Pricing across keywords associated with one or more advertisements

• US 7,668,748 B1
• Filed: 01/10/2003
• Issued: 02/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Veach, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAMPAGNE, DONALD
• Application Number:
  US10/340,193
• Time in Patent Office: 2,601 Days
• Field of Search: 715/517, 707/3, 705/14, 705/27, 705/37
• US Class Current: 705/14.69
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0249 based upon budgets or funds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

Helping advertisers by simplifying the management of interactive advertising. Such simplification can be achieved by allowing an advertiser to specify a single bid for multiple keywords associated with an advertisement. When used in conjunction with a maximum cost bid, advertisers are not penalized with higher costs for such simplification.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for associating environments, keywords, and bid information, the method comprising:

a) accepting, with an ad system including one or more computers, one or more advertisements or information identifying the one or more advertisements;

b) accepting, with the ad system, (1) at least two keywords input via an ad information entry interface and (2) a single maximum bid amount input via the ad information entry interface;

c) storing, responsive to the accepted input specifying the single maximum bid amount, an association between the single maximum bid amount and each of the at least two keywords;

d) storing, with the ad system, an association between (1) each of the at least two keywords and the single maximum bid amount and (2) the one or more advertisements or information identifying the one or more advertisements;

e) receiving an ad request;

f) determining, with the ad system, whether the one or more advertisements are relevant to the received ad request using each of the at least two keywords independently;

g) determining, with the ad system, a first cost associated with serving the one or more advertisements responsive to a first query having a term matching a first of the at least two keywords associated with the single maximum bid amount; and

h) determining, with the ad system, a second cost, which is different than the first cost, associated with serving the one or more advertisements responsive to a second query having a term matching another of the at least two keywords associated with the single maximum bid amount,

wherein at least one of the first cost and the second cost is less than the single maximum bid amount associated with the at lest two keywords.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the advertisement is a text-based advertisement.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the single maximum bid amount is a maximum bid per impression and wherein the first and second costs are based on impressions of the one or more advertisements served.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the single maximum bid amount is a maximum bid per selection and wherein the first and second costs are based on selections of the one or more advertisements served.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the single maximum bid amount is a maximum bid per conversion and wherein the first and second costs are based on conversions of the one or more advertisements served.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least two keywords is a broad match keyword.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least two keywords is an exact match keyword.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least two keywords is a phrase match keyword.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at least two keywords is a negative match keyword.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein a first of the at least two keywords is one of (A) a broad match keyword, (B) an exact match keyword, (C) a phrase match keyword, and (D) a negative match keyword, and wherein a second of the at least two keywords is a different one of (A) a broad match keyword, (B ) an exact match keyword, (C) a phrase match keyword, and (D) a negative match keyword, than the first of the at least two keywords.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the advertisement is a graphical banner ad.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining whether the one or more advertisements are relevant to the received ad request using each of the at least two keywords independently includes

determining, with the ad system, whether or not the one or more advertisements are eligible candidate advertisements relevant to the received ad request, based on a match of a first one of the at least two keywords with the received ad request, independent of whether any other of the at least two keywords matches the received ad request.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, the method further comprising:

i) receiving a second ad request; and

j) determining, with the ad system, whether or not the one or more advertisements are eligible candidate advertisements relevant to the received second ad request, based on a match of a second one of the at least two keywords with the received second ad request, independent of whether any other of the at least two keywords matches the received second ad request.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least two keywords are input with separate entries via the ad information entry interface and the single maximum bid amount is input with a single entry via the ad information entry interface.

12. A computer-implemented method for associating advertisement, keywords, and bid information, the method comprising:

a) accepting, with an ad system including one or more computers, at least two advertisements or information identifying the at least two advertisements;

b) accepting, with the ad system, (1) at least two keywords input via an ad information entry interface and (2) a single maximum bid amount input via the ad information entry interface;

c) storing, responsive to the accepted input specifying the single maximum bid amount, an association between the single maximum bid amount and each of the at least two keywords;

d) storing, with the ad system, an association between (1) each of the at least two keywords and the single maximum bid amount and (2) the at least two advertisements or information identifying the at least two advertisements;

e) receiving an ad request;

f) determining, with the ad system, whether the at least two advertisements are relevant to the received ad request using each of the least two keywords independently;

g) determining, with the ad system, a first cost associated with serving the at least two advertisements responsive to a first query having a term matching a first of the at least two keywords associated with the single maximum bid amount; and

h) determining, with the ad system, a second cost, which is different than the first cost, associated with serving the at least two advertisements responsive to a second query having a term matching another of the at least two keywords associated with the single maximum bid amount,

wherein at least one of the first cost and the second cost is less than the single maximum bid amount associated with the at least two keywords.