Does anyone understand trackbacks?

Trackbacks are a great way of sending a ‘ping’ back to another blog saying that you are talking about them.

When you write about another post, you usually put a link to the blog so that your readers can go and see what you are talking about. But, there is no easy mechanism for the blog you linked to to know that you wrote about them using just URLs.

Trackbacks were devised so that you can notify the other blog. When you read the other blog, at the end of the post you want to link to, there is usually a special trackback link. Copy that link and put it in the appropriate trackback field on your post. Then, when your post goes live, the other blog will have a link to your post.

That way, there is a two-way conversation. You send your readers to the other blog, and the other blog has a way of letting their readers know that there is another relevant post elsewhere.

It’s really great. Use them often. I find it actually a matter of good citizenship and also a good service to the readers at yours and other sites.

Wikipedia, of course, has a definition. And if that is not clear, hear it from Six Apart for a more technical explanation – here.