Using location-specific price and/or performance information in an ad system

• US 8,549,033 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2010
• Issued: 10/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Yeh, Leslie, Ramaswamy, Sridhar, Oian, Zhe, Rose, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBINSON, GRETA LEE
• Application Number:
  US12/693,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20100131350A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,345 Days
• Field of Search: 707/748, 707/749, 707/750, 707/758, 707/770, 707/999.01, 705/1.1, 705/10, 705/14.1, 705/14.11, 705/14.12, 705/14.13, 705/14.14, 705/14.15, 705/14.2, 705/14.4, 705/14.41
• US Class Current: 707/770
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0244 Optimization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0246 Traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location

Abstract

The usefulness and the performance of advertisements are improved by allowing businesses to better target their ads to a responsive audience. Location information is determined (or accepted) and used. For example, location information may be used in a relevancy determination of an ad. As another example, location information may be used in an attribute (e.g., position) arbitration. Such location information may be associated with price information and/or ad performance information. Ad performance information may be tracked on the basis of location information. The content of an ad creative, and/or of a landing page may be selected and/or modified using location information. Finally, tools, such as user interfaces, may be provided to allow a business to enter and/or modify location information, such as location information used for targeting and location-dependent price information. The location information used to target and/or score ads may be, include, or define an area.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

a) accepting, by a computer system including at least one computer on a network, geolocation information associated with a request;

b) determining, with the computer system, whether an ad has geolocation-specific price information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted;

c) responsive to a determination, with the computer system, that the ad has geolocation-specific price information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining, with the computer system, a score of the ad using both (1) performance information and (2) the geolocation-specific price information of the ad corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, otherwise, responsive to a determination, with the computer system, that the ad does not have geolocation-specific price information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining, with the computer system, the score of the ad using both (1) performance information and (2) general price information of the ad; and

d) controlling the serving the ad, for rendering on a client device, using the determined score.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the request further includes search terms, and wherein determining a score of the ad further uses a comparison of keyword targeting associated with the ad and the search terms.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the request further includes document relevance information, and wherein determining a score of the ad further uses a comparison of ad relevance information and the document relevance information.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the geolocation-specific price information corresponds to a circular area having a radius about a specified geographic reference point.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the geolocation-specific price information corresponds to an area defined by at least three geographic reference points.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5 wherein the area defined by at least three geographic reference points is a polygon.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the geolocation information associated with the request and the geolocation-specific price information each include at least one of (a) at least one region, (b) at least one state, (c) at least one metro area, (d) at least one city, (e) at least one town, (f) at least one postal zip code, and (g) at least one telephone area code.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein controlling the serving includes

i) determining whether the ad has geolocation-specific ad creative information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and

ii) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific creative information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, serving the ad with the geolocation-specific creative information.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein controlling the serving includes

i) determining whether the ad has geolocation-specific landing page information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and

ii) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific landing page information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, serving the ad with a link to the geolocation-specific landing page.

10. A computer-implemented method comprising:

a) accepting, by a computer system including at least one computer on a network, geolocation information associated with a request;

b) determining, with the computer system, whether an ad has geolocation-specific performance information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted;

c) responsive to a determination, with the computer system, that the ad has geolocation-specific performance information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining, with the computer system, a score of the ad using the geolocation-specific performance information of the ad corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, otherwise, responsive to a determination, with the computer system, that the ad does not have geolocation-specific performance information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining, with the computer system, the score of the ad using general performance information of the ad; and

d) controlling the serving the ad, for rendering on a client device, using the determined score.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the request further includes search terms, and wherein determining a score of the ad further uses a comparison of keyword targeting associated with the ad and the search terms.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the request further includes document relevance information, and wherein determining a score of the ad further uses a comparison of ad relevance information and the document relevance information.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the geolocation-specific performance information corresponds to a circular area having a radius about a specified geographic reference point.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein the geolocation-specific performance information corresponds to an area defined by at least three geographic reference points.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14 wherein the area defined by at least three geographic reference points is a polygon.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the geolocation information associated with the request and the geolocation-specific performance information each include at least one of (a) at least one region, (b) at least one state, (c) at least one metro area, (d) at least one city, (e) at least one town, (f) at least one postal zip code, and (g) at least one telephone area code.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein controlling the serving includes

i) determining whether the ad has geolocation-specific ad creative information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and

ii) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific creative information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, serving the ad with the geolocation-specific creative information.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 wherein controlling the serving includes

i) determining whether the ad has geolocation-specific landing page information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and

ii) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific landing page information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, serving the ad with a link to the geolocation-specific landing page.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 further comprising:

e) receiving, with the computer system, a user selection of the ad served; and

f) responsive to a determination that the geolocation-specific performance information of the ad selected matched the geolocation request information, updating the geolocation-specific performance information of the ad selected.

