Automatically updating performance-based online advertising system and method

• US 7,668,950 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2004
• Issued: 02/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marchex Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Marchex Incorporated
• Inventors: Korman, Walter, Keister, John, Christothoulou, Peter, Horowitz, Russell C., Caldwell, Ethan, Busby, John
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US10/947,384
• Publication Number:
  US 20050097204A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,979 Days
• Field of Search: 709217-219, 709223-224, 705/14, 705 26- 27, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A system, method, and computer program product for online advertising, including computing and dynamically updating a cost-per-click (CPC) value of an advertisement for an advertisement traffic source based on a variable; and automatically uploading and distributing the advertisement to the traffic source. The variable includes price, advertisement traffic source, and/or advertiser variables. Further embodiments include dynamically updating an advertisement listing that has a cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based value with associated CPC or cost-per-1000 (CPM) values; and distributing the advertisement listing to an advertisement distribution network that serves the listing based on the CPC or CPM values. The distribution network includes CPC-based, CPA-based, and/or CPM-based distribution networks. Further embodiments include determining a CPC value for a CPA-based advertisement; and placing the advertisement on an advertising network at the determined CPC based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions at a CPA value divided by a number of clicks at the CPC.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based online advertising, comprising:

receiving a set CPA pricing for a designated action, the set CPA pricing including a targeted conversion rate, and the targeted conversion rate including a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks of an on-line advertisement;

computing and dynamically updating a cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement for an advertisement traffic source based on at least one of a price variable, an advertisement traffic source variable, and an advertiser variable;

dynamically determining a ranking of the advertisement based upon the updated cost-per-click (CPC) value and the set CPA pricing;

automatically uploading and distributing the advertisement to the advertisement traffic source based on the dynamic ranking; and

determining an advertising placement within the advertisement traffic source based upon the dynamic ranking, the at least one price variable, advertisement traffic source variable, and advertiser variable, and the designated action;

dynamically determining a conversion rate of the dynamically updated cost-per-click (CPC) and the designated action;

dynamically updating the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement for the advertisement traffic source based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks; and

dynamically raising the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is above a targeted conversion rate and dynamically lowering the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is below the targeted conversion rate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the price variable includes at least one of a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) an advertiser is willing to pay for the advertisement and a targeted conversion rate based on at least one of a cost-per-1000 (CPM), CPC, and the CPA.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertiser variable includes at least one of a type of product associated with the advertisement, a type of conversion associated with the advertisement, a keyword associated with the advertisement, and a copy type associated with the advertisement.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisement traffic source variable includes at least one of an advertising distribution network associated with the advertisement traffic source, a conversion rate associated with the advertisement, a clickthrough rate associated with the advertisement, a rank of the advertisement on a web page associated with the advertisement traffic source, and a location of the advertisement on a web page associated with the advertisement traffic source.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the conversion rate is based on a number of conversions in a predetermined time period divided by a number of clicks in the predetermined time period.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertiser variable includes at least one of a geographical location of a customer searching for the advertisement of the advertiser, a time of day a customer is searching for the advertisement of the advertiser, a day of week a customer is searching for the advertisement of the advertiser, and a previous purchase made by a customer of the advertiser.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising computing a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) an advertiser is willing to pay for the advertisement based on another advertisement competing with the advertisement.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a keyword associated with the advertisement based on at least one of a past performance of the selected keyword, a past performance of a category of keywords associated with the selected keyword, and a product associated with the selected keyword.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically tracking sales based on the advertisement.

10. A computer-readable medium for providing cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based online advertising including computer-readable instructions recorded on the computer-readable medium configured to cause one or more computer processors to execute the steps comprising:

receiving a set CPA pricing for a designated action, the set CPA pricing including a targeted conversion rate, and the targeted conversion rate including a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks of an on-line advertisement;

computing and dynamically updating a cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement for an advertisement traffic source based on at least one of a price variable, an advertisement traffic source variable, and an advertiser variable;

dynamically determining a ranking of the advertisement based upon the updated cost-per-click (CPC) value and the set CPA pricing;

automatically uploading and distributing the advertisement to the advertisement traffic source based on the dynamic ranking; and

determining an advertising placement within the advertisement traffic source based upon the dynamic ranking, the at least one price variable, advertisement traffic source variable, and advertiser variable, and the designated action;

dynamically determining a conversion rate of the dynamically updated cost-per-click (CPC) and the designated action;

dynamically updating the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement for the advertisement traffic source based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks; and

dynamically raising the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is above a targeted conversion rate and dynamically lowering the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is below the targeted conversion rate.

11. A computer-implemented system for providing cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based online advertising for online advertising, comprising:

means for receiving a set CPA pricing for a designated action, the set CPA pricing including a targeted conversion rate, and the targeted conversion rate including a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks of an on-line advertisement;

means for computing and dynamically updating a cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement for an advertisement traffic source based on at least one of a price variable, an advertisement traffic source variable, and an advertiser variable;

means for dynamically determining a ranking of the advertisement based upon the updated cost-per-click (CPC) value and the set CPA pricing;

means for automatically uploading and distributing the advertisement to the advertisement traffic source based on the dynamic ranking;

means for determining an advertising placement within the advertisement traffic source based upon the dynamic ranking, the at least one price variable, advertisement traffic source variable, and advertiser variable, and the designated action;

means for dynamically determining a conversion rate of the dynamically updated cost-per-click (CPC) and the designated action;

means for dynamically updating the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement for the advertisement traffic source based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks; and

means for dynamically raising the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is above a targeted conversion rate and dynamically lowering the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is below the targeted conversion rate.

