Wordpress SEO question
 

Suppose you have a blog, and somebody posts about a post of yours. You get a trackback.

If you approve the comment, it will show in your comments with a link to the person that wrote about your post.

Now strictly from a seo perspective, would it be better for you to NOT approve it ? Since google discounts recip links bla bla.

Google does not discount reciprocal linking. You just do not want to utilize only that form of linking.

I would suggest using some of both. A relevant, solid link that is recip will outweigh a non-reciprocal of equal value without relevance. They are especially valueble from a historically "authoritive" site of relevant niche or theme.

Almost all "commonly known" things about SEO are incorrect, or maybe better put, are conditional on certain factors. Nothing is really cast in stone except the fact that the big picture is the most important.

Most links from comments have a nofollow tag anyway so they don't normally count.

nofollow ci

Trackbacks are the ultimate recip. Do not hesitate to accept it and don't blow it by using the nofollow tag. Anyone that suggests doing that is not paying attention.

Why you say ? They're computer generated snippets out of already published content. I imagine they should look pretty bad to a search engine.

I agree with you, most of the worst splogs and spammy crap out there is using rss and trackback spam.... google should discount that kind of stuff to zero imo

I think this is good!

Okay, maybe in my haste I was thinking that common sense would take over.

If it is just a spam comment then don't bother. If it is a real comment accept it.

Well, it's a trackback, you know how those are, a snippet from the other person's post surrounding where he links to you.

I know what a trackback is, and have frequently attempted to promote the idea of using them.

When I used to blog on a regular basis I formed a small network of bloggers and we all did weekly trackbacks to each other.

Worked quite well. I stand by my contention that trackbacks are the ultimate recip and I will take a trackback over a link trade any day.

Do you measure this in general, or in particular, for traffic ? or Pr ? Or rankings in something speciffic, google, or hahahahahahahahahaha, or something else ?

You can't say hahahahahahahahahaha ?!

Lmao ok. Apparently you can't.

PR and rankings.

Aite, trackback above link trade. But what about one way link ?

yes, I will take the trackback. Who would not want a relevant, one way incoming link?

Do unto others, and they will do unto you. Its a form of link trade without ever talking to the person ( one way ) . They will in turn do it for you.

I don't think we understand each other.

A has a wordpress blog, which contains post P.
B also has a wordpress blog, which, in post Q, makes a reference, by url, to post P.

By the nature of the wordpress software, A is sent a trackback, which appears for approval in his comment tab.

A already has a relevant, one way incoming link.

Now, on SEO considerations alone would A be better of by allowing the comment, and consequently linking back to B's post, thus accomplishing a reciprocal linking, or disallowing the comment, and keeping the link one way.

1. Do they have nofollow? if so, no need to accept as no value.

2. Nofollow deactivated, and coming from a relevant site, there is value to be gained by accepting it.

3. If relevant comment, coming from non-relevant site, deny.

I do not approve them. I figure, I am still getting the incoming link. Better to have more in and less out. Usually they are spammers anyway. If it is from a legit blog that I know of, within the same genre I will approve it.

I turn commenting completely off on most of my blogs.

if you use wordpress, just activate akismet in the plugins (it's in there by default)... works surprisingly good against spam comments.

for a SEO purpose, they are worthless

Such controversy:)

I would listen to Baddog on this.

track backs seem to work for me, but I just weigh the value of the incomming also. They got better PR than you? Accept it, they don't then see how spammy it is cuz at the end of the day it is a track back which IMHO works to a degree for SEO.

However I also value the possible incomming from the back link.

Try both... document the differences and then post them here or write a book on WP SEO.