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Although wikiHow is not intended to be a site to advertise products or services, articles about how to use commercial products or websites are often acceptable here. Because new editors are not always clear as to where the line between helpful how-to article on a product and an ad lies, many potentially useful articles end up being deleted as advertisements. This guide explains how to properly write an article about a commercial product, service, or website without being subject to deletion for violating our brand name policy or external links guidelines.

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EditSteps

  1. Write About Commercial Topics on wikiHow Step 1.jpg
    1
    Write a complete article. Generally, the reader should be able to complete the task outlined in the title without having to leave wikiHow.
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  2. Write About Commercial Topics on wikiHow Step 2.jpg
    2
    Keep it neutral. Don't tell the reader why your product, service, or website is superior. Simply describe the basic steps that clearly explain how to use it. Don't overuse the name of the product or post links to external advertisements.
    • Note that just telling someone to come to your site and giving them basic and obvious instructions is not considered useful to our readers (e.g. Type XYZ.com into your browser, click on "Articles" and read the articles). Try to think of a task a reader might carry out on the website that they wouldn't already know how to do. Examples of articles that do this properly are How to Use Google Multiple Sign In and How to Block a Bidder from Your eBay Auction.
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    3
    Follow our brand name guidelines. If the article isn't about a specific brand, get rid of brand names anywhere that they can be replaced with no loss of meaning or helpfulness to readers. For example, in an article about "How to Appreciate Shakespeare's Macbeth" a reference to "Buy Macbeth at Amazon.com" should be changed to "Buy Macbeth at a bookstore."

    Do not hide recommendations for a commercial product in a generic title. For example don't title your article "How to Use an MP3 Player" when you write predominantly about iPods. Instead title the article "How to Use an iPod". If the article requires the use of a specific brand, the brand name should be included in the title of the article.
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    4
    Follow our external links guidelines to avoid getting your account blocked and your URL put on the spam blacklist:
    • You cannot add a link unless you created or significantly improved the article. "Drive by" links are deleted as spam.
    • Links can only be placed in a few approved circumstances:
      • For the purpose of attribution if you are sharing your copyrighted content with wikiHow. If you copy your own copyrighted content to wikiHow, please link back to the source in the following format:http://www.YOUR-SITE.com/specific-source-page.htm - Original source, shared with permission.
      • For the purpose of citation for a reference used when researching the article or verifying a fact within the article. See How to Use Research Sources on wikiHow for more details.
    • Place any links in the "Sources and Citations" section at the bottom of the page. Avoid placing external links in the text of the article. This sticks out like a sore thumb to volunteer editors looking to delete spam.
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    5
    Don't add images unless you took them yourself or obtained explicit permission to put them on wikiHow. Images you find on the Internet (e.g. Google images) are not okay to upload. See How to Import Freely Licensed Images Into wikiHow.
  6. Write About Commercial Topics on wikiHow Step 6.jpg
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    Don't create multiple pages about the same topic, product or service. The purpose of posting to wikiHow is to provide helpful and usable information, not self-promotion.
  7. Write About Commercial Topics on wikiHow Step 7.jpg
    7
    Promote your product, service, or website on your user page. These recommendations don't apply to your user page. When you write helpful pages on wikiHow, people will trust you more and visit your user page to learn more about you.
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    Understand that you are contributing to a wiki. Volunteer editors at wikiHow are interested in creating a helpful, comprehensive how-to manual. By registering for an account and interacting with other editors, you can build trust that you are trying to build a helpful how-to manual and not just trying to spam wikiHow.
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EditTips

  • Don't go around wikiHow pointing links to your article in the Related wikiHows section. This practice know as "Wiki-jacking" stands out to our editors and may result in your article being deleted.

EditWarnings

  • Volunteer wikiHow editors have a low tolerance for being spammed. We welcome good faith additions on commercial content to our how-to manual. That said, if you violate the guidelines presented above the consequences could include:

    • An editor deleting your article.
    • An editor deleting all edits and articles you have added to wikiHow.
    • Having your domain and brand name being placed on our spam blacklist. This will prevent your brand name and domain from appearing in wikiHow and the other wikis that share our blacklist.

EditRelated wikiHows

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External Links

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Brand Name

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