Formatting a user network site based on user preferences and format performance data

• US 9,703,886 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2009
• Issued: 07/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Baugher, Alexandra
• Primary Examiner(s): Paula, Cesar
• Assistant Examiner(s): Blackwell, James H
• Application Number:
  US12/576,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20100106595A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,832 Days
• Field of Search: 715234, 715253, 715255-272, 715243, 715760, 705 144, 705 1441- 1449, 705 145, 705 1451- 1459, 705 146, 705 1461- 1469, 705 147, 705 1471- 1473, 709224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0243 Comparative campaigns
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration

Abstract

A system and method for formatting an electronic document. Format preference information related to the format of a user network site associated with a user is received. Document format criteria based on the format preference information and format performance information is automatically determined. An electronic document associated with the user network site is output according to the document format criteria.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving format preference information for a user network site;

identifying format performance information for two or more candidate advertisement locations in the user network site,

the format performance information for each of the two or more candidate advertisement locations including a first value specifying a number of user interactions with one or more advertisements that were previously positioned at the candidate advertisement location;

selecting, by one or more processors and based on the format performance information for the candidate advertisement locations from the two or more candidate advertisement locations, first advertisement locations at which advertisements will be presented on the user network site;

determining, by the one or more processors, a document format for the user network site based on the format preference information and the selected first advertisement locations;

formatting, by the one or more processors, the user network site based on the document format,

the formatting including setting, in code defining the user network site, a size of the first advertisement locations;

determining, by the one or more processors, a difference between the first value specifying the number of user interactions included in the format performance information and a second value included in additional format performance information for each of the two or more candidate advertisement locations, specifying a second number of user interactions with one or more different advertisements that were previously positioned at the first advertisement locations;

in response to determining the difference between the first value included in the format performance information and the second value included in the additional format performance information, dynamically adjusting, by the one or more processors, the document format based on the difference between the first value of the format performance information and the second value of the additional format performance information,

wherein the dynamic adjustment includes changing, in the code defining the user network site, the size of at least one of the selected first advertisement locations,

wherein the change to the size increases as the difference between the first value included in the format performance information and the second value included in the additional format performance information increases;

after changing the size in the code defining the user network site, resizing, by the one or more processors, at least one advertisement to have dimensions matching the changed size of the at least one selected first advertisement location; and

outputting, to a user device and over a communications network, computer executable instructions that initiate presentation, within the at least one selected first advertisement location at the changed size, of the at least one advertisement at the resized dimensions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically adjusting the document format comprises:

dynamically adjusting the document format based on changes to the format preference information and the format performance information; and

reformatting the user network site based on the adjusted document format.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the format preference information comprises a size, color or layout of content on the user network site;

the selected first advertisement locations are the candidate advertisement locations for which the format performance information is higher than format performance information for at least one unselected candidate advertisement location; and

the format performance information for each of the two or more candidate advertisement locations include a click-through rate for one or more advertisements that were previously positioned at the candidate advertisement location on other network sites.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the document format specifies at least one location of at least one advertisement relative to at least one object presented with the user network site.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the document format specifies a timing of display for at least one object in the user network site.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the format performance information comprises information computed based on a click through rate of one or more advertisements having a particular format attribute.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the particular format attribute relates to at least one of a position, size, color, and a time factor related to display of the one or more advertisements.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user network site comprises a user webpage, and wherein the document format defines a template for displaying one or more advertisements with the user webpage.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request for a document accessible a the user network site; and

providing the document in response to the request, the document being provided according to the document format.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the format preference information comprises information about a network site administrator'"'"'s preference regarding the location of a plurality of electronic document objects on a webpage.

11. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a request to format a user network site;

identifying, by one or more processors, format performance information for two or more candidate advertisement locations of the user network site, the format performance information for each of the two or more candidate advertisement locations including a first value specifying a number of user interactions with one or more advertisements that were previously presented at the candidate advertisement location;

selecting, by the one or more processors and based on the format performance information, first advertisement locations from the two or more candidate advertisement locations, each of the first advertisement locations having a specified size defined in code of the user network site; and

determining, by the one or more processors, a difference between the first value specifying the number of user interactions inmded in the format performance information and a second value, included in additional format performance information for each of the two or more candidate advertisement locations, specifying a second number of user interactions with one or more different advertisements that were previously positioned at the first advertisement locations;

in response to determining the difference between the first value included in the format performance information and the second value included in the additional format performance information, dynamically adjusting, by one or more processors, the specified size in the code of the user network site based on changes to the format performance information that result from user interactions with multiple different advertisements presented in the selected first advertisement locations;

after changing the size in the code defining the user network site, resizing, by the one or more processors, at least one advertisement to have dimensions matching the changed size of the at least one selected first advertisement location; and

outputting, to a user device and over a communications network, computer executable instructions that initiate presentation, within the at least one selected advertisement location at the changed size, of the at least one advertisement at the resized dimension.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a document format of the user network site comprises a size, color or layout of content on the user network site.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the document format specifies at least one location of at least one advertisement relative to at least one object presented with the user network site.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the document format specifies a timing of display for at least one inject in the user network site.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the user network site comprises a user webpage, and wherein the document format defines a template for displaying one or more advertisements with the user webpage.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a request for a document accessible at the user network site; and

providing the document in response to the request, the document being provided according to the document format and including the selected advertisement.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the format performance information comprises information computed based on a click through rate of one or more advertisements having a particular format attribute.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the particular format attribute relates to at least one of a position, size, color, and a time factor related to display of the one or more advertisements.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein format preference information comprises information about a network site administrator'"'"'s preference regarding locations of a plurality of electronic document objects on a webpage.