Matching Content Providers and Interested Content Users

• US 20100306048A1
• Filed: 07/22/2009
• Published: 12/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Corduneanu, Adrian Dumitru, Manor, Eyal, Heilig, Joerg, Spencer, Scott
• Granted Patent: US 10,977,723 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.45
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0246 Traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatuses to match content providers and interested content users are described. Input indicating an accessing of a network location by a user is received along with the user'"'"'s identifier. The identifier is obfuscated and transmitted to a content provider configured to provide content to the user at the network location. A re-direct identifier is transmitted to the user instructing the user to directly contact the content provider. When the user contacts the content provider, the user transmits a provider-specific identifier by which the content provider identifies the user and the obfuscated user identifier. The content provider updates a database of obfuscated user identifiers and provider-specific user identifiers based on the received identifiers. Thus, the content provider is enabled to identify interested users based on obfuscated and provider-specific user identifiers.

Claims

1. A method, performed by one or more computers, the method comprising:

receiving, by the one or more computers, input from a user, the input indicating an accessing of a network location associated with a content provider, by the user, with the content provider being configured to provide content to the user and the input including a user identifier;

obfuscating, by the one or more computers, the user identifier to generate an obfuscated user identifier;

transmitting, by the one or more computers, the obfuscated user identifier to the content provider; and

transmitting to the user, by the one or more computers, a re-direct identifier previously received from the content provider, the re-direct identifier pointing to a network location associated with the content provider, wherein;

the re-direct identifier instructs the user to contact the content provider directly for the content, and

when the user directly contacts the content provider, the user provides the content provider with a provider-specific identifier by which the content provider identifies the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the input from the user includes receiving the input from a network browser which the user uses to access a plurality of network locations.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a user-traffic detector to the content provider, the user-traffic detector configured to detect that the user has accessed a network location, wherein the content provider includes the user-traffic detector in a plurality of network locations, and wherein the input is received from the user when the user accesses one of the plurality of network locations that includes the user-traffic detector.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the obfuscated user identifier is specific to the content provider and is generated by hashing the user identifier included in the input.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

inviting a bid from each of a plurality of content providers including the content provider for an auction to determine a content provider to provide content to the user;

determining that the content provider won the auction;

informing that the content provider has won the auction; and

receiving an intent to provide content to the user from the content provider.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the re-direct identifier is a uniform resource locator that includes the obfuscated user identifier.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the network location to which the re-direct identifier points is a server associated with the content provider.

8. A computer-readable medium tangibly embodying software instructions executable by one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving a network identifier that identifies an advertising network for providing an advertisement to a user, the advertising network representing a plurality of advertisers, wherein each advertiser provides advertisements to the advertising network;

generating a traffic detector based on the network identifier, the traffic detector being configured to detect an accessing of a network location by a plurality of users when the traffic detector is associated with the network location, the traffic detector being further configured to transmit the network identifier upon detecting the accessing, wherein the advertising network associates the traffic detector with the network location;

receiving an indication of the accessing of the network location by the user, the indication including the network identifier and a user identifier identifying the user, wherein the advertising network determines to present the advertisement at the network location based on the indication;

transmitting an instruction to the user to contact the advertising network for the advertisement; and

transmitting an obfuscated user identifier generated by obfuscating the user identifier to the advertising network,

wherein, in response to receiving the instruction, the user transmits a request for the advertisement to the advertising network, the request including a network-specific user identifier which the advertising network uses to identify the user.

9. The medium of claim 8, wherein the traffic detector is configured to be included in the network location.

10. The medium of claim 9, wherein the network location is a server executing software program instructions related to the advertising network.

11. The medium of claim 8, wherein the traffic detector includes the network identifier.

12. The medium of claim 8, wherein the traffic detector comprises an HTML image tag.

13. The medium of claim 8, wherein the indication of the accessing of the network location by the user is received from a network browser in which the user accesses the network location, in response to the user accessing the network location using the network browser.

14. The medium of claim 8, the operations further comprising:

receiving a re-direct identifier from the advertising network, the re-direct identifier representing a network resource associated with the advertising network; and

including the re-direct identifier in the instruction that is transmitted to the user, wherein the user transmits the re-direct identifier when the user transmits the request for the advertisement to the advertising network.

15. The medium of claim 14, wherein the network resource is the advertisement.

16. The medium of claim 14, wherein the network resource is a network location including the advertisement.

17. The medium of claim 14, wherein the network resource is a network location associated with the advertiser.

18. A system comprising:

a receiver including;

a network identifier receipt unit configured to receive a network identifier that identifies an advertising network for providing an advertisement to a user, and

a re-direct identifier receipt unit configured to receive a re-direct identifier pointing to a network location associated with the advertising network, wherein the re-direct identifier directs a user seeking advertisements associated with the advertising network to the network location;

a user-traffic detector generation unit configured to;

generate a traffic detector based on the network identifier, the traffic detector configured to detect an accessing of a network location by a plurality of users when the traffic detector is associated with the network location, the traffic detector further configured to transmit the network identifier upon detecting the accessing, and

associate the generated traffic detector with a plurality of network locations including the network location associated with the advertising network;

a user identifier receipt unit configured to determine that the user has accessed one or more of the plurality of network locations with which the traffic detector is associated, including the network location associated with the advertising network; and

a re-direct instruction generation unit configured to generate an instruction for transmitting to the user, the instruction including the re-direct identifier pointing to the network location associated with the advertising network, the instruction instructing the user to contact the advertising network directly for an advertisement for presenting at the network location accessed by the user.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising an obfuscation unit configured to:

generate an obfuscated user identifier by obfuscating the user identifier received by the user identifier receipt unit, and

transmit the obfuscated user identifier to the advertising network.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising an auction unit configured to include advertisers included in the advertising network in an auction for presenting an advertisement to the user when the user identifier receipt unit determines that the user has accessed the network location associated with the advertising network.

21. The system of claim 18, further comprising a user-traffic detector transmission unit configured to transmit the traffic detector to the advertising network instructing the advertising network to associate the traffic detector with one or more network locations selected by the advertising network.