In simple words, pinging is the processes of letting the search engines know that there was a recent update on your website. The main goal is to increase the probability of your website getting indexed by Google, Yahoo, Bing and the likes. So yes, it is important for SEO benefits.
You may ping when:
You want your newly incorporated keywords to be indexed by search engines
You have got a backlink from a reputed website
There is any recent content update in your website
You may ping when:
You want your newly incorporated keywords to be indexed by search engines
You have got a backlink from a reputed website
There is any recent content update in your website