Pingback & trackback are a type of backlink or linkback, which is used by many bloggers and webmasters, who are using such blogging platforms as Wordpress, Drupal, BlogEngine, Joomla and more, to request a form of notification when another blog or website creates a link to one of their documents.  The purpose of doing such will enable the blog creator or author to keep an eye on and to keep a track of what other websites and blogs are linking to their posts or using their posts and pages as references on other blog pages. You can automate trackbacks here.

It consists of an XML request, which is setup between 2 sites, the author created website, and the reference site.  When the author created blog writes a new post on their blog about the reference blog and has a hyperlink showing.  From this part, the reference blog sends a signal to the author blog to check that the backlink does exist, if it does and is shown on the author's website, then the pingback will be recorded as a successful backlink on the reference site.

A trackback is primarily an acknowledgement or notification between blogs, that one is referring to the other, similar to a pingback and the weblog will show a trackback URL if they are using this style of protocol to interlink and create backlinks or linkbacks to other blogs, so that the article or post originator can keep tabs on and knows who is linking to their blog.

Many blogging platforms will use pingbacks and trackbacks including Movable Type, Serendipity, Telligent Community on their blogging CMS systems, as a form of extension to the weblog, plugin or addon.

This is a super way to create backlinks, but the main issue with pingback trackbacks are the time needed in order to locate these type of links, as it can prove time consuming, unless you use a software to speed up the work. Trackback Collector does just this. It has been used and spoken about by John Chow, the top blogger, and can find keyword and niche targeted trackback pingbacks for your blogs. Want to know more? find out how to automate your trackback links here.

About the Author:
Lucy DeVere, full time entrepreneur and mom, pingback trackback