Testing a Pardot Integration

Relevant to: Demand Acceleration Platform

After setting up your Campaign/Source integration to Pardot, it is important to test the setup before launching and allowing lead flow into your Source(s).

Within the Demand Acceleration Platform, you can send a test lead to Pardot and view the request and response data received. This step allows you to ensure everything is working properly and live leads will flow into Pardot as expected.

Once your Source(s) are live, it is recommended that you continue to monitor leads as they are posted in to Pardot. The post out data of all leads sent from the Demand Acceleration Platform is recorded and accessible.

This article will guide you through the testing process and best practices when it comes to managing lead flow.

You need to have set up the integration on your Campaign/Source before testing the integration.
Setting up an Integration to Pardot

Testing the Pardot integration

Once an integration has been added to your Campaign/Source and the setup has been confirmed as completed in both systems, you can send a sample lead to your Pardot instance to ensure everything is working properly and leads will be routed as expected.

You will need access to Pardot or a collaboration with your Pardot admin.
Once the test lead has been sent, someone with access to Pardot will need to confirm it was received, complete and routed as expected.

Set up and test Campaign integrations before creating any associated Sources. Doing so will mean that only minimal changes need to be made to individual Sources and their routing.
It's crucial to test your integration prior to launching every Source. This allows you to proactively resolve any issues and ensure leads from the Demand Acceleration Platform are correctly routed and posted into Pardot. When testing, it's recommended to use sample data that closely resembles the way real lead data will look and route through all platforms.

When to test your Pardot integration

You can send a test lead to Pardot at any time. It is advisable to test the integration of every Source once the setup is complete and before launch.

What you need to send a test lead

A complete Campaign/Source – Preferably in Draft stage with the setup of all the tabs completed - including any field mapping and customization on the Integrations tab.
Sample lead data – This can be entirely made up, but it's recommended to replicate how a real lead will look and flow through all platforms.
- The test data will only be processed through your outbound integration so don't worry about meeting the inbound validation rules (set up in the Fields tab in order to reject invalid leads incoming to the Source).
- You will need to be mindful of any inbound validation rules set-up within Pardot.
Access to Pardot or a collaboration with your Pardot admin – Once the test lead has been sent, you’ll need to find the lead within Pardot and confirm it was received, complete and routed as expected. If you do not have access to Pardot, you'll need to collaborate with your Pardot system admin to complete this step.

How to send a test lead

1. Navigate to the Integrations tab within your Source and open your Pardot integration. Click the Test Integration button.

2. The Test Integration modal will appear and display two columns that represent your Source fields and test data.

3. Populate each field in the Test Value column with sample data (try to replicate a real lead as closely as possible - see Sample lead data above).

Column

Description

Field

Read-only display of the Source fields, each one labeled with the Integrate Field Name eg. FName (not First Name as this is the Field Question).

Test Value

Editable display of sample data that should be sent to Pardot. This will be pre-populated with dummy data or previous test data used (if the integration has been tested before).

If running multiple tests, be sure to change your sample email to create a new test lead instead of updating a previous one eg. test1a@integrate.com, followed by test1b@integrate.com.
With list fields, select a picklist value from the dropdown menu.
- Any list values can be selected to allow you to test as needed, but the Allowed/Disallowed validations will still apply to real incoming leads.

Edit your sample values under the Test Value column.

Or select your sample list value for any fields using a picklist.

4. After adjusting all sample data, click the Run Test button to send the data to your Pardot instance.

The testing modal will close if you click outside/elsewhere on the page.
Test lead data is only accessible inside the open modal.

Interpreting the test results and confirming success

Once the test data has been submitted, the modal will display your Sandbox Test Results containing information about the data that was sent (the request) and what information was received by Pardot (the response).

This information is only visible within this modal as tests are not logged in a Post Out Log report.
Ensure you have reviewed the results before leaving the modal.

The green check mark at the top of the modal indicates that the lead has been successfully sent to Pardot. It does not confirm successful receipt on behalf of Pardot.
The test could be likened to throwing a ball; the Demand Acceleration Platform is showing you that the ball has been thrown, not if the ball was caught. You need to check the response code and confirm within your Pardot instance.

To understand how to read the request and response code and to determine whether the integration has been successfully set up, see Interpreting Pardot Post Outs & Common Errors.

It is crucial to confirm that each test lead has been successfully received, properly routed and is complete within Pardot. If you don't have access to Pardot, collaborate with your system admin to confirm that test lead(s) have been received in Pardot.

Once the Pardot integration has been successfully tested and the Source is collecting leads, you need to routinely monitor lead post outs.

Monitoring Your Lead Post Outs to Pardot

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