12. A computer-implemented method for providing cost-per-acquisition-based online advertising, comprising:

receiving a set CPA pricing for a designated action, the set CPA pricing including a targeted conversion rate, and the targeted conversion rate including a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks of an on-line advertisement;

computing and dynamically updating at least one of a cost-per-click (CPC) value and a cost-per-1000 (CPM) value of the advertisement for an advertisement traffic source;

dynamically determining a ranking of the advertisement based upon at least one of the updated cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 (CPM) value and the set CPA pricing;

dynamically updating an advertisement listing that has a cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based value with at least one of an associated cost-per-click (CPC) value and cost-per-1000 (CPM) value; and

automatically distributing the advertisement listing to an advertisement distribution network that serves the advertisement listing based on at least one of the CPC value and the CPM value and based on the dynamic ranking; and

determining an advertising placement within the advertisement traffic source based upon the dynamic ranking, the at least one of an associated cost-per-click (CPC) value and cost-per-1000 (CPM) value, and the designated action;

dynamically determining a conversion rate of at least one of the dynamically updated cost-per-click (CPC) and the dynamically updated cost-per100 (CPM) and the designated action;

dynamically updating at least one of the cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 value of the advertisement for the advertisement traffic source based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks; and

dynamically raising at least one of the cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 value of the advertisement when the ratio is above a targeted conversion rate and dynamically lowering at least one of the cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 value of the advertisement when the ratio is below the targeted conversion rate, and

wherein the advertisement distribution network includes at least one of a CPC-based advertisement distribution network, a CPA-based advertisement distribution network, and a CPM-based advertisement distribution network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the updating step is based on analyzing sample data obtained from serving the advertisement listing for a predetermined period of time.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

automatically inserting the advertisement listing into the advertisement distribution network; and

managing the advertisement listing in the advertisement distribution network to approximate a targeted CPA-based value.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

measuring a performance of the advertisement listing based on a variable; and

dynamically updating a rank of the advertisement listing in the advertisement distribution network to reflect a performance of the advertisement listing based on the variable.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the variable includes at least one of a number of clicks associated with the advertisement listing, a number of conversions associated with the advertisement listing, a clickthrough rate associated with the advertisement listing, a conversion rate associated with the advertisement listing, and monetization over time associated with the advertisement listing.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

tracking across multiple user sessions a click on the advertisement listing or a visit of a user to a site of an advertiser associated with the advertisement listing; and

determining a subsequent conversion of the advertisement listing by the user based on the click or the visit of the user to the site of the advertiser.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising outputting the advertisement listing in at least one of a CPC-based ranked order, a CPA-based ranked order, and a CPM-based ranked order.

19. A computer-readable medium for providing cost-per-acquisition-based online advertising including computer-readable instructions recorded on the computer-readable medium configured to cause one or more computer processors to execute the steps comprising:

receiving a set CPA pricing for a designated action, the set CPA pricing including a targeted conversion rate, and the targeted conversion rate including a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks of an on-line advertisement;

computing and dynamically updating at least one of a cost-per-click (CPC) value and a cost-per-1000 (CPM) value of the advertisement for an advertisement traffic source;

dynamically determining a ranking of the advertisement based upon at least one of the updated cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 (CPM) value and the set CPA pricing;

dynamically updating an advertisement listing that has a cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based value with at least one of an associated cost-per-click (CPC) value and cost-per-1000 (CPM) value; and

automatically distributing the advertisement listing to an advertisement distribution network that serves the advertisement listing based on at least one of the CPC value and the CPM value and based on the dynamic ranking; and

determining an advertising placement within the advertisement traffic source based upon the dynamic ranking, the at least one of an associated cost-per-click (CPC) value and cost-per-1000 (CPM) value, and the designated action;

dynamically determining a conversion rate of at least one of the dynamically updated cost-per-click (CPC) and the dynamically updated cost-per100 (CPM) and the designated action;

dynamically updating at least one of the cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 value of the advertisement for the advertisement traffic source based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks; and

dynamically raising at least one of the cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 value of the advertisement when the ratio is above a targeted conversion rate and dynamically lowering at least one of the cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 value of the advertisement when the ratio is below the targeted conversion rate, and

wherein the advertisement distribution network includes at least one of a CPC-based advertisement distribution network, a CPA-based advertisement distribution network, and a CPM-based advertisement distribution network.

