Guide · Updated 16 October 2026
What is a ping tree?
Short answer
A ping tree is an ordered list of buyers. Each lead is offered to the first buyer. If that buyer declines, is full, or the lead does not match their rules, it drops to the next buyer, and so on until one accepts or the list ends. It is also called a cascade or a waterfall.
How a ping tree works
- A lead arrives from a form, a link or an API call.
- Your rules check it. Duplicates, fake details and blocked sources are rejected before any buyer sees them.
- The lead is offered to the first buyer in the tree.
- If that buyer declines, is over their cap, or the lead fails their acceptance rules, it is offered to the next buyer.
- When a buyer accepts, the lead is delivered and the sale is recorded, including what the publisher is owed.
- If nobody accepts, the lead is marked unsold. In pingtype unsold leads are kept so you can offer them again later.
What decides the order of buyers
Most teams order buyers by price, priority, weight and availability. The best-paying buyer usually goes first, so every lead has its best chance to earn the most. Buyers behind them catch the leads the first buyer passes on.
There are two common strategies. A waterfall tries buyers in a fixed order. A weighted tree splits leads between buyers by percentage, which is useful when you want to share volume. pingtype supports both.
Ping tree vs ping/post
The two terms are often mixed up. A ping tree is sequential: one buyer at a time, in your order. Ping/post is parallel: a small, non-identifying part of the lead (the ping) goes to several buyers at once, they bid, and the full lead (the post) goes only to the winner.
| Ping tree | Ping/post | |
|---|---|---|
| Buyers are asked | One after another | All at once |
| Who decides the winner | Your order and rules | The highest bid, often weighted by buyer quality |
| Best when | You have set prices per buyer | Lead value varies and you want buyers to price each lead |
Many platforms, including pingtype, let you use both: a cascade for steady buyers and ping/post bidding where buyers price each lead.
Mistakes that cost money
- Ordering by price only. A buyer who pays the most but returns many leads can earn you less than a lower-paying buyer who keeps them.
- No caps. One good day can flood a single buyer while the rest get nothing.
- No fallback. Decide what happens when every buyer declines, or good leads are lost.
- Not testing. Run a new rule in watch-only mode first, so you see what it would reject before it affects revenue.
- Ignoring returns. If you pay publishers before a sale is confirmed, returned leads become your loss.
Build a ping tree in pingtype
- Add your buyers and set up delivery for each one on a single screen, with a test lead before you go live.
- Create a cascade and put the buyers in order, or switch to weighted to split by percentage.
- Set caps so no buyer takes more than agreed, and acceptance rules for each buyer.
- Choose what happens at the end of the cascade, and keep unsold leads to offer again.
- Send traffic and watch each lead move through the tree in the reports.
No developer is needed. You set everything up on screens, and the API is there if you want to connect your own systems later.
Questions
Is a ping tree the same as a waterfall?
Yes. Ping tree, waterfall and cascade all mean offering a lead to buyers one after another until one accepts. pingtype calls it a cascade.
Do I need a developer to build a ping tree?
Not with pingtype. You add buyers, set the order and the caps on simple screens. A developer is only needed if you want to connect your own systems through the API.
How many buyers should a ping tree have?
Enough that a decline is never the end of the lead. Many teams run a few steady buyers plus overflow buyers at the end. The right number depends on your vertical and volume.
What happens to leads nobody buys?
They should not be lost. In pingtype, unsold leads are kept, and you can route them to buyers again later.