In a world where information technology is a requirement to almost everything, there is a need to understand how they function. Among these technology tools are trackbacks and pingbacks which are different types of communication technologies also known as HTTP-Post and XML-RPC, respectively. Trackbacks are manually done through entering the URL where it should be sent; while Pingbacks, on the other hand, allow for an automatic search of links found in every post and attempts to pingback to their URLs.

First we talk about trackbacks, which are actually linkbacks. Their purpose is to provide notifications between websites. They are linkbacks used to request notification when somebody links to a web author’s documents. It enables web authors to know who is linking or referring to their articles. They are basically acknowledgements sent through a network signal from the original site to the receiving site.

To be successfully operational, trackbacks need both sites to be trackback-enabled to be able to establish communication though it does not require a physical connection from the originating site to the receiving site. Trackbacks facilitate communication between blogs to be able to allow conversations spanning several blogs where readers can easily follow.
Here is an example of how a trackback works:

•    Anthony writes a post on his blog
•    Bryan reads the post on Anthony’s blog and want to have a say about it
•    Bryan then decides to post his comment on his own blog
•    Anthony’s blog will receive the trackback sent by Bryan’s blog and shows it as a reply comment to the first post where the said comment links to Bryan’s post.

This process allows an access of Anthony and Bryan’s readers to the conversation. Anthony and his readers can only see a teaser of what Bryan has written and to be able to read the rest, they must use the link given. This encourages them to click on Bryan’s blog. There is one loophole to the issue of legitimacy in this process and that is there’s no actual verification mechanism on incoming trackbacks to ensure that they are not faked.

Pingbacks are also another type of linkbacks, which were created as a response to and a means to solve issues that were discovered when using backtracks. Blog pingbacks automatically notify a blog when other websites link to it. Pingbacks don’t require user intervention to work as they are detectable to the linking author. Let’s take Anthony and Bryan’s blogs as example scenario on pingbacks:

•    Anthony writes a post on his blog.
•    Bryan reads the same post and comments on his blog, linking it to Anthony’s post.
•    Anthony’s blog receives the pingback that will automatically link to Bryan’s post to confirm the pingback which then creates another link for Bryan.

In order for it to work properly, users must allow pingback in their blogs. Users or bloggers usually set up the “Do Follow” to facilitate the activation of trackbacks and pingbacks.

So how do you configure WordPress to make it perform automatic pinging? WordPress is equipped with a built-in property that permits the webmaster to make automatic RSS and blog directories ping every time a post is made. It is quite easy to set up this feature:
•    First,  log on to the Admin panel of your WordPress;
•    Click on Settings when you find it as you scroll down; then go to Writing;
•    Finally, scroll down to the end of the page and ensure that the update service bos has your pinging service website.

And this is how you can activate WordPress URL pinging:

•    Log on to the Admin Panel of your WordPress;
•    Click on Settings when you find it as you scroll down; then go to Discussion;
•    Under the first section Default Settings, make sure that the first item “attempt to notify weblogs linked to/from this article” is checked. This will slow down postings.

Each time you update or edit your blog post, WordPress pings by default; so if you want to prevent ping frenzy or avoid getting banned for pig spamming, install a plug-in; then it will only ping when a new post is added.

Pingbacks and tacktracks are great ways to build links and enhance traffic to your blog. Moreover, it helps you to establish relationships among other bloggers with effective communication.

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