Systems and methods for presenting advertising content based on publisher-selected labels
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for providing advertisements to a client computer, the method comprising:
- defining a plurality of identifiers, wherein each identifier is assigned to one of a plurality of publishers, wherein different publishers of the plurality of publishers are assigned different identifiers;
receiving a request originating from a client computer for advertising content;
wherein the request includes a first referral label that includes a first identifier that identifies a first publisher of a plurality of publishers, wherein the first publisher published a first content item with which the advertising content is to be presented;
based on the first identifier included in the first referral label, searching for an advertisement, of a plurality of available advertisements, that (a) is associated with another referral label that specifies a referral relationship that involves the first publisher, and (b) is published by a publisher other than the first publisher, wherein at least some of the referral labels specify referral relationships between different publishers;
based on said searching, selecting a first advertisement that is associated with a second referral label, the first advertisement being published by a second publisher of the plurality of publishers, wherein the second referral label specifies a referral relationship that involves the first publisher; and
in response to the request, transmitting the first advertisement to the client computer for presentation, to a user, with the first content item;
wherein at least the steps of receiving, searching, selecting, and transmitting are performed by one or more computing devices.
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Abstract
Systems and methods allowing publishers to define relationships between their own content items (e.g., World Wide Web pages) and content items created or maintained by other publishers. Publishers insert referral labels into their content items to indicate a referral relationship between or among publishers. In one embodiment, advertisements to be displayed while the user is viewing a content item are selected based at least in part on matching a referral label included in the target content item to a referral label in the advertisement. The referral label can also be used to manage referral-based revenue sharing among publishers.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for providing advertisements to a client computer, the method comprising:
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defining a plurality of identifiers, wherein each identifier is assigned to one of a plurality of publishers, wherein different publishers of the plurality of publishers are assigned different identifiers; receiving a request originating from a client computer for advertising content;
wherein the request includes a first referral label that includes a first identifier that identifies a first publisher of a plurality of publishers, wherein the first publisher published a first content item with which the advertising content is to be presented;based on the first identifier included in the first referral label, searching for an advertisement, of a plurality of available advertisements, that (a) is associated with another referral label that specifies a referral relationship that involves the first publisher, and (b) is published by a publisher other than the first publisher, wherein at least some of the referral labels specify referral relationships between different publishers; based on said searching, selecting a first advertisement that is associated with a second referral label, the first advertisement being published by a second publisher of the plurality of publishers, wherein the second referral label specifies a referral relationship that involves the first publisher; and in response to the request, transmitting the first advertisement to the client computer for presentation, to a user, with the first content item; wherein at least the steps of receiving, searching, selecting, and transmitting are performed by one or more computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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16. A computer-based system for providing advertisements to a client computer, the system comprising:
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one or more processors; a sponsored content data store configured to store a plurality of advertisements, each of the advertisements being associated with at least one of a plurality of referral labels, wherein each referral label includes one or more identifiers, and wherein each identifier is assigned to one of a plurality of publishers, wherein different ones of the plurality of publishers are assigned different identifiers, and wherein at least some of the referral labels specify referral relationships between different ones of the plurality of publishers; an advertising server configured to run on the one or more processors and access the sponsored content data store, the advertising server including; input control logic configured to receive a request originating from a client computer for advertising content;
wherein the request includes a first referral label of the plurality of referral labels, wherein the first referral label includes a first identifier that identifies a first publisher of the plurality of publishers, wherein the first publisher published the first content item with which the advertising content is to be presented;searching logic configured to search, based on the first identifier included in the first referral label, for an advertisement, of a plurality of available advertisements, that (a) is associated with another referral label that specifies a referral relationship that involves the first publisher, and (b) is published by a publisher other than the first publisher; selection control logic configured to select, from the sponsored content data store, a first advertisement that is associated with a second referral label, the first advertisement being published by a second one of the plurality of publishers, wherein the second referral label specifies a referral relationship that involves the first publisher; output control logic configured to transmit, in response to the request, the first advertisement to the client computer for presentation, to a user, with the first content item. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification