Automated price maintenance for use with a system in which advertisements are rendered with relative preferences
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
- a) accepting, using a computer system including at least one computer, advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result;
b) for one of the advertisements, determining, using the computer system, a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of a next highest maximum bid to the maximum bid of the one of the advertisements; and
c) serving, using the computer system, the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements.
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Abstract
A cost maintenance scheme useful with an advertising system which orders ads in a manner that maximizes both their relevance and their economic value, and which provides a fair bidding process in which a winning bidder is assured of not having paid too much. Ordering may be done based on accepted maximum ad bid information and/or ad performance information. For example, this information may be used to determine a position value. Cost may be determined based on accepted maximum ad bid information and/or performance information. Billing the determined cost may be subject to a condition precedent.
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Citations
76 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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a) accepting, using a computer system including at least one computer, advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result; b) for one of the advertisements, determining, using the computer system, a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of a next highest maximum bid to the maximum bid of the one of the advertisements; and c) serving, using the computer system, the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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a) accepting, using a computer system including at least one computer, advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result, wherein the advertisements are ordered, at least in part, based on the maximum bids per result associated with the advertisements; b) for one of the advertisements, determining, using the computer system, a cost to be charged per result, wherein the cost is less than the maximum bid per result associated with the one of the advertisements; and c) serving, using the computer system, the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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a) accepting, using a computer system including at least one computer, an ordered set of advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result; b) for one of the advertisements, determining, using the computer system, a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of the maximum bid per result associated with a next lower advertisement in the ordered set; and c) serving, using the computer system, the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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a) accepting, using a computer system including at least one computer, an ordered set of advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result; b) for one of the advertisements, determining, using the computer system, a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of a maximum bid associated with a next lower ad in the ordered set; and c) serving, using the computer system, the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. Apparatus comprising:
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a) means for i) accepting advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result, and ii) determining, for one of the advertisements, a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of a next highest maximum bid to the maximum bid; and b) means for serving the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. Apparatus comprising:
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a) means for i) accepting advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result, wherein the advertisements are ordered, at least in part, based on the maximum bids per result associated with the advertisements; and ii) determining, for one of the advertisements, a cost to be charged per result, wherein the cost is less than the maximum bid per result associated with the advertisement; and b) means for serving the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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39. Apparatus comprising:
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a) means for i) accepting an ordered set of advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result, and ii) determining, for one of the advertisements, a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of the maximum bid per result associated with a next lower advertisement in the ordered set; and b) means for serving the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. Apparatus comprising:
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a) means for i) accepting an ordered set of advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result; and ii) determining, for one of the advertisements, a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of a maximum bid associated with a next lower ad in the ordered set; and b) means for serving the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. Apparatus comprising:
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a) at least one processor; and b) at least one storage device storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method including i) accepting advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result, ii) for one of the advertisements, determining a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of a next highest maximum bid to the maximum bid of the one of the advertisements, and iii) serving the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. Apparatus comprising:
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a) at least one processor; and b) at least one storage device storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method including i) accepting advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result, wherein the advertisements are ordered, at least in part, based on the maximum bids per result associated with the advertisements, ii) for one of the advertisements, determining a cost to be charged per result, wherein the cost is less than the maximum bid per result associated with the one of the advertisements, and iii) serving the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. Apparatus comprising:
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a) at least one processor; and b) at least one storage device storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method including i) accepting an ordered set of advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result, ii) for one of the advertisements, determining a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of the maximum bid per result associated with a next lower advertisement in the ordered set, and iii) serving the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69)
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70. Apparatus comprising:
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a) at least one processor; and b) at least one storage device storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method including i) accepting an ordered set of advertisements, each of the advertisements having an associated maximum bid per result, ii) for one of the advertisements, determining a cost to be charged for the result, wherein the cost is a function of a maximum bid associated with a next lower ad in the ordered set, and iii) serving the one of the advertisements with the determined cost encoded into the one of the advertisements. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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Specification