Wikipedia nofollow for WordPress

Note I have also developed the Recommend Google Pack plugin

Following the recent announcement of Wikipedia adding nofollow tags to external links, basically saying that Wikipedia cannot guarantee that outgoing links are not spam, I think we bloggers can retaliate by flagging all our links to Wikipedia as nofollow. Therefore, I have developed a small WordPress plugin that automatically adds rel=’nofollow’ to all outgoing links to Wikipedia.org, regardless of language.

Download my plugin, and install it in the usual fashion. This has been a quick hack, so please use at your own risk!

Why rel=”nofollow” to Wikipedia?

Just in case you are wondering why I would release a plugin that adds the rel=”nofolow” tag to all links to Wikipedia, here is my justification. I knocked up the plugin rather rapidly this lunchtime, so didn’t have time to describe it properly then.

First, what is rel=”nofollow”? It is a hint to all the major search engines that link that I am making should not be counted when calculating search engine ranking. In practise it means either that the link is user-generated, such as blog comments, thus may be spam or not approved by the page owner, or that I do not like or approve of the contents of the page that I am linking to. For instance, if I were linking to an extremist group for the purposes of illustrating a viewpoint I found objectionable, I’d add the rel=”nofollow” tag to indicate to the search engines that they should not credit my link to the target site for the purposes of boosting the target site’s search engine ranking.

Now, what does Wikipedia adding rel=”nofollow” tell me? First, it appears to me as if they are taking a point of view that their links are not trustworthy or cannot be guaranteed, but whilst Wikipedia does not offically claim to be trustworthy or definitive, the common perception is that it is. Thus, by adding this attribute, they are bascially saying that even if the article is as correct as it can be, the source material they referenced to produce the article (remember there is the “no original research” edict in Wikipedia) is not being fully credited!

Second, rel=”nofollow” has not stopped spammers spamming blog comments, so if they think spammers will lessen up on Wikipedia they are kidding themselves. In fact, knowing that I get a reasonable amount of traffic directly through their kimono article, more than through kimono searches on Google, et al, perhaps spammers may even start hitting Wikipedia harder since rel=”nofollow” may be taken as a white flag, and with the overworked editors less worried about giving search engine boosts through bad links, perhaps they will slacken off.

Third, a lot of blogs link to Wikipedia as an easy reference point for various terms, so with no outgoing links from Wikipedia, search engines will raise Wikipedia even higher in the ratings. With the rumours that Wikipedia may soon start accepting advertisements, one could even conclude that this is not much more than an attempt to boost their revenue.

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39 Comments »

  1. Los mejores plugins Wordpress - Megacolección said,

    January 12, 2009 @ 10:48

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - Agrega el atributo “nofollow” a los links saliente de tu blog que se dirijan a wikipedia. Una cucharada de su propio chocolate. [...]

  2. 300+ Tools for Running Your Wordpress Blog « Castalie’s Blog said,

    January 20, 2009 @ 09:05

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - Written in response to Wikipedia’s implementing a “nofollow” rule to their outgoing links, this plugin allows you to add nofollow to links you give to Wikipedia pages. [...]

  3. gh3 said,

    January 24, 2009 @ 05:59

    Hi,

    Wikipedia admin want to prevent spammers abuse and also pagerank leak.

  4. Google and Wikipedia interdependence extends to Japan » 世論 What Japan Thinks said,

    January 27, 2009 @ 22:38

    [...] the author of the Wikipedia nofollow WordPress plugin, I’m always on the lookout for stories about how Google and Wikipedia are getting on with [...]

  5. David Leonhardt said,

    February 6, 2009 @ 04:59

    A couple years ago, I wrote that Wikipedia should be spanked for this ( http://www.seo-writer.com/blog/2007/02/26/wikipedia-should-be-spanked/ ). Now I see somebody has started spanking. :-)

  6. 推荐N多的Wordpress插件给大家 | 网络楼引导---匕首歹徒 said,

    February 11, 2009 @ 13:25

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WordPress Mobile Edition - [...]

