Controlling the serving of advertisements, such as cost per impression advertisements for example, to improve the value of such serves

• US 8,370,197 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Axe, Brian, Koningstein, Ross
• Primary Examiner(s): Brandenburg, William A
• Application Number:
  US11/241,818
• Publication Number:
  US 20070078707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,685 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1- 28
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0249 based upon budgets or funds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising

Abstract

A (e.g., expected) performance of proposed ad placement is compared with a performance threshold (either an initial threshold or an adjusted threshold). The ad may be served if the expected performance meets the threshold (perhaps subject to additional conditions), but is not served if the expected performance is less than the performance threshold. Spend information of the ad so served is analyzed to determine if a target amount (budget) is expected to be overspent or underspent. If the former, the performance threshold is increased (and/or the ad performance value is decreased). If the later, the performance threshold is decreased (and/or the ad performance value is increased).

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

a) serving, with an advertisement system including at least one computer, an advertisement subject to a first performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if a performance value associated with the advertisement meets the first performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served;

b) tracking, with the advertisement system, an actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement;

c) adjusting, with the advertisement system, the first performance threshold, using the actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement and a target spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement, to define a second performance threshold; and

d) serving, with the advertisement system, the advertisement subject to the second performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if the performance value associated with the advertisement meets the second performance threshold and the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the performance is selection rate.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the each of the first and second selection rate thresholds is a minimum click through rate.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the act of serving, with the advertisement system, an advertisement subject to the first selection rate threshold includes

i) determining a document on which the advertisement is to be served,

ii) accepting a per-document selection rate for the advertisement, and

iii) serving the advertisement with the document only if the per-document selection rate for the advertisement is greater than or equal to the first selection rate threshold.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the act of adjusting the first selection rate threshold, using the actual spend rate associated with the advertisement and a target spend rate associated with the advertisement, to define a second selection rate threshold includes

i) determining whether or not the actual spend rate is greater than the target spend rate, and

ii) if it is determined that the actual spend rate is greater than the target spend rate, then increasing the first selection rate threshold to define the second selection rate threshold.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the act of adjusting the first selection rate threshold, using the actual spend rate associated with the advertisement and a target spend rate associated with the advertisement, to define a second selection rate threshold includes

i) determining whether or not the actual spend rate is less than the target spend rate, and

ii) if it is determined that the actual spend rate is less than the target spend rate, then decreasing the first selection rate threshold to define the second selection rate threshold.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the performance is conversion rate.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein an advertiser associated with the advertisement has agreed to pay for impressions of the advertisement.

9. A computer-implemented method comprising:

a) serving, with an advertisement system including at least one computer, an advertisement subject to a plurality of performance thresholds such that the advertisement may be served only if a per-document performance information associated with the advertisement meets a first performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served;

b) tracking, with the advertisement system, the per document performance information for the advertisement;

c) serving, with the advertisement system, the advertisement subject to the first performance threshold by

i) determining a document on which the advertisement is to be served, and

ii) serving the advertisement with the document only if the per-document performance information for the advertisement is greater than or equal to the first performance threshold and otherwise precluding the serving of the advertisement;

d) tracking, with the advertisement system, an actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement;

e) adjusting, with the advertisement system, the first performance threshold, using the actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement and a target spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement, to define a second performance threshold; and

f) serving, with the advertisement system, the advertisement subject to the second performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if the per-document performance information meets the second performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein the performance is selection rate.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the act of adjusting the first selection rate threshold, using the actual spend rate associated with the advertisement and a target spend rate associated with the advertisement, to define a second selection rate threshold includes

i) determining whether or not the actual spend rate is greater than the target spend rate, and

ii) if it is determined that the actual spend rate is greater than the target spend rate, then increasing the first selection rate threshold to define the second selection rate threshold.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the act of adjusting the first selection rate threshold, using the actual spend rate associated with the advertisement and a target spend rate associated with the advertisement, to define a second selection rate threshold includes

i) determining whether or not the actual spend rate is less than the target spend rate, and

ii) if it is determined that the actual spend rate is less than the target spend rate, then decreasing the first selection rate threshold to define the second selection rate threshold.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein the performance is conversion rate.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein an advertiser associated with the advertisement has agreed to pay for impressions of the advertisement.

