Trackback, Linkback, Pingback what does it mean?
There is lots of confusion about trackbacks and linkbacks so let me see if this old guy can clear things up.
Trackbacks according to Wikipedia
A trackback is one of three types of linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking, and so referring, to their articles. Some weblog software programs, such as Serendipity, WordPress, CuteNewsRU, Movable Type, Typo, Telligent Community, Kentico CMS and Drupal (via contrib modules), support automatic pingbacks where all the links in a published article can be pinged when the article is published. The term is used colloquially for any kind of linkback.
With current WordPress blogs and if you are linking to another current WordPress blog a trackback is not needed as long as you have the link in your content even as a hyperlink. Current WordPress platform will ping and create a pingback to that blog automatically. Pingback or linkback would be virtually synonymous on current WordPress blogs.
On some other platforms the linkback will not automatically notify the other blog by pinging. On those you will need to add a trackback.
If you are linking to some of the older legacy platforms you will need to create a trackback. Unfortunately I am not sure which platforms need this so if it is a different platform you may consider adding a trackback just to be sure that the other blog is notified.
Trackbacks will automatically ping when you post your entry. First you will need to get the trackback url which will be different than the regular url in most cases. Just click where you see the hyperlink for the trackback url.
Once you have the appropriate url you can add it to your post information by copying and pasting it into the trackback area when writing your post. (If you are adding more than one make sure there is a space between them.)
Hopefully this will help you understand the difference between trackback, linkback and pingback.
As always your questions and comments are welcomed.
About the author
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Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. Get the details at Profitable Blog Steps |
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9 comments
Andre Arnett on January 23, 2010 at 8:16 am
I for one appreciate the explanation as I have been confused and still am a little. It is a bit clearer now, thanks.
Andre Arnett´s last blog ..Ways To Get Free Traffic To Your Website Or Blog
[Reply]
Lonnie Minton on January 23, 2010 at 10:33 am
Thanks for this tutorial. I was never very clear on trackbacks. Although I have seen them on ocassion.
Lonnie Minton´s last blog ..Learn Affiliate Marketing With Power Start 2010 4-Week Coaching Program
[Reply]
Fred Lotgering
Twitter: lotcon
on January 23, 2010 at 11:23 am
Thanks for clearing that up. Actually quite surprising how much you can find in Wikipedia. Never thought about going there for this kind of information.
Fred Lotgering´s last blog ..Twitter and your list
[Reply]
Richard Perkins on January 23, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Mike you must be psychic. I was going through my blog just last night and I was thinking I really need to clarify what the heck a trackback, linkback and pingback are. Once again you have made it easy for me.
Richard Perkins´s last blog ..Leave Microsoft Windows Behind For Good.
[Reply]
Chad Carlton
Twitter: carltonsent
on January 23, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Thanks Mike,
This has always confused me as well. I’d still like a better explanation on pinging. When I use pinging services to ping my blog, what exactly happens?
Thanks in advance,
Chad
[Reply]
Earl Netwal
Twitter: EarlNetwal
on January 23, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Getting closer. If someone puts a link to my WordPress Blog, I should get an automatic Pingback. That shows up as a comment? Somewhere else? I presume I want as many as possible. Do I get any credit for them, other that google Juice from virtue of the link? Do any third party entities track pingbacks?
Earl Netwal´s last blog ..Instant Fast Traffic – A Review
[Reply]
Joel Osborne
Twitter: JoelOsborne
on January 24, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Thank you Mike. I sometimes got confused by it all too, so it’s good to be reminded of how it all works.
Joel Osborne´s last blog ..Which is Better: PLR or Ghostwriting?
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Doug Champigny
Twitter: Mentoring4U
on January 28, 2010 at 2:15 am
As so often happens, link spammers and black-hatters seem to have caught onto using pingbacks more than real bloggers have, so there’s still a need to moderate the pingbacks in your comments area. I’m so sick of bogus backlnks from SEO companies I now delete any that come in from them without even checking to see if they’re legit or not.
Doug Champigny´s last blog ..Using Your Affiliate Program To Drive Targeted Traffic and Build Opt-In Lists
[Reply]
Laura
Twitter: youtrainonline
on March 9, 2010 at 9:52 am
Thank you for helping to make this more understandable. A “new pingback” email showed up and I had no idea what that was all about.
[Reply]