Maintaining targetable user inventory for digital advertising

• US 9,171,311 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2010
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Zhang, Sijian, Zhou, Shaoyu, Cao, Fei, Yeh, Ehr-Chun, Jin, Lei
• Primary Examiner(s): SIGMOND, BENNETT M
• Application Number:
  US12/872,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20120054003A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,883 Days
• Field of Search: 705 144- 1473, 711118-146
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that maintain a targetable user inventory for digital advertising. In embodiments, a request is made for user data associated with a user identification. If the user data or user identification is not available, a list of alternative user identifications is ranked according to various criteria based on identification signals. A match is selected from the list of alternative user identifications and user data associated with the alternative user identification is communicated in response to the request.

Claims

1. One or more computer hardware storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, that when executed, cause a computing device to perform a method for maintaining a user inventory for digital advertising, the method comprising:

receiving a request for user data associated with a user identification, the user identification including identification signals;

determining that user data associated with the user identification is not available in an in-cache memory due to a loss or a purge of one or more cookies stored therein;

requesting from a user identification mapping service a list of alternative identifications corresponding to the user, each alternative identification including at least one identification signal in common with the identification signals of the user identification, the at least one identification signal stored in a user identification mapping store separate from the in-cache memory;

sorting the list of alternative identifications to identify a match to the user identification;

associating the match, identification signals associated with the match, and user data associated with the match with the user identification for which user data is not available in the in-cache memory; and

communicating the user data associated with the match in response to an advertising call.

2. The media of claim 1 further comprising storing the identification signals associated with the match and the user data associated with the match with the user identification for which user data is not available in the in-cache memory.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein the identification signals comprise more than one of an internet protocol address, a browser type, a browser version, and user identifiable signals received from a web request.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein sorting the list of alternative identifications comprises ranking the list according to most recent access.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein sorting the list of alternative identifications comprises ranking the list according to a confidence factor.

6. The media of claim 1, wherein the list of alternative identifications comprises user identifications with at least one identification signal in common with identification signals associated with the user identification.

7. The media of claim 1, wherein the request comprises an advertising call.

8. The media of claim 1 further comprising assigning a new user identification for the user data associated with the match.

9. The media of claim 1 further comprising throttling requests to the user identification mapping service according to a desired impact on real-time performance.

10. A system, including one or more processors and one or more computer storage media, for maintaining a user inventory for digital advertising, the system comprising:

a behavior targeting component operable to receive information associated with a user identification, wherein the information includes user data;

an in-cache memory operable to communicate available user data based on cookies stored therein;

a user identification mapping store component operable to store stored data, wherein the stored data includes user identifications, user data, and identification signals; and

a cache miss handling component operable to, when user data is not available in cache memory in association with a received user identification including received identification signals received with an advertising call, identify one or more alternative user identifications associated with one or more of the received identification signals by comparing the stored identification signals with the received identification signals associated with the received user identification, wherein the cache miss handling component associates an alternative user identification and associated identification signals with the received user identification and communicates stored user data associated with the alternative user identification in response to the advertising call.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the identification signals comprise more than one of an internet protocol address, a browser type, a browser version, cookies, and user identifiable signals received from a web request.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the behavior targeting component is further operable to search the in-cache memory for available user data.

20. The system of claim 10, wherein the operation of the cache miss handling component is governed according to an administrator-determined frequency.

21. The system of claim 10, wherein the user data include one or more targetable user behaviors.

12. A method for maintaining a user inventory for digital advertising, the method comprising:

receiving an advertising call for a user identification, the user identification including identification signals;

searching for the user identification in an in-cache computer memory;

determining the user identification is not available in the in-cache computer memory due to loss or purge of cookies stored therein;

requesting, from a user identification mapping store configured to store user identifications separate from the in-cache computer memory, alternative user identifications, each alternative identification including at least one identification signal in common with the identification signals of the user identification in the advertising call;

sorting the alternative user identifications to identify one of the alternative user identifications having the greatest degree of overlap with the identification signals of the user identification in the advertising call;

associating the one alternative identification and user data of the one alternative identification with the user identification; and

communicating the user data associated with the one alternative identification in response to the advertising call.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising transitioning information from the match to the user identification.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising creating a new user identification.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising transitioning user data from the user identification to a new user identification.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving more than one identification signal for the user identification.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the more than one identification signal comprises more than one of an internet protocol address, a browser type, a browser version, cookies, and user identifiable signals received from a web request.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising storing the more than one identification signal in a user identification mapping store.