15. A computer-implemented method comprising:

a) accepting, with an advertisement system including at least one computer, an advertising budget for an advertisement;

b) serving, with the advertisement system, the advertisement subject to a performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if a performance value associated with the advertisement meets the performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served; and

c) adjusting, with the advertisement system, at least one of (A) the performance threshold and (B) an expected performance value of the advertisement, to increase a value of impressions of the advertisement subject to the advertising budget of the advertisement being spent.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 wherein the performance is selection rate.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 wherein the performance is conversion rate.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising:

d) accepting, with the advertisement system, additional budget rules for the advertisement, wherein the act of adjusting at least one of (A) the performance threshold and (B) an expected performance value of the advertisement, to increase a value of impressions of the advertisement is further subject to the additional budget rules.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 wherein the performance is a function including one or more advertiser-specified value-expressing factors.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the one or more advertiser-specified value-expressing factors is a value of impressions in a given location.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the one or more advertiser-specified value-expressing factors is a value of impressions in a given time frame.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the one or more advertiser-specified value-expressing factors is a value of impressions to a given user or type of user.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the one or more advertiser-specified value-expressing factors is a value of impressions to a given user client device or type of user client device.

24. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 wherein the act of adjusting the performance threshold to increase a value of the impressions of the advertisement subject to the budget of the advertisement being spent includes adjusting the performance threshold to be as high as possible subject to the budget of the advertisement being spent.

25. Apparatus for serving an advertisement subject to a first performance threshold, the apparatus comprising:

a) one or more processors;

b) at least an input device for accepting a target spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement; and

c) one or more storage devices storing processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, perform a method of

1) tracking an actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement,

2) adjusting the first performance threshold, using the actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement and the target spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement, to define a second performance threshold, and

3) serving the advertisement subject to the second performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if a performance value associated with the advertisement meets the second performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the performance is selection rate.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the each of the first and second selection rate thresholds is a minimum click through rate.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the method further includesdetermining a document on which the advertisement is to be served,accepting a per-document selection rate for the advertisement, andserving the advertisement with the document only if the per-document selection rate for the advertisement is greater than or equal to the first selection rate threshold.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the method further includesdetermining whether or not the actual spend rate is greater than the target spend rate, andincreasing the first selection rate threshold to define the second selection rate threshold if it is determined that the actual spend rate is greater than the target spend rate.

30. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the method further includesdetermining whether or not the actual spend rate is less than the target spend rate, anddecreasing the first selection rate threshold to define the second selection rate threshold if it is determined that the actual spend rate is less than the target spend rate.

31. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the performance is conversion rate.

32. Apparatus comprising:

a) one or more processors;

b) at least an input device for accepting an advertising budget for an advertisement; and

c) one or more storage devices storing processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, perform a method of

1) serving the advertisement subject to a performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if a performance value associated with the advertisement meets the performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served, and

2) adjusting at least one of (A) the performance threshold and (B) an expected performance value of the advertisement, to increase a value of impressions of the advertisement subject to the advertising budget of the advertisement being spent.

33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the performance is selection rate.

34. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein the performance is conversion rate.

35. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the act of adjusting includes adjusting the performance threshold to be as high as possible subject to the advertising budget of the advertisement being spent.

36. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium having machine executable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a machine, perform a method comprising:

a) serving, with an advertisement system including at least one computer, an advertisement subject to a first performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if a performance value associated with the advertisement meets the first performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served;

b) tracking, with the advertisement system, an actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement;

c) adjusting, with the advertisement system, the first performance threshold, using the actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement and a target spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement, to define a second performance threshold; and

d) serving, with the advertisement system, the advertisement subject to the second performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if the performance value associated with the advertisement meets the second performance threshold and the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served.

37. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium having machine executable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a machine, perform a method comprising:

a) serving, with an advertisement system including at least one computer, an advertisement subject to a plurality of performance thresholds such that the advertisement may be served only if a per-document performance information associated with the advertisement meets a first performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served;

b) tracking, with the advertisement system, the per document performance information for the advertisement;

c) serving, with the advertisement system, the advertisement subject to the first performance threshold by

i) determining a document on which the advertisement is to be served, and

ii) serving the advertisement with the document only if the per-document performance information for the advertisement is greater than or equal to the first performance threshold and otherwise precluding the serving of the advertisement;

d) tracking, with the advertisement system, an actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement;

e) adjusting, with the advertisement system, the first performance threshold, using the actual spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement and a target spend rate associated with the serving of the advertisement, to define a second performance threshold; and

f) serving, with the advertisement system, the advertisement subject to the second performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if the per-document performance information meets the second performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served.

38. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium having machine executable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a machine, perform a method comprising:

a) accepting, with an advertisement system including at least one computer, an advertising budget for an advertisement;

b) serving, with the advertisement system, the advertisement subject to a performance threshold such that the advertisement may be served only if a performance value associated with the advertisement meets the performance threshold and such that the advertisement is otherwise precluded from being served; and

c) adjusting, with the advertisement system, at least one of (A) the performance threshold and (B) an expected performance value of the advertisement, to increase a value of impressions of the advertisement subject to the advertising budget of the advertisement being spent.