20. Apparatus comprising:

a) at least one processor; and

b) at least one storage device storing processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method of;

1) accepting geolocation information associated with a request,

2) determining whether an ad has at least one of (A) geolocation-specific price information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and (B) geolocation-specific performance information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted,

3) responsive to a determination that the ad has at least one of (A) geolocation-specific price information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and (B) geolocation-specific performance information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining a score of the ad using at least one of (A) the geolocation-specific price information of the ad corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and (B) the geolocation-specific performance information of the ad corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, otherwise, responsive to a determination that the ad does not have at least one of (A) geolocation-specific price information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and (B) geolocation-specific performance information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining the score of the ad using at least one of (A) general price information of the ad, and (B) general performance information of the ad, and

4) controlling the serving the ad, for rendering on a client device, using the determined score.

21. Apparatus comprising:

a) at least one processor; and

b) at least one storage device storing processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method of;

1) accepting geolocation information associated with a request;

2) determining whether an ad has geolocation-specific price information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted;

3) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific price information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining, with the computer system, a score of the ad using both (1) performance information and (2) the geolocation-specific price information of the ad corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, otherwise, responsive to a determination, with the computer system, that the ad does not have geolocation-specific price information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining, with the computer system, the score of the ad using both (1) performance information and (2) general price information of the ad; and

4) controlling the serving the ad, for rendering on a client device, using the determined score.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the geolocation-specific price information corresponds to a circular area having a radius about a specified geographic reference point.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the geolocation-specific price information corresponds to an area defined by at least three geographic reference points.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the geolocation information associated with the request and the geolocation-specific price information each include at least one of (A) at least one region, (B) at least one state, (C) at least one metro area, (D) at least one city, (E) at least one town, (F) at least one postal zip code, and (G) at least one telephone area code.

25. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein controlling the serving includes

i) determining whether the ad has geolocation-specific ad creative information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and

ii) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific creative information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, serving the ad with the geolocation-specific creative information.

26. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein controlling the serving includes

i) determining whether the ad has geolocation-specific landing page information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and

ii) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific landing page information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, serving the ad with a link to the geolocation-specific landing page.

27. Apparatus comprising:

a) at least one processor; and

b) at least one storage device storing processor-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method of;

1) accepting geolocation information associated with a request;

2) determining whether an ad has geolocation-specific performance information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted;

3) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific performance information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining, with the computer system, a score of the ad using the geolocation-specific performance information of the ad corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, otherwise, responsive to a determination, with the computer system, that the ad does not have geolocation-specific performance information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, determining, with the computer system, the score of the ad using general performance information of the ad; and

4) controlling the serving the ad, for rendering on a client device, using the determined score.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the geolocation-specific performance information corresponds to a circular area having a radius about a specified geographic reference point.

29. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the geolocation-specific performance information corresponds to an area defined by at least three geographic reference points.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the geolocation information associated with the request and the geolocation-specific performance information each include at least one of (A) at least one region, (B) at least one state, (C) at least one metro area, (D) at least one city, (E) at least one town, (F) at least one postal zip code, and (G) at least one telephone area code.

31. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein controlling the serving includes

i) determining whether the ad has geolocation-specific ad creative information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and

ii) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific creative information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, serving the ad with the geolocation-specific creative information.

32. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein controlling the serving includes

i) determining whether the ad has geolocation-specific landing page information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, and

ii) responsive to a determination that the ad has geolocation-specific landing page information corresponding to the geolocation information accepted, serving the ad with a link to the geolocation-specific landing page.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the method performed further includes:

5) receiving a user selection of the ad served; and

6) responsive to a determination that the geolocation-specific performance information of the ad selected matched the geolocation request information, updating the geolocation-specific to performance information of the ad selected.