Using Gravatar to build traffic

Posted on February 27, 2018 by peNdantry

Gravatar logoThis short wibblette is intended for newcomers to WordPress; my aim is to show you how to set up Gravatar to help you build traffic to your site.

First of all: what is ‘Gravatar’?

A Gravatar image

This is what my Gravatar looks like

An ‘avatar’ is an image that represents you online — a little picture that appears next to your name when you interact with websites.

A ‘Gravatar’ is a Globally Recognized Avatar. You upload it and create your profile just once, and then when you participate in any Gravatar-enabled site, your Gravatar image will automatically follow you there. Gravatar is a free service which is automatically included in every WordPress.com account.

Why should I care?

When you visit a site and ‘like’ an article, or leave a comment, your Gravatar remains behind on the page. Other visitors can click on it to find out about you… and, if you’ve set Gravatar up correctly, they can visit your site from your Gravatar page.

If you haven’t set it up, they can’t get to your site from Gravatar.

So how do I set it up?

It’s really easy.

  • First, go ‘like’ a page somewhere — this one here is really handy ;) — which will plonk your Gravatar down.
  • Then, click on your Gravatar: this will take you to your Gravatar page. You may need to sign in… if you’re already logged in to WordPress you just hit the ‘Approve’ button. (Don’t worry about doing this: Gravatar is part of WordPress.)

    Gravatar interface picture showing where to click

    Easy as 1, 2, 3

  1. Then, you click on ‘My Profile’ at the top,
  2. then ‘Websites’ on the right,
  3. then ‘Add WordPress.com Site’ on the left. This will present you with a list of all your WordPress sites, so you just click the box next to the one(s) you want to include on your Gravatar and press the ‘Add Checked’ button.

That’s all there is to it!

Go click on your Gravatar again, and you’ll see that your Gravatar page now includes a ‘Websites’ section with a handy link to your own site that visitors will see from here on. You can also use Gravatar to link to your accounts on other social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and so on.

If you’ve found this information useful, I’d appreciate it if you could spread the word by creating a link to this article — or even a reblog, if you’re feeling especially generous!

Special thanks to Everyday Life, Meditations in Motion and Adventures in Punk who gave me the inspiration for this post, and valuable feedback on it before it was released into the wild!

About peNdantry

Phlyarologist (part-time) and pendant. Campaigner for action against anthropogenic global warming (AGW) and injustice in all its forms. Humanist, atheist, notoftenpist. Wannabe poet, writer and astronaut.
This entry was posted in Communication, Computers and Internet, Education, Strategy, Tech tips and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

167 Responses to Using Gravatar to build traffic

  1. Justme! says:
    February 27, 2018 at 13:17

    Thanks to you I know what a Gravatar! Thank you for being awesome!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  2. mistermuse says:
    February 27, 2018 at 13:49

    I clicked “Like” on this page but it didn’t “plonk your Gravatar down” — at least, not that I could see. Or maybe I’m just too computer illiterate to do even an “easy” setup (what’s “easy” for others on the computer is seldom easy for me). But thanks anyway.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • pendantry says:
      February 27, 2018 at 14:03

      Don’t know what might have gone wrong, there — thank you for trying to ‘like’ the page — maybe plonk a like down somewhere else and then follow my instructions?

      I’d be interested in hearing how you get on, as the purpose of this post was to try to help ‘computer illiterates’! Maybe your experience can help me to adjust my advice to help others better.

      [edit 27Feb2018 Hmm… I see your Gravatar ‘liking’ this page — and your Gravatar is already set up correctly to allow others to visit your website from it, so it looks like all is good.]

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • mistermuse says:
        February 27, 2018 at 21:49

        Thank you. Although Gravatar is set up to allow others to visit my website from it, the reverse doesn’t seem to be true. When a reader posts a Like on my site and I click his/her Like, I see no way to visit their site unless that reader’s own link appears. If it doesn’t, Gravatar is of no help (maybe I just don’t know how to use it). Fortunately, in such cases, I can usually (but not always) find the reader’s site through Google, though it takes more time.
        Thanks for YOUR time in trying to help, but I’m pretty much a hopeless case when it comes to understanding these things. Let’s call it a day so you can spend more time helping others who are more computer literate.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply
        • floatinggold says:
          February 27, 2018 at 21:55

          I just checked your Gravatar, and like mine, yours is set up to show the website. That, I believe is the whole point of this article. Mine has been set up a couple of months ago. I get disappointed when I see a collage of Gravatars on someone else’s blog and I want to check their blogs and I can’t, because they don’t have their websites linked. It’s a major bummer.

