The number one reason Wikipedia pages get deleted is that the subject does not meet Wikipedia's notability requirements. We see this constantly. Someone creates a page. It looks professional. Within days, an editor tags it for deletion because the subject has not been covered by enough independent, reliable sources.
The funnel is brutal. Experienced editors estimate that only 10 to 25 percent of first-time submissions through Articles for Creation get accepted. Of the pages that go live, only about 16 percent survive a deletion nomination as-is. The single biggest predictor of success is independent, in-depth coverage from reputable sources before attempting page creation.
Here is how notability actually works, what the specific criteria are, and how to build toward meeting them if you are not there yet.
The General Notability Guideline
Wikipedia's General Notability Guideline (GNG) is the baseline standard. A subject is considered notable if it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject. Each of those words has a specific meaning in Wikipedia's context.
Significant coverage means the sources discuss the subject in depth. A full profile in a regional business journal qualifies. A brief mention of your company in a list of companies that received funding does not. The coverage needs to be substantive enough that someone could use those sources to write a meaningful encyclopedia article without doing original research.
Reliable sources means established publications with editorial oversight. Major newspapers, trade publications with editorial standards, peer-reviewed journals, and established online media outlets generally qualify. Your own website, press releases, social media, and self-published sources do not count. Neither do promotional pieces that your company paid for, even if they appear on otherwise reliable websites.
Independent of the subject means the source has no financial or personal relationship with the subject. Coverage in your own company blog does not count. A story written by your PR firm and placed in a pay-for-play outlet does not count. The sources need to be independent journalists or publications that chose to cover the subject on their own editorial judgment.
All three conditions must be met for each source. A reliable publication that only mentions you in passing fails the significance test. An in-depth profile in a publication you paid for fails the independence test. Wikipedia editors check all three.
How many sources do you need?
There is no magic number, but three to five strong independent sources from different publications covering different aspects of the subject is a realistic minimum. More is always better. Five articles from the same local newspaper about the same event is weaker than three articles from different national publications covering different facets of a career or company.
The sources should demonstrate sustained coverage over time, not a single news cycle. A person who was the subject of one news story five years ago and nothing since has a weaker notability case than someone with consistent coverage across multiple years.
Subject-specific notability: the difficulty hierarchy
Not all Wikipedia pages face the same bar. The difficulty varies significantly by subject type.
Companies: the hardest bar
Wikipedia's notability guideline for organizations (WP:NCORP) is significantly stricter than the GNG. It applies a test called SIRS (Significant, Independent, Reliable, Secondary) to each individual source. Trade publications carry a presumption against their use. Forbes contributor posts, TechCrunch guest posts, and similar non-staff content are explicitly excluded. Even a New York Times article can fail if it is a brief mention rather than in-depth coverage of the company itself.
Being publicly traded, having notable founders, or owning notable subsidiaries does not confer notability on its own. The coverage must be about the company specifically. Our guide to Wikipedia pages for companies covers these requirements in detail.
Athletes and entertainers: clearer paths
Athletes and entertainers have more clearly defined notability thresholds. For athletes, sport-specific criteria exist as rules of thumb. An NBA draft pick, an Olympic medalist, a Grand Slam tennis participant, or a golfer who made the cut in a major generally meets the bar. The key requirement is independent coverage beyond routine game reporting.
For entertainers, significant roles in multiple notable productions or unique contributions to the field generally establish notability. Musicians have separate criteria including charted hits, major label releases, and notable tours. The bar is lower than for companies because the criteria are more concrete.
Executives and businesspeople
Being a CEO is not inherently notable. The coverage must be about the person specifically, not just quotes in articles about their company. Most executives do not qualify for standalone pages unless they are famous beyond their company role. The coverage needs to demonstrate that the person, not just the position, has received independent attention.
How to build notability
If you do not currently meet Wikipedia's notability requirements, creating a page anyway and hoping for the best rarely works. A rejected or deleted submission stays on the public record. Future attempts face extra scrutiny. The better approach is to build genuine notability over time.
This means doing newsworthy things and making sure journalists know about them. Launching an innovative product. Publishing original research. Taking a public position on an industry issue. Speaking at major conferences. Winning recognized industry awards. All of these create opportunities for the kind of independent coverage that Wikipedia requires.
Our press coverage guide covers the specific tactics for generating editorial coverage in legitimate publications. This work typically takes 6 to 12 months. It benefits you far beyond Wikipedia. The same coverage that establishes notability also improves your search visibility, your AI search presence, and your credibility with customers and investors.
Common notability misconceptions
Being successful in business does not make you notable. We have worked with CEOs of large companies who do not have enough independent media coverage to support a Wikipedia page. Revenue, employee count, and market share are not sufficient on their own. You need the independent coverage to back it up.
Having a large social media following does not establish notability. Wikipedia editors are clear about this. Follower counts on Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube are not considered reliable indicators of notability. They can be inflated and do not represent independent editorial judgment.
Being mentioned in news articles is different from being the subject of news articles. If your name appears in a list or is briefly referenced in a story about something else, that is not significant coverage. The articles need to be primarily about you or your company.
Press releases do not count, even when picked up by news wires. Many companies point to dozens of press release pickups as evidence of coverage. Wikipedia editors classify these as non-independent. Wire-distributed press releases that get republished verbatim by dozens of outlets count as a single source under Wikipedia's framework, and a weak one at that.
What to do next
If you meet Wikipedia's notability requirements, see our complete guide to getting a Wikipedia page created for the full process from drafting through publication. If you are not quite there yet, our guide on getting press coverage shows how to build the independent media coverage you need.
If you are wondering whether you or your company qualifies, we can do an honest assessment. Our Wikipedia service starts with a notability evaluation before any work begins. There is no point creating a page that is going to be deleted. You may also find our guides on Wikipedia page costs and getting a Wikipedia page for your company helpful.
Related resources
- Wikipedia page creation. How to turn notability into a live Wikipedia article.
- Wikipedia link insertion. Build authority without needing a full Wikipedia page.
- Getting press coverage. Build the media coverage you need to establish notability.
- Wikipedia pages for companies. Company-specific notability strategies.
- Wikipedia page cost. What different approaches cost and what you get.