20. A computer-implemented system for providing cost-per-acquisition-based online advertising, comprising:

means for receiving a set CPA pricing for a designated action, the set CPA pricing including a targeted conversion rate, and the targeted conversion rate including a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks of an on-line advertisement;

means for computing and dynamically updating at least one of a cost-per-click (CPC) value and a cost-per-1000 (CPM) value of the advertisement for an advertisement traffic source;

means for dynamically determining a ranking of the advertisement based upon at least one of the updated cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 (CPM) value and the set CPA pricing;

means for dynamically updating an advertisement listing that has a cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based value with at least one of an associated cost-per-click (CPC) value and cost-per-1000 (CPM) value; and

means for automatically distributing the advertisement listing to an advertisement distribution network that serves the advertisement listing based on at least one of the CPC value and the CPM value and based on the dynamic ranking; and

means for determining an advertising placement within the advertisement traffic source based upon the dynamic ranking, the at least one of an associated cost-per-click (CPC) value and cost-per-1000 (CPM) value, and the designated action;

means for dynamically determining a conversion rate of at least one of the dynamically updated cost-per-click (CPC) and the dynamically updated cost-per100 (CPM) and the designated action;

means for dynamically updating at least one of the cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 value of the advertisement for the advertisement traffic source based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks; and

means for dynamically raising at least one of the cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 value of the advertisement when the ratio is above a targeted conversion rate and dynamically lowering at least one of the cost-per-click (CPC) value and the cost-per-1000 value of the advertisement when the ratio is below the targeted conversion rate, and

wherein the advertisement distribution network includes at least one of a CPC-based advertisement distribution network, a CPA-based advertisement distribution network, and a CPM-based advertisement distribution network.

21. A computer-implemented method for providing cost-per-acquisition-based online advertising, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a set CPA pricing for a designated action, the set CPA pricing including a targeted conversion rate, and the targeted conversion rate including a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks of an on-line advertisement;

automatically determining a cost-per-click (CPC) value for a cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based advertisement;

dynamically determining a ranking of the advertisement based upon the determined cost-per-click (CPC) value and the set CPA pricing;

automatically placing the advertisement on an advertising network at the determined cost-per-click (CPC), based on the dynamic ranking,

wherein the placement of the advertisement is determined based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions, associated with the advertisement, at a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) value, associated with the advertisement, divided by a number of clicks, associated with the advertisement, at the CPC value determined for the advertisement; and

dynamically updating the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement for the advertisement traffic source based on the ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks; and

dynamically raising the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is above a targeted conversion rate and dynamically lowering the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is below the targeted conversion rate.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the advertising network includes at least one of a CPC-based advertising network, a CPA-based advertising network, and a cost-per-1000 (CPM)-based advertising network.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

determining a keyword associated with the advertisement; and

placing the advertisement and the associated keyword on the CPC advertising network.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising determining the CPC value for the advertisement based on a price determined to acquire a paying customer associated with the advertisement, wherein the determined price is lower than a price an advertiser is willing to pay for the customer.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising raising the CPC value for the advertisement when the ratio is above a profit value.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising lowering the CPC value for the advertisement when the ratio is below a profit value.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising removing the advertisement from the advertising network when the ratio is below a profit value.

28. A computer-readable medium for providing cost-per-acquisition-based online advertising including computer-readable instructions recorded on the computer-readable medium configured to cause one or more computer processors to execute the steps comprising:

receiving a set CPA pricing for a designated action, the set CPA pricing including a targeted conversion rate, and the targeted conversion rate including a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks of an on-line advertisement;

automatically determining a cost-per-click (CPC) value for a cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based advertisement; and

dynamically determining a ranking of the advertisement based upon the determined cost-per-click (CPC) value and the set CPA pricing;

automatically placing the advertisement on an advertising network at the determined cost-per-click (CPC), based on the dynamic ranking,

wherein the placement of the advertisement is determined based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions, associated with the advertisement, at a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) value, associated with the advertisement, divided by a number of clicks, associated with the advertisement, at the CPC value determined for the advertisement and

dynamically updating the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement for the advertisement traffic source based on the ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks; and

dynamically raising the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is above a targeted conversion rate and dynamically lowering the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is below the targeted conversion rate.

29. A computer-implemented system for providing cost-per-acquisition-based online advertising, comprising:

means for receiving a set CPA pricing for a designated action, the set CPA pricing including a targeted conversion rate, and the targeted conversion rate including a ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks of an on-line advertisement;

means for automatically determining a cost-per-click (CPC) value for a cost-per-acquisition (CPA)-based advertisement; and

means for dynamically determining a ranking of the advertisement based upon the determined cost-per-click (CPC) value and the set CPA pricing;

means for automatically placing the advertisement on an advertising network at the determined cost-per-click (CPC), based on the dynamic ranking,

wherein the placement of the advertisement is determined based on a ratio of an expected number of conversions, associated with the advertisement, at a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) value, associated with the advertisement, divided by a number of clicks, associated with the advertisement, at the CPC value determined for the advertisement; and

means for dynamically updating the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement for the advertisement traffic source based on the ratio of an expected number of conversions to a number of clicks; and

means for dynamically raising the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is above a targeted conversion rate and dynamically lowering the cost-per-click (CPC) value of the advertisement when the ratio is below the targeted conversion rate.