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
        • pendantry says:
          February 27, 2018 at 21:58

          I don’t mind spending the time.

          I think that the problem you’re describing (“I see no way to visit their site unless that reader’s own link appears“) is due to the the visitor to your site not having configured Gravatar in the way I describe above.

          I see this as one of those situations where we have a one-way system, but those responsible for putting up the roadsigns haven’t quite done their jobs correctly, leaving some folks travelling the wrong way…

          This is exactly the problem that I was hoping to help address with this post.

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply
  3. M A R I A says:
    February 27, 2018 at 14:35

    Thank you for your help!
    Maria xx

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  4. floatinggold says:
    February 27, 2018 at 21:56

    Good article. I don’t think Gravatar increases my traffic, but it definitely stopped me a few times from accessing other people’s sites.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    • pendantry says:
      February 27, 2018 at 22:05

      If Gravatar is set up in the way I describe, then those clicking on your Gravatar will be able to access your site. Granted, the hits may be minimal, but the way I look at it, it all adds up: and the other plus side is that you have a visitor arriving at your site who hasn’t been frustrated by trying — and failing — to reach it :)

      [edit 27Feb2018 I neglected to address your other point: “… but it definitely stopped me a few times from accessing other people’s sites“: this is out of our control, and depends upon the owner of the Gravatar in question having correctly set it up at their end.]

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply
  5. Kerri Elizabeth says:
    February 28, 2018 at 01:53

    Going now to see what I have going..Thank you

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  6. willedare says:
    February 28, 2018 at 03:59

    I think I just added my blog address and web site address and Facebook address and Linked in address to my Gravatar profile as you recommended… THANK YOU, peNdantry, for this useful tutorial!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

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  9. Justme! says:
    February 28, 2018 at 23:39

    Reblogged this on Everyday Life and commented:
    Hey Darlings!

    My friend Pendantry made this amazing post the other day about using Gravatar to build traffic. We all want to build traffic, so what are you waiting for, check it out!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  10. Pingback: Gravatar – Everyday Life

  11. revruss1220 says:
    March 1, 2018 at 01:00

    Awesome! Thanks for that tip.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  12. revruss1220 says:
    March 1, 2018 at 14:51

    Reblogged this on Russellings of the Spirit and commented:
    Good advice for all bloggers found here…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  14. Paul Handover says:
    March 1, 2018 at 23:41

    I’m sure I have asked you before but on the back of your very instructive post are you able to tell if my own gravatar has been set up properly?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  15. Anita Bowden says:
    March 2, 2018 at 15:47

    Thanks for this info! Very helpful!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  16. bernard25 says:
    March 4, 2018 at 19:52

    Thanks to you I know what a Gravatar MERCI L AMI

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. poeticallyyours360 says:
    March 4, 2018 at 21:13

    thank you for sharing this great info…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  18. ang4him says:
    March 4, 2018 at 22:34

    Thank you for reaching out to me about this. You are awesome!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  19. Eric Alagan says:
    March 4, 2018 at 23:09

    Hello Colin,
    Thanks to your clear instructions, I added my websites to my avatar.
    I recall having set-up this feature but for reasons unknown, the websites section had disappeared. But no worries, I’m back on again, thanks to you.
    Cheers,
    Eric

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  20. Lace n Plaid says:
    March 6, 2018 at 13:54

    Thank you so much for reaching out to us about our Gravatar issue. That’s so thoughtful and kind of you. We’ll fix it using your instruction. Have a wonderful day!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

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  22. calmkate says:
    March 6, 2018 at 20:41

    thanks for the tip and your easy steps to link mine, appreciate that!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  23. turning20web says:
    March 7, 2018 at 12:13

    Thank you..!!
    Please do check out the gravatar of my blog and let me know is it working.
    Thanks once again..
    Sending positive vibes 💫

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  24. Chomeuse with a Chou says:
    March 7, 2018 at 14:01

    Thank you for your kind message earlier today (or late yesterday). I’m still not quite sure how a gravatar will help me (I do not have a big following and do not feel that my unsophisticated computer skills will ever tempt many people to visit), but, since you took the trouble to offer me advice, I have gratefully accepted it (or at least attempted to). I had never even heard of a gravatar before :) I am very glad that wordpress is full of so many helpful and friendly people :)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • pendantry says:
      March 7, 2018 at 14:05

      I can confirm that your Gravatar now links to your website. Well done! I can’t promise you that it will mean a surge in your visitors, but it does mean that anyone who wants to visit your site can now do so more easily.

