Written on February 26th, 2006 at 12:02 am by Darren Rowse
Introduction to Trackbacks
The following post has been submitted by Andy Wibbels – a guy who is a good friend and associate. He and I run Six Figure Blogging together (something I enjoy because I think our skill sets complement each other very well – ie he knows what he’s talking about technically and I have no idea). I’ve asked Andy to write an introduction to Trackbacks – a topic I’m constantly asked for information about.
Summary: TrackBacks automate the interlinking of blog posts, but often don’t contribute to search engine ranking.
TrackBacks are notoriously difficult to explain and is an exercise that makes a great judge of the skill of any self-described ‘blogging expert.’ So here I go!
You get comments right? Easy enough. You write a post on your blog. Someone reads it and thinks you’re either sliced bread or vile ooze and comments accordingly. Just like having a mini-guestbook for each post.
What if I want to leave a comment about your blog post on my blog? That’s where TrackBacks come in.
Let’s say I read something pretty fantastic on your blog and so I write up a post about on my blog: “Hey you gotta check this out, here’s a quote from it and here’s the link to it.” And I link to that particular post on your blog. And I click publish.
Unbeknownst to most, your blog platform – whether it is WordPress or Movable Type or TypePad, scans all the links in a post each time a post is published. It finds my link to your post and then goes out to your blog and checks to see if your post is accepting TrackBacks. If so, my blog sends a little ping! to your blog as if to say, ‘Hey! Andy’s talking about you over on his blog.’ and your blog answers the ping and says ‘Alright, I’ll make a note of it.’ And then your blog makes a little note on that particular post that in effect says, “Besides all these comments under this post, here’s someone talking about this post on their own site – and here’s the link to it.”
So readers of your blog can see not just what the commenters are saying about it on your blog – but what other bloggers are saying about. I’ve seen a post’s list of TrackBacks described as ‘Other blogs linking to this post.’ Many blog tools, like WordPress, lump comments and TrackBacks into the same list.
You don’t have to know how TrackBacks work in order to use them, you can simply set a post to be able to receive trackbacks and set your blog to send them when you publish new posts. Your blog platform should do all the heavy lifting and email you when there are new TrackBacks – just like it does when there are new comments to a post.
TrackBack was first created by Ben and Mena Trott during the early days of Movable Type and has gradually been integrated into the features of most popular blog platforms. A similar technology is pingbacks which has the added security of checking to see if the pinging site actually exists.
Of course like anything fun or cool online, the evil bastard spammers got busy funneling their sewage into automated TrackBacks pingbots that left everyone’s blogs with dainty messages about mortgages, online poker and Viagra. Most comment spam blockers are now configured to also scan TrackBacks to help stem the tide of spammy TrackBacks.
One of the best parts about TrackBack is that it helped to increase your blog’s linked-ness and search engine ranking. With the introduction of the ‘no follow’ attribute, links in comments and TrackBacks are usually often not included in the calculation of your blog’s Google PageRank. I presume this applies to the other search engines as well. Still, the findability may not be in the search ranking – but links from other blogs is always a Good Thing.
In TypePad:
To enable TrackBacks by default in TypePad, go to Weblogs > (Your Blog) > Configure > Preferences > Comment and TrackBack Preferences: Check the checkbox ‘Hold comments and TrackBacks for approval.’ And set Default TrackBack Status set to ‘New posts accept TrackBacks.’ (for receiving TrackBacks)
In WordPress:
To enable TrackBacks by default in WordPress ,go to Options > Discussion: Check the checkbox ‘Attempt to notify any Weblogs linked to from the article.’ (for sending TrackBacks) Check the check box ‘Allow link notifications from other Weblogs. (for receiving TrackBacks)
In Movable Type:
To enable TrackBacks by default in Movable Type, go to (Your Blog) > Configuration > Preferences > Publicity/Remote Interfaces/TrackBack: Check the checkbox ‘Allow TrackBack Pings On by Default.’ (for sending TrackBacks) Check the checkbox ‘Email New TrackBack Pings.’ Check the checkbox ‘Enable TrackBack Auto-Discovery.’ (for receiving TrackBacks)
Andy Wibbels is an award-winning blogger and author of Blogwild! A Guide for Small Business Blogging. He has helped companies all over the world use blogs to market their businesses through seminars like Blog Your Way to a Bestseller, Easy Bake Weblogs, RSS Essentials, Podcasting Bootcamp and Business Blog Basics (co-creator). Andy is co-creator of the Six Figure Blogging seminar, with Darren Rowse.