  7. Plugins Wordpress « W2K - XP y sus noticias said,

    February 21, 2009 @ 03:52

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow: agrega el atributo “nofollow” a los links saliente de tu blog que se dirijan a wikipedia. Una cucharada de su propio chocolate. [...]

  8. searchenginemarketingvox » Blog Archive » WordPress Plugins for RSS & SEO (Izeafest) said,

    February 23, 2009 @ 20:08

    [...] Wikipedia Nofollow [...]

  9. Debunking Wordpress SEO "Expert" Articles said,

    February 26, 2009 @ 08:18

    [...] I think I was the first to describe Wikipedia as a black hole of link equity, explained why you should nofollow Wikipedia extensively, and was one of the first to promote Ken’s Nofollow Wikipedia plugin. [...]

  10. 爱轻松博客 » 在网络上寻找到的Wordpress插件集合（很全哦） said,

    February 27, 2009 @ 15:18

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WordPress Mobile Edition - [...]

  11. Debunking Wordpress SEO "Expert" Articles | Press Release -Reputation Management said,

    February 28, 2009 @ 16:30

    [...] I think I was the first to describe Wikipedia as a black hole of link equity, explained why you should nofollow Wikipedia extensively, and was one of the first to promote Ken’s Nofollow Wikipedia plugin. [...]

  12. 50个与管理相关的Wordpress插件大收集 | 82们 said,

    March 1, 2009 @ 00:36

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow?- 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WordPress Mobile Edition?- [...]

  13. 50个与管理相关的Wordpress插件 | 独立博客空间站 said,

    March 2, 2009 @ 03:51

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WordPress Mobile Edition - [...]

  14. 丰富wordpress功能插件集锦 | 独立博客空间站 said,

    March 2, 2009 @ 04:10

    [...] 标签即可（详细介绍）。 Ultimate Tag Warrior - Wordpress 最好的 Tag 插件。 Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WP-Supercache - [...]

  15. SEOForumz Blog Site -Learn SEO and more.. » Blog Archive » Debunking Wordpress SEO "Expert" Articles said,

    March 9, 2009 @ 15:48

    [...] I think I was the first to describe Wikipedia as a black hole of link equity, explained why you should nofollow Wikipedia extensively, and was one of the first to promote Ken’s Nofollow Wikipedia plugin. [...]

  16. Debunking Wordpress SEO "Expert" Articles | Corporate Internet Reputation Management said,

    March 13, 2009 @ 04:05

    [...] I think I was the first to describe Wikipedia as a black hole of link equity, explained why you should nofollow Wikipedia extensively, and was one of the first to promote Ken’s Nofollow Wikipedia plugin. [...]

  17. wordpress功能插件集锦四 | 小人物大坏蛋 said,

    March 14, 2009 @ 16:07

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WP-Supercache - WP-Cache的改进版本，为博客生成Html静态化文件，优化访问速度。 [...]

  18. Wie nofollow das Internet zerstört » DaSch-Tour said,

    March 19, 2009 @ 23:02

    [...] weitere Informationen auch basicthink.de. Was ich besonders interessant finde, dass es sogar ein extra Plugin für Wordpress gibt um nur Links zu Wikipedia mit nofollow zu versehen. Das ist eine eindeutige Kriegserklärung. [...]

  19. Wordpress插件大整理 « DreamTheSky-独自等待 said,

    March 20, 2009 @ 18:00

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WordPress Mobile Edition - [...]

  20. wordpress插件大全汇总，总有你需要的 | 大眼博客---睁大眼睛看 said,

    March 24, 2009 @ 14:15

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 [...]

  21. 50 wordpress admin Tool Plugin | CSS Experiments said,

    March 29, 2009 @ 03:20

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - Written in response to Wikipedia’s implementing a “nofollow” rule to their outgoing links, a plugin to add nofollow to links you give to Wikipedia pages. [...]

  22. Плагины для Wordpress | Free Soft said,

    April 1, 2009 @ 16:00

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow — Добавляет «nofollow» во все ссылки на Википедию. [...]