      There is a great crowd here! I’ve found everyone I’ve met here to be very helpful and considerate :)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Chomeuse with a Chou says:
        March 7, 2018 at 14:09

        You are very kind! Both in technology help and in assuming that people would want to visit me in the first place ;) I am not expecting fame and glory any time soon! I’m not sure how it would be feasible but please let me know if I can ever return the favour in any way :)

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply
  25. Chomeuse with a Chou says:
    March 7, 2018 at 14:04

    I am so computer illiterate that my first attempt to comment has just failed… thank you very much for the message you sent earlier. It was very kind of you to point out my lack of gravatar and, whether it will help me or not (I don’t hold out very much hope) I have accepted the gesture gratefully and have attempted to correct the issue. I had never heard of a gravatar before and am still unclear about it, even after reading your helpful post. So many thanks indeed for being so supportive :)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. Pingback: Using Gravatar to build traffic – VAK

  27. rhc55 says:
    March 7, 2018 at 14:55

    Many thanks for your help, though I don’t know how you found me. I confess I don’t understand what I’ve done or why, but I followed your instructions and something seemed to happen… I am also the mother of your last person to comment, so it clearly runs in the family. Very kind of you to take th etime to help others.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  28. Chomeuse with a Chou says:
    March 7, 2018 at 18:52

    Reblogged this on Chomeuse with a Chou and commented:
    Earlier today a very kind soul, Pedantry (whom I had not met before), advised me that my gravatar had not been set up properly, and that this would prevent potential new friends from accessing my site if, say, they happened upon a comment of mine on another page and felt like paying me a visit. Pedantry has generously written a post explaining how to correct this oversight, which I am reblogging here in the hope of spreading the word.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  29. sircharlesthepoet says:
    March 7, 2018 at 22:20

    Wow, thank you so much for this article! I never knew what in the world this Gravatar stuff was. Now I know what it is and I’ve set it up. Thank you so much!!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  30. sircharlesthepoet says:
    March 7, 2018 at 22:22

    Reblogged this on Poetry by Charles Joseph and commented:
    Must read! (especially if you’re new to WordPress)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  31. BibliomaniacEzza says:
    March 10, 2018 at 12:51

    Reblogged this on bibliomaniac-ezza.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

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  34. Paul Handover says:
    March 10, 2018 at 20:39

    Got it!! Well done! Will await your feedback that it has been set up correctly?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  36. alessandria today says:
    March 11, 2018 at 11:23

    Grazie del suggerimento…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  37. chocobosage says:
    March 11, 2018 at 18:04

    Nice! Cheers for that :)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  38. maybeimout says:
    March 11, 2018 at 21:38

    Thanks! Didn’t know these information :)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  39. savvystreaks says:
    March 12, 2018 at 04:31

    Useful information. i need to set up my Gravatar and this will definitely be of help.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  40. Bliss Winters says:
    March 12, 2018 at 21:41

    Yay! I think I’ve done it.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  41. charack says:
    March 13, 2018 at 17:36

    I tried to add an image as my gravatar, but it didn’t seem to work, so how do I click on my gravatar if there’s really not one? (See, I TOLD you I was a ditz regarding all this stuff!) I should hire a teenage kid to help me! 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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  43. theceaselessreaderwrites says:
    March 13, 2018 at 21:06

    What an awesome, helpful post. Per your request, I reblogged it. Thank you!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  44. Karen says:
    March 14, 2018 at 16:16

    Reblogged this on Blue Sky Days 365 and commented:
    Excellent advice from pedantry on how to link your blog to your gravatar

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  45. Dr Bob Rich says:
    March 15, 2018 at 01:28

    Thanks, Colin. I followed your instructions — to find I’ve done all that already! The privileges of old age…
    :)
    Bob

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  46. Andrew Green says:
    March 15, 2018 at 06:55

    Thanks for this I’ll get on to it.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  47. Leo Lozada says:
    March 18, 2018 at 10:53

    Hi! Thanks for emailing me about how gravatar works. I originally thought gravatar was just there to keep some photos. Obviously, I thought wrong. Again, thanks for the help! :)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  48. Leo Lozada says:
    March 19, 2018 at 22:34

    Reblogged this on velleochor and commented:
    I originally though Gravatar was just there to keep some photos. But boy was I wrong! In this post, the author will teach you how to use Gravatar to build traffic in your blog/site! It helped me, I hope it will help you too!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  49. Jerry Peri says:
    March 20, 2018 at 13:54

    Nice helpful post, especially to beginners, thanks for sharing!

