nontechnical users.
A History of Wiki
The first ever Wiki site was created for the Portland Pattern
Repository in 1995. That site now hosts tens of thousands of
pages. Since then they have grown to become one of the most
popular community and web based applications available.
One of the most well known and popular Wiki projects is the
Wikipedia.
Why Use a Wiki?
Wikis are growing at a phenomenal pace. This is because, at
their core, they are about as simple as can be. That simplicity
means that people find them easy to use, just like e-mail and
blogs and like e-mail and blogs, Wikis also perform a very
useful service in a simple way. A Wiki allows a group of people
to enter and communally add or edit entries. These entries can
be viewed and edited by anyone who visits the Wiki.
What this means is that, when you come to a Wiki, you are able
to read what the Wiki's community has written. By clicking an
"edit" button on an article, you are able to edit the article's
text. You can add or change anything you like in the article you
are reading.
This simplicity and the utter openness of a Wiki cause many
people to instantly reject the idea. They assume that because
anyone can edit a Wiki at any time, the Wiki must be flawed. But
Wiki supporters claim this is an incorrect assumption.
This is because users involved in Wikis tend to be self
policing. They check and re-check facts entered by themselves
and others. Much like bloggers who can spot a spam blog quickly,
Wiki users also know when a Wiki looks fraudulent.
Also, while not many Wiki employ it, there is the ability to
have editorial control over the Wiki. That means that the Wiki
owner can hold approval rights to all entries. Plus many Wikis
require a simple registration before allowing entry or editing
of articles.
SEM Benefits of Wiki
The biggest benefit of a Wiki likes in its use of heavy
interlinking between pages. As a Wiki grows to become a resource
it refers to itself more and more often through these links. For
example, look at this wikipedia page about Wikis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
One would think that such heavy interlinking would cause the
search engine to review the site more closely, potentially
marking the site as spam. However, provided the site is useful,
and because of the fact that it is a Wiki, search engines tend
to let this type of heavy interlinking pass their usually
rigorous spam tests.
Also, because it is community based, the Wiki provides an almost
endless supply of new and fresh content to the website.
Wiki Resources
If you are interested in Wiki projects and how you could perhaps
use one on your site, take a look at these resources.
http://phpwiki.org/ http://tikiwiki.org/
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wiki.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wiki_software