113 Responses to “Introduction to Trackbacks” - Add Yours
Bloggerpreneur
February 26th, 2006 12:59 am
Andy Wibbels talks about Trackbacks on Problogger
I just read one of the simplest explanations of Trackbacks that actually makes sense that I have seen by Problogger guest poster Andy Wibbels. Excellent post.
…
Robb D
February 26th, 2006 1:10 am
Since this post was about Trackbacks, I just couldn’t resist the urge to send you one from my blog. :)
Just out of curiostiy, does anyone know if there is a way to configure Wordpress to use your name when you send a trackback or a ping instead of the name of your blog?
Andy Merrett
February 26th, 2006 1:10 am
Good down-to-earth explanation. Trackbacks and pings (oops, nearly typed pigs) were the things that confused me most when I first got into blogging. As you say though, most blogging platforms sort this all out for you.
Joe
February 26th, 2006 1:24 am
Hey Darren (and Andy),
Good explaination, now if you would tell me how to do it on Blogger.com. Sorry, but I know I’m not the only one still using that service…
Joe
Robb D
February 26th, 2006 1:31 am
Joe,
If I remember correctly, http://www.Haloscan.com allows you to send and receive trackbacks on Blogger.
Aaron
February 26th, 2006 1:34 am
Articulate, but not watered down, and yet simple. Good job, Andy, and thanks for publishing this Darren.
Joe
February 26th, 2006 3:19 am
Hey Robb D,
Thanks a lot, I’ll try it out and let you know how it works out.
Thanks,
Joe
Andy Wibbels
February 26th, 2006 10:10 am
Glad you guys enjoy it!
Chrono Cr@cker
February 26th, 2006 2:42 pm
Interesting but I have a query… Most blogging platforms like WP automatically trackback and the reverse looking at the links in the post. So why do we need to have a separate field called trackback below the psot?
Andy Wibbels
February 27th, 2006 2:09 am
I use that field when the trackback doesn’t seem to ‘take’ automatically. You can pop-in the trackback URL and Save and it’ll try pinging the source. It’s just a bit more direct than the ‘auto-discovery’ thing.
Joseph Thornley
February 27th, 2006 6:06 am
A clear, straightforward explanation of an arcane concept. But have I missed something? I can’t find a Trackback address on the ProBlogger post. Do you have them enabled?
Robb D
February 27th, 2006 6:13 am
Joseph, I wondered the same thing. Problogger is uses Wordpress and the default trackback url for Wordpress is the name is the permalink for the post /trackback. For this post i just used http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/26/introduction-to-trackbacks/trackback where I just manually added the /trackback in.
Andy Wibbels
February 27th, 2006 6:41 am
Know that the TrackBack link doesn’t have to be visible to the reader for the blog platform to find it. Viewing this post on the front page won’t show the TrackBack link because of the templates.
If you view this post on it’s own page, view the source code and pretty far down you’ll see a big swatch of code that’s been commented out. This is the RDF/XML code that a linking blog looks for to know where to send the TrackBack. In this case:
trackback:ping="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/26/introduction-to-trackbacks/trackback/"ProPr » Linkworthy
February 27th, 2006 10:25 am
[...] Introduction to Trackbacks Andy Wibbels publishes one of the clearest explanations I’ve seen of this arcane concept February 26th 2006 Posted to Blogging and Wikis, Marketing, Best Practices, Corporate Blogging Trackback Permalink [...]
Swaye
February 27th, 2006 11:07 am
Hey Guys,
For any of you who learn better visually, check out
Jim Edwards video blog on TrackBacks
http://www.igottatellyou.com/blog/archives/2005/02/how_to_really_g.html
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Part 1 – What are “Track Back Links” and how do they work?
