Context-influenced application recommendations

• US 9,230,276 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2011
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Mehta, Bhaskar, Sonntag, Christian, Mahaniok, Ihar
• Primary Examiner(s): Rosen, Nicholas D
• Application Number:
  US13/248,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20120021774A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,559 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14.49, 705/14.53, 705/14.55, 705/14.58, 705/14.66, 705/14.73, 705/26.7, 705/26.9, 705/27.1, 455/456.3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for recommending content based on context such as location. In one aspect, a method includes receiving data that references a location of a mobile device, selecting, from among multiple, different applications that are available in an online application marketplace, one or more of the applications that are relevant to the location, and providing, by a recommendation server, a recommendation to the mobile device, where the recommendation identifies the one or more applications as applications that the user is likely to be interested in purchasing or downloading.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more computers; and

one or more computer-readable media coupled to the one or more computers having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving application acquisition data associated with a user of a mobile device;

receiving aggregated location data that references two or more locations of the mobile device at two or more respective times;

inferring demographic information associated with the user based on i) the aggregated location data and ii) the application acquisition data;

identifying one or more first mobile device applications available from an online application marketplace based on the inferred demographic information, the one or more first mobile device applications executable by the mobile device;

receiving particular location data that references a present location of the mobile device;

identifying one or more second mobile device applications available from the online application marketplace, the one or more second applications i) previously downloaded by one or more other users when the one or more other users were located in a region that includes the present location and ii) executable by the mobile device;

identifying an intersection of the one or more first mobile device applications and the one or more second mobile device applications to select one or more particular mobile device applications such that the one or more particular mobile device applications are based on both the inferred demographic information associated with the user and the particular location data of the mobile device;

generating a set of identifiers associated with a recommendation, wherein the recommendation identifies the one or more particular mobile device applications as applications that the user of the mobile device is likely to be interested in purchasing or downloading;

transmitting, through a computer-implemented communication network, the set of identifiers to the mobile device; and

receiving a selection of a particular identifier of the set of identifiers to obtain at least one of the one or more particular mobile device applications by the user from an application marketplace provided by a server in communication with the mobile device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein receiving particular location data that references the present location of the mobile device further comprises receiving a request for the recommendation from the mobile device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operations further comprise;

filtering the one or more particular mobile device applications based on user profile data associated with the user,

wherein the recommendation identifies the one or more filtered mobile device applications as applications that the user is likely to be interested in purchasing or downloading.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein filtering the one or more particular mobile device applications further comprises ranking the one or more particular mobile device applications based on category preferences referenced by the user profile data.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein filtering the one or more particular mobile device applications further comprises excluding one or more mobile device applications that are currently installed on the mobile device, or that have been previously installed on the mobile device and subsequently removed by the user of the mobile device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operations further comprise;

selecting one or more mobile device applications of the one or more particular mobile device applications that correlate to mobile device applications that are already installed on the mobile device,

wherein selecting the one or more mobile device applications further comprises selecting, from among the one or more selected mobile device applications that correlate to mobile device applications that are already installed on the mobile device, one or more mobile device applications that, for other users in the present location, have an aggregated popularity score above a predetermined threshold.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operations further comprise;

selecting one or more mobile device applications of the one or more particular mobile device applications that, for other users at or near the present location, have an aggregated popularity score above a predetermined threshold.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the recommendation includes one or more links for purchasing or downloading the one or more particular mobile device applications.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operations further comprise;

receiving data that references a characteristic, configuration, or capability of the mobile device; and

selecting one or more mobile device applications of the one or more particular mobile device applications that are relevant to the present location and the characteristic, configuration, or capability.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the operations further comprise determining, when respective scores for the one or more particular mobile device applications exceed a threshold, that the one or more particular mobile device applications are mobile device applications that the user is likely to be interested in purchasing or downloading.

