A passback tag is the ad code a network shows when it decides not to buy a visitor. Instead of leaving the slot empty, the network hands the visit back to another buyer, usually the network you already use. Set up well, a passback lets you test a new buyer on your real traffic without giving up the revenue you earn today.
We run an adult ad network where every zone can carry its own passback, so we see the same setup mistakes often. This guide covers what a passback does, how to set one up and how to check it.
What does a passback do, and what does it not do?
When a visitor loads your page, the first buyer's tag decides whether it wants this visitor at a price at or above the floor. If yes, it shows its ad. If no, it injects the passback code in the same place, and your other network makes its own decision.
A passback does three things:
- It keeps unsold visits earning. The visit is offered to a second buyer instead of being lost.
- It lets you set a strict floor. You can ask the first buyer for a high price, because a refusal only sends the visit to your passback.
- It makes a test safe. A new network takes only the visits it wants.
What a passback does not do:
- It does not make the second buyer fill. If your backup network has no ad, the slot stays empty.
- It does not add an impression. It replaces the first buyer's ad in the same slot.
- It does not fix a wrong size. A passback for a 300x250 slot must be a 300x250 ad, or the layout breaks.
How is a passback different from a waterfall or a fallback URL?
A passback is code. The first buyer holds it and injects it on the page when it declines a visitor. On Lana Network it is plain HTML you set on each zone.
A waterfall is the order of buyers: buyer one looks first, then buyer two through buyer one's passback, and so on. A waterfall is built out of passbacks. We cover the order, the floors and what to measure in our guide on how to run two adult ad networks on one site.
A fallback URL is an address, not code. Some networks load a URL, often in a frame, when they have nothing to show. Same idea, less control: a slow page in a frame shows a blank slot for longer.
How do you set up a passback with a direct buyer?
Here are the steps with Lana Network as the first buyer and your current network as the backup. They are the same with any network that offers a passback.
- Pick one placement. Choose one slot, for example the 300x250 under your video player, rather than your whole site.
- Create the zone at the new network. Choose the same format and size as the slot. On Lana Network you create a zone, set its net floor and paste the passback in the same form.
- Copy one spot from your current network. Open your current network's dashboard and take the code of ONE ad spot of the same size. Our developers page shows a passback example built from an ExoClick banner zone.
- Paste that code as the passback. It only runs when the new buyer says no.
- Replace the old code on the page with the new tag. The old code now lives inside it.
- Set the floor from what you earn today. Set it at or just above what your current network pays per 1,000 impressions for that slot, so the visits the new buyer takes earn, on average, at least what that slot earns today.
Which mistakes cost publishers money?
- A whole-page tag in the passback. Never paste a tag that opens popunders, interstitials or sliders on its own: visits the first buyer sells would also run your old network's formats. Use the code of a single placement.
- Double counting. If the old code stays on the page AND sits in the passback, your old network loads twice on refused visits. Remove it from the page once it is in the passback.
- A slow chain. Each step adds a request before an ad appears. Two buyers is often enough, three at most.
- Two sets of caps. On Lana Network a visitor sees at most one ad per zone per cap window; your old network applies its own caps on what it receives.
- The wrong size. A passback must match the size of the zone. A 300x250 passback in a 320x100 slot breaks the layout.
How do you check that a passback works?
Test it twice: once in your own browser, once in the numbers.
In your browser. Open the page in a private window as a visitor the first buyer does not want. We buy mostly United States visitors on a mobile browser, so a desktop browser should see your old network's ad. If the slot is empty, check in the developer tools that the old network's request goes out.
In the numbers. After a few days, compare three figures for that slot:
- Fill rate at the new buyer: the share of visits it bought. On Lana Network the publisher reports show the fill rate per zone (ads served per ad request).
- Impressions at your old network for that spot: they should drop by about the new buyer's fills, not more.
- Total revenue for the slot, both networks added together, per 1,000 page views. That is the number that tells you if the setup pays.
If impressions at your old network drop far more than that, look for a missing passback or an empty slot. Our traffic quality page lists which visitors we always hand back, which helps explain the difference.
What Lana Network does
Lana Network is an ad network for adult sites. Every zone has its own tag and its own net floor, and can carry its own passback: any visitor we do not buy at or above your floor goes to it. Earnings on valid impressions are held 7 days, then paid weekly in USDT TRC20 or USDC Solana from 10 USD. Today we buy mostly US mobile traffic; every other visitor is handed back. A new site goes live as soon as its ownership check passes. Questions go through Contact support in our guides.
Frequently asked questions
Is a passback the same as a fallback?
Close. A passback is ad code injected in the slot when the first buyer declines. A fallback is often a URL loaded in a frame. Both hand the visit to another buyer.
Does a passback slow my page down?
A little, because the second buyer only starts once the first one has declined. Keep the chain to two or three buyers and use asynchronous tags.
Can I put my whole network script in the passback?
No. Use the code of one ad spot with the same size as the zone. A whole-page script would also run popunders or sliders on visits the first buyer already sold.
How does Lana Network decide which visitors go to the passback?
A visitor is bought only if a bid clears the net floor you set on the zone. Visitors outside our current targeting, or below your floor, go to your passback.