Part 2 – Demonstrating Setting Up Actual “Track Back Links”
Part 3 – Putting It All Together
http://www.igottatellyou.com/blog/archives/2005/02/how_to_really_g.html
Enjoy!
PS: Hey Darren, when you starting that daily PodCast? ;-)
TLB
February 27th, 2006 6:13 pm
One of the hidden downsides of trackbacks is that most blogging systems put a nofollow tag on your link. If they do that, you might consider putting the same tag on the link you use to link to their post. Otherwise, you’re getting ripped off.
Andy Wibbels
February 28th, 2006 2:25 am
Yeah, I’d mentioned that above. It really depends on your reasons for sending a TrackBack. If it is strictly for traffic exchange then you can use the nofollow attribute to avoid getting ‘ripped off’. Still, in a greater altruistic context, it helps the overall ‘linked-ness’ of things.
Teen-Software » At Last, I know what Trackbacks are!
February 28th, 2006 5:12 am
[...] I’ve heard about trackbacks a lot and have finally found out what they are exactly through this post over at ‘Problogger’, thanks for the post. Hopefully I’ll be able to use them now. I can’t believe I didn’t understand them now, I think that was a great explanation [...]
What the Hell is a TrackBack?
February 28th, 2006 5:35 am
[...] Read my full explanation… Track this topic on other blogs: blogging, blogs, trackbacks [...]
Blogging for Beginners: ProBlogger Blog Tips
February 28th, 2006 9:37 am
[...] Introduction to Trackbacks [...]
How To Blog - How To Podcast » Blog Archive » What Is A Trackback Link
March 2nd, 2006 3:14 am
[...] Over at ProBlogger Andy Wibbels has written a very detailed explanation of what is a trackback link. I don’t think you will find a better explanation anywhere else on the internet. A usefull tool, but a lot of people just can’t figure it out. Check out the detailed explanation. [...]
CreationNation
March 5th, 2006 6:16 am
Excellent explanation, defined trackbacks for me in one read. Thanks!
My Money Note
June 25th, 2006 8:59 am
How to use Trackbacks….
Trackback has been one of the hardest thing to understand in the weblog community. If you understand it and use it well, it can do wonder for your blog in terms of creating more value to your readers, improve your credibility by proving you are reading…
Working at Home on the Internet » Blog Archive » Trackbacks
June 26th, 2006 4:48 am
[...] This morning I read a post over at ProBlogger by Guest Writer Andy Wibbels about Trackbacks. As you know I offer that as an option for those who would like to write a post for this Blog. [...]
timw
July 27th, 2006 9:02 pm
really cleared that up for me.
thanks!
marazzi
September 7th, 2006 9:54 pm
Marazzi…
Marazzi prin Omnitechgroup…
Sue C
November 6th, 2006 9:14 am
At last … at last! A succinct explanation for Trackbacks. Andy Wibbels is my Hero! Am writing an article for a real estate magazine about blogging and been hunting an understandable definition. Many Thanks!
1
January 5th, 2007 11:18 pm
Information 1…
Site 1…
generationidontknow.com » Blog Archive » My Internet Explorer Favorites
January 10th, 2007 1:33 am
[...] “Helping Bloggers Earn Money” is the tagline for this blog. I have learned so much about blogging from Darren Rowse and his wonderful blog. Great articles written to truly inform the reader. A must read for all bloggers.This is what I’m reading about now. [...]
New2Blog » Blog Archive » What is a TrackBack?
February 24th, 2007 10:10 am
[...] So where do you go for a quick definition? Most people I guess would say “Wikipedia of course!”, I don’t really have alot of success with tech subjects on Wikipedia, so I basically just use Google and browse the search results. Then I checked out Problogger.net to see if there’s any articles. Introduction to Trackbacks is pretty good. So I get that Trackbacks are a way for the source blog to know that a secondary blog is referring to it, but in my Zoundry editor the field just asks for a trackback URL and I had no idea what to put in there. In one of the comments to the Andy Wibbels article on Problogger I finally found the answer – use the permalink. So what’s the difference between a link and a permalink Well when you go to the homepage of a blog you’ll probably see more than one post So the permalink is just the blog url for that specific post. So what is my permalink before I post? I don’t know, so it may be a thing that I have to do after the fact. [...]
