Pingbacks and trackbacks for WordPress are simply a way to let the original blog know that you have posted a link to their article and commented about it on your own site. In most cases, pingbacks and trackbacks are simply used by spam artists to gather links to their own site to value their sites higher than the site should be. In a few cases, WordPress pingbacks and trackbacks are used to properly to bring a conversation between 2 blogs together in unison. In my opinion, it is better to do pingbacks and trackbacks the old fashioned way rather than to open the door to spammers. For SEO purposes, it would end up being more damaging than helpful. Please post your comments or thoughts regarding pingbacks and trackbacks.