The following outline will help you test all of your inbound leads to make sure everything is set up properly. Using PingPost with mode=full needs an API key for use, and is highly encouraged for security purposes.
Step 1
Provide your vendor/developer with everything they need to post leads into your system.
pingPostLead API specifications
Source (SRC) value
Vendor API key
Step 2
In your posting specs, there is a field/value that can be included when you send the lead called “Test_Lead=1”
Your vendor will need to confirm that the value they are sending is "1" for the field "Test_Lead."
WHY: If you include this field with the submission, your system will process the lead and perform the standard validation and requirement checks, return back the XML response, but does not insert the lead into your Leads table. This allows you to test posts without filling up your Leads page and reports with fake data. Before going live, make sure Test_Lead=1 is no longer being sent with the lead so your real leads will show up on your Leads page.
Step 3
Add a Test Buyer - Create a new buyer dedicated solely for the test leads from the vendor.
Create the Test Buyer Filter Set - Create a filter set for that buyer and configure the test filter to ONLY accept:
Zip=99999
MAKE SURE YOUR VENDOR IS ALSO USING THE ZIP ABOVE IN THEIR TEST LEADS
WHY: When using the Test_Lead=1 parameter mentioned above, even though the lead is not submitted and stored into the system, the Lead Filter Sets for all your buyers are still being checked to consider whether the response should be Matched, or Unmatched. Any vendors who are testing to submit the test with Zip=99999 in order to force a match. The idea is that a real lead would never have this information, so no real-time leads would ever be eligible to match to this test Filter Set.
By default, API Key permissions are restricted to US and Canada but you can edit those restrictions in Settings>API Keys.
REMEMBER: A successful integration with your vendor depends on attention to detail and persistent communication with your vendor to set up and test the integration. When testing is successfully completed, remember to have the vendor remove the “Test_Lead=1” to enable the integration to handle live leads.
IMPORTANT! When creating test leads, please follow these tips to avoid possible screw ups along the way! Set the funds for the test buyer as low; just because it has "test" in the name does not mean the system reads it as a test. Set a daily lead limit for the test buyer to lessen the chance of it buying actual leads. REMEMBER TO SHUT YOUR TEST BUYER OFF AFTER THE TEST IS COMPLETE!
If you have any additional questions about testing, please open a support ticket, and we would be happy to respond as soon as we can.
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