What in the world is a pingback?
A pingback is when another wordpress blogger writes a post and includes a link to your post in their post.
When this happens, you will get an email notification letting you know someone has linked to your post. It will also include an excerpt of their post that they have linked to you, along with the link to their post so you can either:
- See what they have written
- Comment on their post
- Decide if you want to APPROVE, DELETE, or SPAM the pingback link
You always want to approve the pingback, unless of course, it is from an obvious spam blog.
Once you have approved a pingback, it will appear in your comments similar to the example below.
Why is a pingback important?
Pingbacks show your readers that you have credibility because people are finding enough value in your posts to want to share that by linking (or creating a pingback) in their blog posts. It also gives your readers an opportunity to read the blog post in which you were referenced.
How do I create a pingback?
To create a pingback when referring to another blog post, including another post on your own blog:
- Copy the url of the post you want to link to.
- In the post that you are writing, highlight the text you want linked to the post, then click on Insert/Edit Link button (it looks like a chain link), paste the post URL and then click INSERT.
When do I use a pingback?
- You should link to a blog if you reference another blogger.
- You should link to a post if you mentioning a specific post on your blog.
Here is a real-time pingback example:
Thank you to Micki Lessard for requesting information on how to create a pingback!
19. January 2012 at 1:46 pm
I love when I’m notified of a pingback! Thanks for a great explanation.
Heather Calhoun recently posted..Top 1000 Plugins for WordPress
22. January 2012 at 2:49 am
I do too, Heather! It’s great getting notifications that people appreciate your content enough to share it with others!
Kimberly Turner recently posted..Tips for Facebook Timeline
19. January 2012 at 10:31 pm
you are amazing Kimberly…I ask you “what’s a ping back and why did you ping back me?” and what do you do? Your write a blog post about to help me and others….awesome explanation, and thank you again!!
I’ll be “pingbacking” you soon !!
Micki Lessard recently posted..can humans learn from wolves?
19. January 2012 at 10:53 pm
Ask and you shall receive, Micki! Glad to be able to help explain something I didn’t know myself not so long ago!
20. January 2012 at 11:19 am
I love this team! Thanks, Kimberly! I was only vaguely familiar with what a pingback was
Laila Moysey recently posted..Words Matter – Try or Do, it’s Up to You.
22. January 2012 at 2:48 am
Glad you found this helpful Laila! Let me know if there is anything else I can explain in a post for you!
Kimberly Turner recently posted..Create a Call to Action That Gets Results