Definition
Pingback is a notification that is sent to a blog when another blog links to it through a permalink. It is transmitted automatically using the XML-RPC protocol.
Table of Contents
What is Pingback?
Pingbacks is a resource used to manage backlinks, more specifically external links that point to a URL to a website.
Pingback works like this:
- Person A posts something on a blog.
- Person B posts something on their own blog with a link to person A’s post.
- This action is automatically sent in a pingback to person A.
- Person A receives the pingback, then has to go to person B’s post to confirm that the pingback originated there.
- It is critical to both A and B have pingback-enabled blogs.
WordPress and pingback
Pingbacks offer blogs the ability to communicate using an automated system. It is a way to link one blog to another. It is very important to keep it in mind, since getting links from quality external publications that lead to the blog, is one of the best ways to improve SEO.
However, they must be of quality since otherwise they can damage the integrity of the blog, since spammers usually abuse them. To do this, the best way is to check that they are only authentic pingbacks and review new requests frequently.
Advantages and disadvantages of pingbacks
One of the advantages it offers, starting from WordPress are:
- Improved SEO. If it has been implemented correctly and without the intention of sending spam.
- Encourages targeted traffic. Once the reader navigates through the comments section they can see the link and enter, which increases the chances of visits.
- It’s a way to make connections with other authors and readers in your niche and encourage content sharing.
- Offer valuable and useful content to readers.
The disadvantages of pingbacks are as follows:
- Spammers have discovered pingbacks with what can become a negative point, finding the entire section full of spam comments.
- Because of the previous problem, many blogs no longer have it. All this means that it cannot be used, since both are required to activate them.
Are pingbacks necessary?
Pingbacks, although necessary, have the disadvantage that the blog can be bombarded with spam, whenever people with malicious sites link to the blog. To prevent this from happening, and whenever you intend to have a pingback, it is essential to have other plugins such as Disable XML-RPC or Cloudflare. All of them come to guarantee and avoid mass spam.
In addition, pingbacks are effective functionalities for the optimization of a blog or a site that you have on the Internet. In other words, having it, makes it possible to get different users to click on the various links that are held as pingbacks, which will result in more visits to the blog / website.
With automatic comments they can generate more trust when it comes to collaborating with other blogs, as long as they are within the same community.
Finally, it should be noted that it is not really important if it is active or not, the fundamental thing is to find security in what is written and that it is optimized correctly.