Real-Time Bidding

Feature Snapshot

Summary:
Real‑Time Bidding (RTB) is a dynamic process that allows lead sources to “ping” a LeadConduit flow in real time. With RTB, a source can check the current bid price, available volume cap status, and whether a lead meets acceptance criteria before submitting full lead details.

Key Benefits:

• Immediate pricing transparency – know the bid price instantly
• Dynamic volume control – evaluate if volume caps are reached
• Cost efficiency – pre‑qualify leads to avoid processing unwanted submissions
• Real‑time decision making – adjust to changing campaign conditions instantly

Typical Use Cases:

• Pre‑qualification of a lead before submission
• Dynamic bidding and pricing across multiple vendors
• Integrating quality checks (acceptance criteria, volume caps, pricing rules) in real time
• Competitive bidding scenarios in high‑traffic flows

How the Real‑Time Bidding works?

RTB works when a source sends a special “ping” request that mirrors a standard lead submission but uses a modified URL (with /ping instead of /submit). Upon receiving this lightweight request—with the complete set of lead fields—the LeadConduit flow evaluates the lead against its acceptance criteria, volume caps, and pricing rules. Based on this logic, the system returns an immediate JSON response indicating success (including a bid price) or failure (with a reason such as “Cap reached” or criteria mismatch). Because these ping requests do not create full lead events, they offer a cost‑effective way to verify whether the lead qualifies for further processing.

Step‑by‑Step Instructions

1. Open your LeadConduit flow in the editor and navigate to the Sources step.
2. Enable Real‑Time Bidding by clicking the Auction Gavel icon and toggling the RTB option “on.”
3. In your Source submission documentation, modify the endpoint URL by replacing /submit with /ping.
4. Ensure your source sends the complete lead data (e.g., name, email, phone, address, and any custom fields) in the ping request (GET, Form POST, JSON POST, or XML POST).
5. Submit a ping request for a test lead.
6. Review the returned JSON response, which will be similar to one of the following:
   • Success example:

     {
       "outcome": "success",
       "price": 2
     }
     

   • Failure example:

     {
       "outcome": "failure",
       "reason": "Cap reached",
       "price": 0
     }
     

Expected Result:
The system will immediately return a response indicating whether the lead meets the acceptance and pricing criteria (with an applicable bid price) or if it is rejected due to factors such as volume cap limits or mismatched acceptance criteria.

Validation & Monitoring (optional)

• Test the Setup:

  • Submit test ping requests with differing lead data to verify that a proper JSON response is returned (success with bid price or failure with a clear reason).
  • Confirm that ping responses remain independent from full lead events.

• Where to Monitor?:

  • Review the RTB metrics in your LeadConduit dashboard and check the dedicated “ping” reports in your Submission Docs for real‑time evaluation data.
  • Monitor logs and system reports to verify that ping results match the current flow configurations for pricing, acceptance criteria, and volume caps.

Best Practices

• Always include the full set of lead data with your ping request so that all acceptance, cap, and pricing rules are correctly evaluated.
• Enable RTB only if you have a qualifying pricing arrangement and regularly update your flow’s acceptance criteria, volume caps, and pricing rules to reflect current campaign priorities.
• Test frequently using both GET and POST methods to ensure the ping request endpoint is working as intended.
• Use RTB as a first‑line quality control measure to filter out leads that would otherwise consume processing resources without meeting your desired criteria.
• Communicate RTB usage details to lead sources so that they understand the significance of each outcome (“success”, “failure”, or “error”) in the ping response.

Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a RTB “ping” request?

It is a lightweight API call sent by a lead source to evaluate the current bid price, volume cap status, and acceptance criteria without fully submitting a lead.

How does RTB differ from a full lead submission?

A ping request only returns real‑time pricing and cap status without creating a full lead event, thereby saving processing costs and time.

Can I use RTB to check dynamic pricing conditions?

Yes, RTB leverages rule‑based pricing which can adjust the bid price based on the lead’s attributes and current flow conditions.

What happens if the ping request returns “failure”?

A failure indicates that the lead does not meet one or more criteria (e.g., volume cap exceeded or required fields missing), so the full lead submission should not proceed.

Do RTB ping requests count as lead events in reporting?

No, ping requests are not stored as full lead events; they are used solely for real‑time decision making.

Glossary