What Should Be in Your RFP for Wikipedia Help?
And why most aren’t asking the right questions.
Here's some inside baseball: Over the past year our agency has been invited to submit a number of Wikipedia engagement proposals in response to RFP requests. For us this is a great opportunity, as we're confident in our team's abilities, experience, and fully disclosed approach to Wikipedia work.
That said, this type of work has not previously been subject to a traditional RFP process. We're thrilled to see more comms teams formalizing their vendor selection, but we've also noticed a common theme: most RFPs don’t actually include the right questions. They focus on turnaround times and pricing models—important stuff, sure—but they skip the essential parts that determine whether your vendor will deliver real, lasting results.
All of this made us think: If we were a communications leader at an organization looking for Wikipedia assistance from a vendor, what kind of questions would we include in our RFP? Here are the questions we came up with, followed by sample RFP language that you're welcome to borrow from:
The 6 Questions Every Wikipedia RFP Should Include
1. How do you comply with Wikipedia’s conflict of interest (COI) rules?
Wikipedia has strict guidelines around transparency. Any vendor you hire must disclose their financial conflict of interest and should never edit directly. Instead anyone with a COI should propose updates for review by independent volunteer editors who aren’t connected to your brand or hired vendor and those independent editors make the actual changes. Ask your vendor how they work with the Wikipedia community, not around it.
👉 Red flag: Anyone who says “we’ll just log in and make the changes for you” or quotes specific timelines for results. The one is important because Wikipedia (a) prohibits direct edits from accounts with conflicts of interest, and (b) doesn't operate on a timeline. You can’t control how quickly editors will engage with you or even if they'll approve update requests.
2. What sources do you use when proposing edits?
Wikipedia doesn’t allow press releases, op-eds, or anything your PR team wrote. Everything must be backed by independent, journalistic sources. If your vendor is referencing Forbes Contributor pieces or your company blog, that's a bad sign because content citing those sources will ultimately get reverted. Likewise, any vendor who says they can quickly get you the right type of sourcing for Wikipedia likely isn’t being totally honest, since getting earned media pieces in major outlets takes a lot of time and PR expertise.
3. What’s your process for submitting proposed edits or new articles?
Good vendors use “Talk pages” and the Articles for Creation process — transparent systems that allow edit requests to be reviewed by independent editors. This is the best way to contribute Wikipedia updates that last and aren't reverted in the future.
👉 Be wary of vendors who promise a quick turnaround or who don’t mention the review process. Good Wikipedia work moves slowly and with community consensus. Quick changes often break the site’s rules and can be removed just as quickly.
4. How do you assess whether a subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article?
Just because your CEO was in Business Insider once doesn’t mean they qualify for a Wikipedia page. Notability on Wikipedia has a precise definition—and a good vendor will help you audit your media coverage before pitching a new article.
5. Have you (or your firm) ever been banned or flagged on Wikipedia?
Yup, Wikipedia’s editors keep a list of firms they know of and whether or not they are blocked. Reputable vendors aren’t on the blocked portion, and they should be proud to tell you so. (You can find us at the bottom in the "Disclosed paid editing" section, which means we're never blocked or flagged.)
6. Can you explain the difference between an admin and a regular editor?
Trick question. If your vendor talks about “senior editors” or having an “admin on staff who can push edits through,” they’re either breaking the rules or don’t understand how Wikipedia works. Either way: 🚩 Anyone with a COI, no matter their time or experience on Wikipedia, has to follow the same rules.
TL;DR: A Good RFP Protects Your Brand
Wikipedia is a unique beast. It’s not marketing. It’s not PR. It’s a balance of community engagement and rule-following. That means your RFP should focus on transparency, compliance, and process — not just price.
When you ask the right questions, you’ll filter out the shady vendors who overpromise and underdeliver. More importantly, you’ll find a partner who can help you do Wikipedia right so your edits stick and your digital first impression is accurate while building a good reputation with the Wikipedia editor community.
Free Template: Sample RFP for Wikipedia Vendor Support
Feel free to copy and paste this into your next RFP document:
[SAMPLE RFP LANGUAGE STARTS HERE]
Project Scope:
We are seeking a qualified vendor to support Wikipedia consulting services, including (but not limited to):
Assessing notability for individuals or organizations
Drafting content for proposed article creation or edits
Navigating the Talk page and Articles for Creation processes
Ensuring edits comply with Wikipedia's COI and content guidelines
Key Evaluation Criteria:
Please include responses to the following:
Describe your approach to working on Wikipedia while complying with COI guidelines.
How do you determine whether a topic qualifies for a standalone article?
What is your content submission process for proposed edits or new articles?
What sourcing standards do you follow when drafting Wikipedia content?
Have you or your company ever been warned or banned by the Wikipedia community?
Describe your experience working with Wikipedia’s volunteer editor community.
Provide relevant case studies or past examples of Wikipedia support.
Deliverables:
A notability assessment for [individual/org name]
Draft content for review
A project plan with proposed timing and engagement with the Wikipedia community
Media and sourcing review and risk assessment
Ongoing monitoring or flag response, if applicable
Optional Add-On: A training session for your internal team on Wikipedia do’s and don’ts
Need help writing your RFP or figuring out if you even qualify for a Wikipedia article? Book a free consultation with our team. No pressure, just experts who love this stuff.
