What is a WordPress Pingback?

Updated June 1, 2022

WordPress Pingbacks, Notifications & Other Stuff

If you’re blogging regularly with WordPress, you’ve probably seen a pingback. In this post I’ll explain what it is, explore any White Hat SEO (search engine optimization) implications, and strategies to manage them.

A WordPress pingback is a type of comment. It’s created when a link is made from another blog post or web page to your article. This ping can be on your own website/blog (called a self ping). Basically it’s a notification that a link has been made. The WordPress pingback to pay particular attention to is one where another domain has linked to you.

Any SEO Implications?

A self ping (a WordPress pingback from within your website) isn’t an SEO tactic. However, strategically interlinking of your website content is a good thing. You’re telling search engine crawlers how information in your site is relevant and related to each other. Ideally your blog posts are supporting web pages (typically more static).

Let’s use an example. Imagine a florist shop’s website. On their main navigation bar, they have these choices:

• Floral Arrangements
• Holiday Occasions
• About Us
• Our Locations
• Blog

In the blog, there’s a post about Valentine’s Day roses, keeping them fresher longer. In the post there ideally should be a link to a Dozen Red Roses web page under “Floral Arrangements” as well as a link to a Valentine’s Day page under “Holiday Occasions.” See how the blog post is supporting the main website’s content?

Now let’s close the loop about pingbacks. The self ping is just a notification of internal linking (not a measurement of SEO). A WordPress pingback from another domain/website again is just a notification. That link could be a follow or no-follow link. It’s the link attribution that carries the SEO implication.

Managing Pings

There is one way to avoid a WordPress self ping. Rather than including the full url with “http” and domain root, you can shorten it. Instead of a full-length link like “https://online-sales-marketing.com/services/seo/seowhite-hat-seo” you can truncate it to “/services/seo/seowhite-hat-seo.”

What’s been your experience with a WordPress pingback?

How can we help?

Too many pings and not enough conversions on your website? Need help managing your WordPress installation?

We are the spectrum group online, and we offer strategic and tactical consulting so you can monetize your online presence. Call us for a complimentary 30-minute consultation to discuss your website’s user experience and translate that into sales.