11. One or more computer storage media encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving application acquisition data associated with a user of a mobile device;

receiving aggregated location data that references two or more locations of the mobile device at two or more respective times;

inferring demographic information associated with the user based on i) the aggregated location data and ii) the application acquisition data;

identifying one or more first mobile device applications available from an online application marketplace based on the inferred demographic information, the one or more first mobile device applications executable by the mobile device;

receiving particular location data that references a present location of the mobile device;

identifying one or more second mobile device applications available from the online application marketplace, the one or more second applications i) previously downloaded by one or more other users when the one or more other users were located in a region that includes the present location and ii) executable by the mobile device;

identifying an intersection of the one or more first mobile device applications and the one or more second mobile device applications to select one or more particular mobile device applications such that the one or more particular mobile device applications are based on both the inferred demographic information associated with the user and the particular location data of the mobile device;

generating a set of identifiers associated with a recommendation, wherein the recommendation identifies the one or more particular mobile device applications as applications that the user of the mobile device is likely to be interested in purchasing or downloading;

transmitting, through a computer-implemented communication network, the set of identifiers to the mobile device; and

receiving a selection of a particular identifier of the set of identifiers to obtain at least one of the one or more particular mobile device applications by the user from an application marketplace provided by a server in communication with the mobile device.

12. The computer storage media of claim 11, wherein receiving particular location data that references the present location of the mobile device further comprises receiving a request for the recommendation from the mobile device.

13. The computer storage media of claim 11, wherein:

the operations further comprise;

filtering the one or more particular mobile device applications based on user profile data associated with the user,

wherein the recommendation identifies the one or more filtered mobile device applications as mobile device applications that the user is likely to be interested in purchasing or downloading.

14. The computer storage media of claim 13, wherein filtering the one or more particular mobile device applications further comprises ranking the one or more particular mobile device applications based on category preferences referenced by the user profile data.

15. The computer storage media of claim 13, wherein filtering the one or more particular mobile device applications further comprises excluding one or more mobile device applications that are currently installed on the mobile device, or that have been previously installed on the mobile device and subsequently removed by the user of the mobile device.

16. The computer storage media of claim 11, wherein:

the operations further comprise;

selecting one or more mobile device applications of the one or more particular mobile device applications that correlate to mobile device applications that are already installed on the mobile device,

wherein selecting the one or more mobile device applications further comprises selecting, from among the one or more selected mobile device applications that correlate to mobile device applications that are already installed on the mobile device, one or more mobile device applications that, for other users in the present location, have an aggregated popularity score above a predetermined threshold.

17. The computer storage media of claim 11, wherein the recommendation includes one or more links for purchasing or downloading the one or more particular mobile device applications.

18. The computer storage media of claim 11, wherein:

the operations further comprise;

receiving data that references a characteristic, configuration, or capability of the mobile device; and

selecting one or more mobile device applications of the one or more particular mobile device applications that are relevant to the present location and the characteristic, configuration, or capability.

19. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving application acquisition data associated with a user of a mobile device;

receiving aggregated location data that references two or more locations of the mobile device at two or more respective times;

inferring demographic information associated with the user based on i) the aggregated location data and ii) the application acquisition data;

identifying one or more first mobile device applications available from an online application marketplace based on the inferred demographic information, the one or more first mobile device applications executable by the mobile device;

receiving particular location data that references a present location of the mobile device;

identifying one or more second mobile device applications available from the online application marketplace, the one or more second applications i) previously downloaded by one or more other users when the one or more other users were located in a region that includes the present location and ii) executable by the mobile device;

identifying an intersection of the one or more first mobile device applications and the one or more second mobile device applications to select one or more particular mobile device applications such that the one or more particular mobile device applications are based on both the inferred demographic information associated with the user and the particular location data of the mobile device;

generating, by a recommendation server, a set of identifiers associated with a recommendation, wherein the recommendation identifies the one or more particular mobile device applications as applications that the user of the mobile device is likely to be interested in purchasing or downloading;

transmitting, through a computer-implemented communication network, the set of identifiers to the mobile device; and

receiving a selection of a particular identifier of the set of identifiers to obtain at least one of the one or more particular mobile device applications by the user from an application marketplace provided by a server in communication with the mobile device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein receiving particular location data that references the present location of the mobile device further comprises receiving a request for the recommendation from the mobile device.