Wikipedia and Google... searching for your school
Google continues to gain market share among people using search engines and Wikipedia is among the Top 10 must visited websites in the United States.
If you or someone else at your college or university isn't checking your Wikipedia content regularly, it might be time to start doing that.
In the past few days, while searching for various schools, I've noticed that the URL for the Wikipedia entry is listed among the first 5 responses that appear. With the overall popularity of Wikipedia as an information source, it seems likely that more than a few people will make a visit to the Wikipedia location.
I'd love to see research among people who have visited both the official website and the Wikipedia counterpart as to which one has more credibility.
Here are four institutions and how the Wikipedia URL finished in Google searches over the last few days:
- McDaniel College... fourth listing
- Philadelphia University... fifth listing
- University of Toronto... fourth listing
- Hofstra University... fourth listing
Google for your school soon and see if it is listed as high as these. I've not done anything resembling a "scientific" review, but it does seem frequent enough to pay attention.
How useful are the Wikipedia entries? For basic information about the number of students enrolled and the academic programs offered, it is usually faster to visit Wikipedia than an official website. Pity about that, but it is often the case.
And don't forget the official seal. For some reason, most of the Wikipedia entries I've seen include the seal or crest of the university right on the front page.
If you haven't already, start checking your Wikipedia content soon.