As I’ve said in previous posts, update services or “pinging” services are an important features of all blogs and you should take advantage of as many of them as you can find (ReadyMadeWeb’s list contains just over 240 update services). Yet, if you find yourself frequently editing published posts, you may be harming your blogs digital reputation.
Updates and corrections, so long as they’re properly noted, are very good things—as the adage goes “To Err Is Human, To Correct Divine.” However, WordPress sends a new ping to all of the update services contained in in the Writing sub-menu of the Setting tab every time you post a correction. Those update services may interpret this repeated submission of the same post as spamming and permanently ban your site.
You can avoid this by using a plugins like MaxBlogPress Ping Optimizer. This plugin replaces the built-in Update Services function in WordPress with its own version that gives you greater control and reduces your chances of being branded a spammer.
The plugin is very easy to install, works with all versions of WordPress above 2.0, and couldn’t be simpler to use. Here’s a screen shot of the setting page:
So, that’s it! It’s a pretty straight-forward install and setup. If you’re still not convinced this plugin is worth the effort, read the write-up over at MaxBlogPress, they believe pretty fervently that the default settings in WordPress will get you banned from many update services and put you at a real disadvantage.
Cord is the director of new media at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He has been a web developer for over a decade, working with non-profits to rein in their web development costs and grow their online audiences through simple best practices.