    Like

    Reply
  52. MissteriosoDas says:
    March 22, 2018 at 14:36

    Thank you so much for this blog. I wasn’t aware of this. :)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  53. kuukua Asante says:
    March 22, 2018 at 17:18

    Thanks for the feedback!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  55. debibradford says:
    April 8, 2018 at 18:39

    Thank you for reaching out to me about this. How you even found me I have no clue – I’m small potatoes in the blogosphere. I’m so small and illiterate at this stuff (but I’m trying!) that I don’t even know how to “Like” this page. I am now “following you” but don’t think that’s what you mean. Once I figure it out I’ll go through the process and see what I can do! Thank you again so much. And yes…you are awesome!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  56. incompanyofa says:
    May 2, 2018 at 13:21

    Thank you so much for highlighting to me what a Gravatar is and why I should be using it. I’m sincerely grateful to you ☺. It always warms my heart when someone does something nice for no reason. Thank you for defrosting me today! 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  57. Plantsandbeyond says:
    May 2, 2018 at 16:26

    Oh my, after a whole year, finally a wonderful tip. I am so very happy with your suggestion! Please keep the tips coming. You made my day

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  58. Thought for change says:
    May 5, 2018 at 18:16

    Reblogged this on The Rendezvous Club and commented:
    How to link your Gravatar with your Site.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  59. The Homestead On The Plains says:
    May 6, 2018 at 14:59

    Thank you for being absolutely fabulous and sharing this information. You are amazing for doing this.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  60. noisyconfusionoflife says:
    May 10, 2018 at 14:28

    Thank you for sharing this (and for letting me know that my Gravatar wasn´t linked to my blog).
    It´s a really useful something new learnt and I´ll be sure to send others your way too!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  61. evana says:
    May 16, 2018 at 07:59

    Thanks, this was actually very helpful. I had no idea people couldn’t find my WP site from my gravatar. Thanks again.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  62. umbrios27 says:
    May 18, 2018 at 18:12

    Reblogged this on umbrios27 and commented:
    Uma dica muito boa, em inglês:

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  63. Michelle LG says:
    May 20, 2018 at 12:51

    Thank you for your comment on my blog about my gravatar not linking. Hopefully I have followed your useful post and fixed it now – I just need to work on my menus now! Thanks, once again.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  64. CHRISTY ISTRATE says:
    May 22, 2018 at 17:15

    I really appreciate you reaching out to me! I think I got this set up correctly! Fingers crossed… ;)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  65. Mr. Mel says:
    May 31, 2018 at 04:20

    Reblogged this on Life, more than existence! and commented:
    This was something I was not aware of needing to be done. Now I have linked my site to my Gravatar. This was helpful to me hope it may be of help to you.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  66. inaloveworld says:
    June 2, 2018 at 21:53

    Reblogged this on In a Love World and commented:
    Following this article, I have linked my site to my Gravatar for I did not know about that. I hope it may be of help to you, too.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  67. inaloveworld says:
    June 2, 2018 at 22:01

    Reblogged this here
    https://inaloveworld.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/using-gravatar-to-build-traffic/
    and commented:
    “Following this article, I have linked my site to my Gravatar for I did not know about that. I hope it may be of help to you, too.”
    Thank you for sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  68. LesChef says:
    June 4, 2018 at 04:16

    Reblogged this on Sappho-Licious and commented:
    Thank you so much “pendantry, Wibble”!
    I had no idea about the Gravatar!
    😀😎

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  69. Success Inspirers' World says:
    June 5, 2018 at 22:34

    Reblogged this on Success Inspirers' World and commented:
    Very useful post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  71. nonalcoholicstudent says:
    June 10, 2018 at 09:59

    Hi I just found a feedback thing you left me (I’ve been awak for about a month so I’m not entirely sure what this is) but you sent me to this post so thank you! :)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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  73. crushedcaramel says:
    July 16, 2018 at 22:02

    Thank you – so so helpful! I had been wondering about that…and there you are explaining it all – wonderful!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  74. PlantsandBeyond says:
    July 17, 2018 at 00:40

    You helped me with this perfectly. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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  76. bentrein says:
    April 1, 2020 at 07:31

    Very useful. It should work now…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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  79. tianiangelahibbert says:
    April 23, 2020 at 01:05

    Wow, I had no idea about this! Thank you so much for the super informative post!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  80. Pingback: Using Gravatar to build traffic – The Pioneer

  81. Chris Peterson says:
    November 28, 2020 at 02:28

    Pretty cool stuff. Thanks for the tips. I finally have a Gravatar….

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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