Strange Comment

  • Sharen McArthur

    (@sharenmcarthurgmailcom)


    5 years, 6 months ago

    I just added WordPress comment boxes recently. I use Jetpack along with the comments.

    I fixed a Google Search Console tag error for a post and then received a “comment” about this error in my comments on my admin dashboard.

    This is the “comment” I got:

    Erasing the Stigma of Mental Illness – storiesfromacottage
storiesfromacottage.com/erasing-the-stigma-of-men…
198.143.60.41	
[…] delivering positive energy to other people […]

Approve | Reply | Quick Edit | Edit | History | Spam | Trash
2019/08/21 at 11:38 am

    After I removed the “hope” tag that Google Search Console said had a soft 404 error in the post, “Erasing the Stigma of Mental Illness, I decided to edit that post, adding a related post from my posts using Yoast SEO’s Internal Linking tool. This related post is titled, “delivering positive energy to other people,” as shown above. Then the comment showed up.

    Why is this added related post, “delivering energy to other people,” listed as a comment? I find this to be unusual. Since when is a fix in Google Search Console a comment on a post?

    And am I supposed to approve or trash this comment? Or do one of the other choices?

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
  • Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    It’s due to a “pingback” post. When working correctly, pingbacks are added to comments when someone else adds a link to your post in their post. It’s a way blogging platforms can mutually support each other to legitimately build page rank. It’s an automated version of “link trading” people once did in the early Internet years.

    Sadly, pingbacks are also a way to propagate spam. The verification system is easily spoofed. If you want, you could check the backlink from in incognito window, or better yet a virtual machine or isolated user account for safety’s sake. If the link goes to someone’s real blog that really links to your post, you can approve the comment if you want. If anything smells funny about the backlink, either delete or mark the comment as spam, depending on how bad it smells ??

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
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