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Are Pingbacks The Same As Trackbacks - And Should I Post Them?

by magentawave
10 replies
I moderate all comments on my sites and I get trackbacks and pingbacks to my site. I'm wondering what they are, and what is the difference between the two, and is there any advantage for me to click the "Approve" button and post them to my comments?

Thanks
STeve
#pingbacks #post #trackbacks
  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    They are almost the same.

    The best to understand them is to look from the side of your own blog.

    Pingback. When you write a post and in the content of that entry you mention a blogpost of mine and make a link pointing to it - that will result in a pingback.

    Trackback. When writing a post you scroll down a bit and there is a field called "Trackback". You need to put there the TB URL of a post of mine there and my blog still will be 'notified' about your post, without making a link to it.

    Both features make possible for blogs to "talk to each other"

    P.S. This should be mandatory reading for anybody that has a blog...
    Introduction to Blogging WordPress Codex
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    • Profile picture of the author magentawave
      I will read that link in the morning as its been a very long day...and thank you for responding!

      You are saying that whenever someone puts a link to my site in an article on their site that it automatically pings the page on my site that has the article?

      But is there any advantage for me to post those pingbacks and trackbacks? Is it a thing of etiquette? Any downside for me?

      Thanks again.

      Steve



      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      They are almost the same.

      The best to understand them is to look from the side of your own blog.

      Pingback. When you write a post and in the content of that entry you mention a blogpost of mine and make a link pointing to it - that will result in a pingback.

      Trackback. When writing a post you scroll down a bit and there is a field called "Trackback". You need to put there the TB URL of a post of mine there and my blog still will be 'notified' about your post, without making a link to it.

      Both features make possible for blogs to "talk to each other"

      P.S. This should be mandatory reading for anybody that has a blog...
      Introduction to Blogging WordPress Codex
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1618544].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    Re: downside. There is a lot of TB spam out there - and a plugin to combat them . It works pretty well on my blogs, which means the TBs that will be displayed among the comments are genuine. I always approve those.

    If they are real PBs and TBs, think of them as "social proof": people read your blog and they even talk about it, write about it, link back to it.

    I have an old blog where about two and half years ago a posted a plugin... and I received a TB even a couple of days ago. New people discover it and write about it. I think it's cool... and the approx. 50 TB/PB = free backlinks.

    Yes, if I approve them there will also be a link for them from my blog but that doesn't bother me. On some blogs I even install the do-follow because I want to reward the commenters with a follow link.

    Ultimately, it's up to you; it's your blog, your decision.
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    • Profile picture of the author magentawave
      I read the information from the link you provided, so how can you tell the difference between real TBs and PBs and spam?

      Thanks again.

      Steve



      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      Re: downside. There is a lot of TB spam out there - and a plugin to combat them . It works pretty well on my blogs, which means the TBs that will be displayed among the comments are genuine. I always approve those.

      If they are real PBs and TBs, think of them as "social proof": people read your blog and they even talk about it, write about it, link back to it.

      I have an old blog where about two and half years ago a posted a plugin... and I received a TB even a couple of days ago. New people discover it and write about it. I think it's cool... and the approx. 50 TB/PB = free backlinks.

      Yes, if I approve them there will also be a link for them from my blog but that doesn't bother me. On some blogs I even install the do-follow because I want to reward the commenters with a follow link.

      Ultimately, it's up to you; it's your blog, your decision.
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      • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
        Allowing quality TB's and PB's is good practice - if you allow them, chances are the person who blogged about your post will do it again, you are giving them an incentive to continue to bring eyeballs to your blog - well worth it.

        I highly suggest you get AKSIMET plugin for Wordpress which stops all types of comment and traceback spam - I used to have HUGE challenges with this and now rarely have any.

        Jeff
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  • Profile picture of the author affiliatecoachlandon
    Hey istvan, thanks for the clarification. I'm pretty bad at technical stuff like this
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    As Jeff said, Akismet (that comes with the default WP download) is a good tool.

    I also use WordPress › Simple Trackback Validation WordPress Plugins for TBs. The spam comes mainly via TB.

    The PBs are (almost) always real: there has to be a blog post with a link in it. At least that was my experience in the last several years using WP.
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    • Profile picture of the author magentawave
      This is good information guys and I really appreciate you taking the time to respond because this is something that I've been wondering about for quite a while.

      I've been using AKSIMET and I will start using the Simple Trackback Validation plugin you provided a link to. Thanks.

      A couple more questions please...

      1) Are you saying that a Trackback is an automatic Wordpress function that takes place whenever someone puts a link to my site on their site and clicks their 'Publish/Update' button?

      2) I've seen lots of older blog posts with numerous comments and zero Trackbacks - but then later, like maybe a year later when the comments have dwindled, the post now seems to get a ton of Trackbacks. So why does it seem that older blog post comment sections seem to be mostly populated with Trackbacks?

      Thanks

      Steve


      Originally Posted by jbsmith View Post

      Allowing quality TB's and PB's is good practice - if you allow them, chances are the person who blogged about your post will do it again, you are giving them an incentive to continue to bring eyeballs to your blog - well worth it.

      I highly suggest you get AKSIMET plugin for Wordpress which stops all types of comment and traceback spam - I used to have HUGE challenges with this and now rarely have any.

      Jeff
      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      As Jeff said, Akismet (that comes with the default WP download) is a good tool.

      I also use WordPress › Simple Trackback Validation WordPress Plugins for TBs. The spam comes mainly via TB.

      The PBs are (almost) always real: there has to be a blog post with a link in it. At least that was my experience in the last several years using WP.
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      • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
        Originally Posted by magentawave View Post

        1) Are you saying that a Trackback is an automatic Wordpress function that takes place whenever someone puts a link to my site on their site and clicks their 'Publish/Update' button?

        2) I've seen lots of older blog posts with numerous comments and zero Trackbacks - but then later, like maybe a year later when the comments have dwindled, the post now seems to get a ton of Trackbacks. So why does it seem that older blog post comment sections seem to be mostly populated with Trackbacks?
        1. Both TB and PB are automatic functions. I have to refer you back to my first answer:
        a) a link to my blog post in your blog post = a PingBack on my blog (automatically)
        b) putting the TB URL of my post into the TB field on your Write Post subpanel = TB on my blog

        What is so complicated in this? :confused:

        2. Because the blogger doesn't clean up the spam TBs?
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        • Profile picture of the author magentawave
          Its not that complicated now that its been explained to me - just clarifying dude.


          Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

          1. Both TB and PB are automatic functions. I have to refer you back to my first answer:
          a) a link to my blog post in your blog post = a PingBack on my blog (automatically)
          b) putting the TB URL of my post into the TB field on your Write Post subpanel = TB on my blog

          What is so complicated in this? :confused:

          2. Because the blogger doesn't clean up the spam TBs?
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