Trackbacks are helpful for three primary reasons: Reason #1: It tells the author of the original article that you’re continuing or expanding the discussion on your blog. Reason #2: When you Trackback, a link to YOUR blog appears on the

1. It tells the author of the original article that you’re continuing or expanding the discussion on your blog.

2. When you Trackback, a link to YOUR blog appears on the other person’s blog, if they accept your Trackback. Not only are you sending traffic to the original author, they’re sending traffic back to you! (Notice how many people Trackback to Seth Godin’s blog? One reason people do it is for the traffic.)

3. You make friends. I’ve found that to be a successful blogger, you must become friends with other successful bloggers. One way to quickly “make friends” is to send Trackbacks.

P.S. When somebody sends a Trackback to my blog, I see it in my user interface. I can accept the Trackback if it’s a legitimate post. I can reject the Trackback if it’s a spam post.

Many times, automated robots will simply rip-off your article, post it on their own blog, and then send a Trackback. If you get those, just reject ‘em.

Drew