420 Guy
March 8th, 2007 12:53 pm
Thanks for that explanation, I wasn’t sure what talkbacks were. Went to my blogger blog (420-now.blogspot.com) and figured out how to enable them. So hopefully some people start talking about my site LOL.
Ryan’s Blog » Blog Trackbacks
March 8th, 2007 3:50 pm
[...] So if you find a blog article you enjoy, go ahead and link to it when you make a post on your own blog. You will be spreading your name and that blog’s name around. Sort of like a friendly referral network of sorts. You can read more about trackbacks here on problogger.com [...]
dandellion
April 10th, 2007 8:53 pm
Thanks for this great article.
But, as after any good lecture, there are more questions to be risen.
First is rather technical. I saw a lot of movable type blogs that in trackback section leave the URI for trackbacks which is slightly different than page’s URI. However, neither responds to my posts, i.e. in neither case it leave notification that there is something about that post on my site. What am I doing wrong?
Second question is a bit about strategy. Usually, when trackback notification is posted with comments it quotes the part of post around the link to the original post. But, in 95% that part is blockquote from original post leaving readers not much information about what reply post is about. How to deal with that?
Let a Blog Reader save you time
May 3rd, 2007 1:30 pm
[...] about blog readers, then I’m going to suggest that you browse this blog. Here he explains Trackbacks. And if you browse his blog, he has lots of practical advice on writing blog [...]
maggie
May 26th, 2007 3:22 pm
Is permalink the same as tracback?
Does this work the same for blogger?
Thanks
Maggie
siamzone.net » Blog Archive » Articles about Blog.
June 5th, 2007 2:05 am
[...] Introduction to Trackbacks The following post has been submitted by Andy Wibbels – a guy who is a good friend and associate. He … http://problogger.net/archives/2006/02/26/introduction-to-trackbacks/ [...]
NewsScribe
June 16th, 2007 1:51 am
I am tracking back to this article in my explanation of trackbacks. What could be simpler?
sat
July 9th, 2007 11:41 pm
It’s worth track back this article if any body would post regarding trackbacks. So it won’t affect google rankings. But still may recieve some traffoc from main post.
farida
September 11th, 2007 12:30 am
Very good post Darren, I get a few trackbacks/pingbacks on my site but never understood them quite so well until now. I’m glad you mentioned the bit about “You don’t have to know how TrackBacks work in order to use them” cause i was trying to figure out how backlinks to my site were appearing on wordpress, it was because i had it enabled and i didnt even realise – this must be a default setting so thanks for pointing that out.
Karl
October 18th, 2007 11:56 pm
Just found this as a reference from another blogger. I’m just learning blogging and this is very helpful. I kept reading about trackbacks, but it was never explained as well. Thanks for the effort.
Vishnu
November 19th, 2007 9:24 pm
I’m having issues with this trackbacks..! Still trying to resolve the same.. I’m geting those trackbacks listed, if some one clicks on create link on the bottom of the post.! Donno wheher its an issue with the blogger or am ot creating the links correctly.!
WebHostinGuide
November 26th, 2007 12:35 am
Tell about blogger.com trackback system also.
KB Hill
November 28th, 2007 10:02 am
Nice explanation. I actually, sort-of, understand this. Thanks for the explanation..
KB Hill
Gordo
December 8th, 2007 2:51 am
Nice text – a trackback is difficult to explain to someone who has no experience with blogging at all.
After writing many articles and comments and trying trackbacks, you can get a feeling what this feature ist useful for. I’ve been misusing it sometimes, but now I think I got the idea behind this ;)
Personally, after sending some trackbacks, somehow I prefer writing a comment, sometimes with sending a link to one of my articles, but I prefer writing something, too 8)
Vicky
December 10th, 2007 7:51 am
Thank you for a very informative post. I am a newbie and really need a “push this button dummy” type of instruction manual as I am a visual learner. I have been looking for this very article for a couple of days. Should have known to come here.