  23. 500 Tools for Wordpress Blogging | Resources said,

    April 7, 2009 @ 04:50

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - Written in response to Wikipedia’s implementing a “nofollow” rule to their outgoing links, this plugin allows you to add nofollow to links you give to Wikipedia pages. [...]

  24. Right Version » Blog Archive » Большой список плагинов для WordPress said,

    April 11, 2009 @ 13:49

    [...] во время перегрузок не существенные процессы. Wikipedia-NoFollow - добавляет атрибут NoFollow в гипер-ссылки на Wikipedia. WordPress [...]

  25. wordpress插件总动员 | 愉快 said,

    April 12, 2009 @ 19:05

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 [...]

  26. healthmind said,

    April 18, 2009 @ 21:25

    I still don’t understand at using no follow plugin, but I give a shot…:)

  27. SEO Help by Nicolas Prudhon » Google NoFollow Blackhole said,

    April 24, 2009 @ 12:52

    [...] Wikipedia "nofollow" for WordPress. What Japan Think. I think I was the first to describe Wikipedia as a black hole of link equity, explained why you should nofollow Wikipedia extensively, and was one of the …   [...]

  28. 随影博客 » Blog Archive » wordpress插件大集合 said,

    May 1, 2009 @ 21:57

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WordPress Mobile Edition - [...]

  29. ابزارهایی برای مدیریت وردپرس | SheY2N said,

    May 4, 2009 @ 02:37

    [...] Wikipedia No-Follow با توجه به محتویات این صفحه و اگر لینکهای پرشماری به ویکی‌پدیا درمطالبتان وجود دارد، پلاگین کمک میکند که اسپمر شناخته‌نشوید. [...]

  30. 逍遥山庄 » Wordpress插件大整理 said,

    May 4, 2009 @ 10:39

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。  WordPress Mobile Edition - [...]

  31. 50个WordPress插件 | 桃园水榭 said,

    May 21, 2009 @ 12:21

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WordPress Mobile Edition - [...]

  32. Debunking Wordpress SEO “Expert” Articles | Move with Mind said,

    May 24, 2009 @ 13:46

    [...] I think I was the first to describe Wikipedia as a black hole of link equity, explained why you should nofollow Wikipedia extensively, and was one of the first to promote Ken’s Nofollow Wikipedia plugin. [...]

  33. 漂博 » Wordpress插件大整理 said,

    May 25, 2009 @ 10:27

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WordPress Mobile Edition - [...]

  34. Nofollow gefährdet das Web | WeizenSpr.eu said,

    June 10, 2009 @ 00:30

    [...] deplatzieren. Da führt sogar soweit, dass es eigene Plugins gibt, die nur dazu da sind, um Links zu Wikipedia in Nofollow-Links umzuschreiben. Ich verwende hier auf WeizenSpr.eu ein DoFollow-Plugin, das Wikipedia-Links jedoch weiterhin mit [...]

  35. DeveloperZ » Blog Archive » 50 WordPress Admin ToolZ said,

    June 13, 2009 @ 11:23

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow – Written in response to Wikipedia’s implementing a “nofollow” rule to their outgoing links, a plugin to add nofollow to links you give to Wikipedia pages. [...]

  36. 330 плагинов для wordpress | Apetr - жизнь и интернет said,

    June 26, 2009 @ 02:07

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow — Добавляет «nofollow» во все ссылки на Википедию. [...]

  37. Das Wikipedia Nofollow Plugin für Wordpress | Yaijii.com 2.0 - Blog said,

    June 26, 2009 @ 06:41

    [...] http://whatjapanthinks.com/wikipedia-nofollow/ [...]

  38. Огромный пак плагинов для WordPress said,

    June 26, 2009 @ 22:43

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow - Добавляет «nofollow» во все ссылки на Википедию. [...]

  39. Wordpress插件大整理 | 喜源源和喜洋洋的博客 said,

    July 1, 2009 @ 22:49

    [...] Wikipedia-NoFollow – 在链接到Wikipedia的链接中添加“nofollow”属性。 WordPress Mobile Edition – [...]

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