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Wiki - What SEOs can learn from it
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By Rob Sullivan
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I've been actively researching ways to quickly and effectivelybuild content to websites. And while blogs tend to be near thetop of the list, there are other opportunities out there.
One such opportunity is a Wiki. And while a Wiki won't suit allsites, there are those that can use a Wiki effectively. If youthink 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 freelycreate and edit web page content using any Web browser. Wikisupports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creatingnew pages and links between internal pages on the fly.
Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that itallows the organization of contributions to be edited inaddition to the content itself.
Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound andsubtle effects on Wiki usage. Allowing everyday users to createand edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that itencourages democratic use of the Web and promotes contentcomposition by nontechnical users.
A History of Wiki
The first ever Wiki site was created for the Portland PatternRepository in 1995. That site now hosts tens of thousands ofpages. Since then they have grown to become one of the mostpopular community and web based applications available.
One of the most well known and popular Wiki projects is theWikipedia.
Why Use a Wiki?
Wikis are growing at a phenomenal pace. This is because, attheir core, they are about as simple as can be. That simplicitymeans that people find them easy to use, just like e-mail andblogs and like e-mail and blogs, Wikis also perform a veryuseful service in a simple way. A Wiki allows a group of peopleto enter and communally add or edit entries. These entries canbe viewed and edited by anyone who visits the Wiki.
What this means is that, when you come to a Wiki, you are ableto read what the Wiki's community has written. By clicking an"edit" button on an article, you are able to edit the article'stext. You can add or change anything you like in the article youare reading.
This simplicity and the utter openness of a Wiki cause manypeople to instantly reject the idea. They assume that becauseanyone can edit a Wiki at any time, the Wiki must be flawed. ButWiki supporters claim this is an incorrect assumption.
This is because users involved in Wikis tend to be selfpolicing. They check and re-check facts entered by themselvesand 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 tohave editorial control over the Wiki. That means that the Wikiowner can hold approval rights to all entries. Plus many Wikisrequire a simple registration before allowing entry or editingof articles.
SEM Benefits of Wiki
The biggest benefit of a Wiki likes in its use of heavyinterlinking between pages. As a Wiki grows to become a resourceit refers to itself more and more often through these links. Forexample, look at this wikipedia page about Wikis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
One would think that such heavy interlinking would cause thesearch engine to review the site more closely, potentiallymarking the site as spam. However, provided the site is useful,and because of the fact that it is a Wiki, search engines tendto let this type of heavy interlinking pass their usuallyrigorous spam tests.
Also, because it is community based, the Wiki provides an almostendless supply of new and fresh content to the website.
Wiki Resources
If you are interested in Wiki projects and how you could perhapsuse one on your site, take a look at these resources.
http://phpwiki.org/ http://tikiwiki.org/http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wiki.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wiki_software
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