Sylvia
December 14th, 2007 9:40 am
I thought I understood trackbacks but now that I have read this post I feel that I know less than I knew before!
Manju
December 21st, 2007 11:14 pm
Thank very for this informative post.Nice explanation.Very helpful for newbie bloggers like me.
Motti Ben David
January 2nd, 2008 7:33 am
Good straight forward explanation.
Also liked the visual one, Than you Swaye for the link.
Peter
January 3rd, 2008 8:45 pm
informative good explanation – thanks
Benjamin
January 10th, 2008 8:08 am
How do we setup Trackbacks on blogger platform?
Simple Mindz
January 14th, 2008 3:22 am
Thanks! That was a great explanation! Now I understand it!
Christoff
January 21st, 2008 3:33 am
Very well explained! Now I finally understand how Trackbacks work!
Buddy
January 22nd, 2008 11:56 am
Great explanation!
It isn’t that hard for blogger. I found a post on some random site that walked me through it step by step.
Jay
January 22nd, 2008 2:41 pm
wow, i’ve been trying to figure out the whole ‘Trackback’ thing for at least a week now.
i had mine disabled, i guess now i’ll enable mine to accept trackbacks :)
Monetize Your Blog
January 23rd, 2008 1:05 am
This is a great explanation…I always wondered how track backs worked. Be sure to read “Monetize Your Blog”
Chris
January 23rd, 2008 8:02 am
Now I understand the complicated track back process. It is one that I am trying to conquer now.
rubu
January 24th, 2008 2:56 am
I can’t find a Trackback address on the ProBlogger post.
Internet Junkie
January 27th, 2008 3:30 am
Thanks, I was wondering what trackbacks were after seeing them on a few blogs; I like the idea of the little pings talking to each other!
Fee Online Link Analysis
February 25th, 2008 11:58 am
The way I explain trackbacks is to say that they are comments on the commenter’s blog, rather than your blog, that have a link back to the post that they are commenting about.
I think that about summarises it in once sentence.
Free Flat Screen HDTV Free HD TV
March 3rd, 2008 4:16 pm
I was pretty excited to read this until I realized that Blogger.Com doesn’t support this feature. I suppose this could just be another tally for “get a new blog” for me
Serviced Apartments Bangalore
March 16th, 2008 5:36 pm
What about trackbacks in blogspot ? I really need to know how to activate trackbacks on blogspot ? Can you help ?
prefabrike
April 7th, 2008 10:30 pm
So readers of your blog can see not just what the commenters are saying about it on your blog – but what other bloggers are saying about. I’ve seen a post’s list of TrackBacks described as ‘Other blogs linking to this post.’ Many blog tools, like WordPress, lump comments and TrackBacks into the same list. nice word
Reginald
April 10th, 2008 3:10 am
Thank you for the clarification that your post offered about trackbacks. It is well broken down and simple to digest and understand.
Mark Wilson
April 15th, 2008 5:54 pm
I knew I would find a clear explanation one day and today is my lucky day. This actually makes my life easier and I will finally be able to sleep at night LOL.
Reginald
April 17th, 2008 6:59 am
One more thing, how do you rate your own explanation of trackbacks, as it is such a complicated issue?
delicious mark hubery
April 18th, 2008 6:12 am
Blog Hopper…
Hi There. I’m blog hopping….
Boris H
April 19th, 2008 3:33 am
damn, TrackBacks can be useful ? Who would’ve thought? ;) Thanks for the article…
Reginald
April 26th, 2008 3:21 am
Boris, it’s kind of like hearing or reading a terminology over and over and not quite admitting to be missing the point. Then, one day, you come across an article like this one and finally, enlightenment is attained.
Bash Bosh
May 4th, 2008 11:58 am
Thank you for really useful informations and advices related to trackbacks. Really informative article for all bloggers!
MoonDog
May 18th, 2008 1:39 am
Thank you very much – I was looking for a good explanation and you’ve provided that.
Miguel Cangueiro
May 30th, 2008 1:41 am
I always tought trackbacks were such a difficult matter… But now I can see the wordpress does all the work for me :) uff
Scott
June 9th, 2008 2:46 pm
Trackbacks are really allowing to me… for some reason. It always seems like spammish sites are the one using trackbacks to my posts.
Scott
June 9th, 2008 2:55 pm
i meant… ‘annoying’ sorry
Medio Rama Surya
June 10th, 2008 8:00 am
Thank’s for the idea . . . I was looking for good explanation for a long long times.
Valerie
June 21st, 2008 10:07 am
Andy,
I am a new blogger and have been trying to figure out what the heck is a trackback and how does it work. Now I understand a little more. Even so, I’ll come back to this blog and read it again.
Thanks
Greenleaf
July 1st, 2008 12:56 pm
Not too sure how it works. I am still confused. lol.:)
SEO-aStore
July 4th, 2008 6:19 pm
I am a little bit confuse for Trackback before. Thank for your post . It helps me much
Kevin
July 7th, 2008 11:39 am
Andy,
you have explained this in a way that is very easy to understand. Before reading this I never really understood Trackbacks and how to use them. After reading this I think I have a better understanding of how I can utilize them on my own blogs.
Thanks.
Olivia Bell
July 12th, 2008 10:04 am
I’m always wondering what exactly they are… I’ve had a vague idea and seen it working with my own posts, but you explained it perfectly.
Thumbs up!
Daniele
July 16th, 2008 6:41 pm
Hi Darren,
very interesting post (and blog!).
I need to know if I’ve understood the concept of pingback and trackback.
A pingback is only a communication between blog platforms; a trackback, instead, is a communication between bloggers.
Is it correct?
Thanks.
cXY
July 17th, 2008 4:55 pm
hi, Darren,
your article really helps! it’s easy to understand, even though i’m not very good at english, but i still can get it. great job!
gout
July 22nd, 2008 2:12 pm
hello…nice posting about trackback…..very helps me…thanks
Roschelle
August 17th, 2008 8:14 am
Didn’t have a problem understanding that at all. I had no idea what trackbacks were so as you might imagine I was definitely a little leary about pushing that button. It sounds like another great way of letting people know what you’re blogging about is being talked about on more than just your website. Thanks! There are a lot of great tips, ideas and general information here!
AlexL
August 21st, 2008 12:46 pm
hi.. i’m beginner,
Does blogger blogspot support trackbacks feature?
I’m confuse here????
any one can help?
Armil
August 27th, 2008 6:47 pm
I thank you I now I understood what trackback is all about.
Same with AlexL and others please let us know how to put this into the blogger platform?
Web Design Tips
August 27th, 2008 8:34 pm
So let me get this straight… If i create a link to a high quality, high traffic website in my blog, then assuming that the trackback is accepted i should get a link back to my website, in the comments section that will effectively drive traffic to my website.
So why not find related websites with great quality traffic and get a little to your own website?
Have i lost the plot here, or is that the main benefit of trackbacks?
sports live
September 4th, 2008 11:38 pm
nice detailed explanation
Chetz Yusof
September 28th, 2008 1:26 pm
Oooo that’s trackback!
Hehehe… I’ve been trying to figure out what it is for so long. Thank you so much for the explanation. Now I know how and why I should use it.
Thanks!
Chetz
ChetzTV.com – My blog on Love, Money and Fitness
korea sem company
October 22nd, 2008 12:45 pm
Nice information.I’M still confused about the difference between tracebacks and ping backs
Rahul
October 24th, 2008 10:53 pm
Thanks for the info. I was actually confused between trackbacks and pingbacks. This helped me clear the doubts.
Cheers.
Social Media Marketing Blog
October 29th, 2008 8:59 pm
thanks Darren for explaining trackback …
Ganesh
November 8th, 2008 11:11 pm
Trackback spamming is real. I saw it happen on a blog. Better watch out. So, I suggest that one should look closely at them.
goodwebguideblog
November 18th, 2008 9:06 pm
I also use blogger and would like to know how to set up trackbacks. Great post by the way, thanks.
Make Money Online
November 19th, 2008 3:01 am
Great job on explaing this one in a simple to understand article. I think a lot of people do not understand trackbacks. It’s one of those subjects that is actually so simple that it’s confusing LOL
Rita
November 27th, 2008 4:59 am
Excellent. Clear and concise without making all us beginners feel like we need a PHD. to understand the lingo!
Rovaal Rotemon
December 20th, 2008 7:43 am
Hi Darren,
Thanks for your explanation about trackbacks.
I left a comment yesterday on my blog, asking a commenter if he was getting my replies. No answer :(
But at least now I know why!
Now that I’ve turned on my “attempt to notify blogs” and “attempt to notify links” in my Wordpress, everything should run smoothly.
Warm regards and thanks again from a newbie blogger,
Rov.
koikkar
December 25th, 2008 4:47 am
Hi,
You tips are just great. Each article gives a new idea to me! Thanks
Korikkar
cooler
December 30th, 2008 2:57 am
In the new version of Wordpress, the trackback panel is located in under “Sections>Discussion”, not “Options”.
And thanks for the great post.
clickktdotcom
January 11th, 2009 4:44 pm
Trackback spamming is real. I saw it happen on a blog.
Thanks for this post!
Team Nirvana
January 18th, 2009 9:00 pm
Always had a notion that I knew what a TrackBack is!!
But after reading this, Andy made it a sure thing that I understood what it means in the actual sense.
Thanks for writting this article Andy, even if its a couple of years earlier post.
I do observe lots of spam comments on my blog and had always wondered over how I can stop this. And now after taking a few minutes off my daily chores, I put a small plugin and it takes care of the spam comments thru CAPTCHA.
Now, no worries. Rest in peace.
But Darren, why isn’t there any captcha for your comments fields? Do you get spam or not? And how often do you check your comments?
Linda
February 7th, 2009 6:25 am
Definately worth implementing.
Rachel
February 8th, 2009 9:29 pm
The question is how can it affect the SEO, authority or popularity of any blog post
Sarah
February 17th, 2009 6:50 am
So, this is how Trackback works. I have always wondered about that but no one has ever explained in such detail.
Nimit kashyap
February 23rd, 2009 9:42 am
I have recently started my 1st blog and really confused about the trackbacks,now after reading this article ,the concept of trackbacks is almost clear to me.
Thanks
Shahab Khan
March 27th, 2009 2:29 am
The explanation you gave for Trackbacks is really great….Thanks!
VlogHog
March 28th, 2009 5:17 pm
I use Blogger and as far as I know, if you link to another blog post that uses trackback, it will automatically trackback to your blog.
bisnis internet
March 29th, 2009 11:17 am
i run several blog wordpress, but didn;t know the benefit for using trackbacks, thanks for making this post.
Portland Web Design
April 8th, 2009 3:30 am
Funny how we still don’t know if they have any search engine value… it would make sense Google knows what they are and can detect them and then wouldn’t assign PR since they are AUTOMATED… but it can’t hurt. I think I am going to follow all of my trackbacks and actually comment on the posts – then debate deleting the trackback.
Word Seeker
April 19th, 2009 3:59 pm
I must said that after reading this post I am more aware of what happens. Thanks for the information.
threio
April 20th, 2009 8:41 pm
I like to post links to other blogs that are in my overall community. I have a baseball blog, so when my team plays another team, I include a link to a blog that focuses on that team.
Is this approach good for me and the other blog?
Nash | nil2million.com
June 18th, 2009 1:16 am
Hi there,
I’m wondering whether anyone can advise me about this. I’m using Wordpress, so the trackback is automatic. However, certain website such as Blog Carnival, will ask for the trackback URL. How do you identify the trackback URL from your wordpress dashboard?
Nash
my effort
June 18th, 2009 6:21 pm
Trackback is an easy way to create a backlink building and networking, is very useful because it is very easy, suitable for busy people and a little lazy
Albert
June 19th, 2009 10:54 am
Blogger allows links in the option tab under your posting window.
As far as I can tell, it doesn’t work worth a flip. If you want to link to something I wrote, it will grab the urls etc, but it won’t show it on my blog in the proper section below the comments.
Best,
Albert
I almost get Trampled and Gored! Seriously…
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