U.S. patent application number 14/195660 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-04 for classifying locations for ad presentation.
This patent application is currently assigned to Google Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Google Inc.. Invention is credited to Surojit Chatterjee, Anshul Kothari, Subhadip Sarkar, Theodore B. Van Belle, Jian Zhou.
Application Number | 20140249923 14/195660 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44973338 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140249923 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zhou; Jian ; et al. |
September 4, 2014 |
CLASSIFYING LOCATIONS FOR AD PRESENTATION
Abstract
This specification describes technologies relating to content
presentation. In general, one aspect of the subject matter
described in this specification can be embodied in methods that
include the actions of receiving data from a plurality of users
within a geographic region associated with a location; analyzing
the received data to derive a category for the location; annotating
the location with the category; and using the category to boost
candidate content items for delivery to users in the location in
response to future content item requests.
Inventors: |
Zhou; Jian; (Milpitas,
CA) ; Kothari; Anshul; (Sunnyvale, CA) ;
Sarkar; Subhadip; (Sunnyvale, CA) ; Van Belle;
Theodore B.; (Santa Clara, CA) ; Chatterjee;
Surojit; (Fremont, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Google Inc. |
Mountain View |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Google Inc.
Mountain View
CA
|
Family ID: |
44973338 |
Appl. No.: |
14/195660 |
Filed: |
March 3, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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13111833 |
May 19, 2011 |
8666802 |
|
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14195660 |
|
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61346875 |
May 20, 2010 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0256 20130101;
G06F 16/3349 20190101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06F 16/9537 20190101;
G06Q 30/0261 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.54 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20060101
G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: receiving search data from a plurality of
users within a geographic region associated with a location;
analyzing the received search data to derive one or more categories
for the location, wherein each of the one or more categories are
determined to be significant categories for the location; and using
the one or more categories to boost candidate content items for
delivery to users in the geographic region associated with the
location in response to future content item requests.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing the received search
data includes evaluating the search data to determine one or more
candidate categories and for each candidate category, determining a
baseline frequency of occurrence for a respective candidate
category, and determining when a frequency of occurrence for a
candidate category at the location exceeds a baseline occurrence
for that candidate category by a threshold amount.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more
categories for the location are derived according to whether a
frequency of occurrence for each category at the location exceeds a
baseline occurrence for that category.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the content items are
advertisements.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein using the one or more categories
to boost candidate content items further comprises: identifying
candidate content items in response to a request to serve a content
item to a user in the location; determining whether any content
items of the candidate content items are associated with the one or
more categories; and applying a weight to a score for each content
items associated with a category of the one or more categories.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein each content item is associated
with one or more categories specified by a creator of the content
item.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the amount of the applied weight
can vary according to category.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: associating the
received search data with one or more times; and deriving one or
more categories for the location for each of the one or more
times.
9. The method of claim 1, comprising annotating the location with
the one or more categories.
10. A system comprising: one or more processors configured to
interact with a computer storage medium in order to perform
operations comprising: receiving search data from a plurality of
users within a geographic region associated with a location;
analyzing the received search data to derive one or more categories
for the location, wherein each of the one or more categories are
determined to be significant categories for the location; and using
the one or more categories to boost candidate content items for
delivery to users in the geographic region associated with the
location in response to future content item requests.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the analyzing the received
search data includes evaluating the search data to determine one or
more candidate categories and for each candidate category,
determining a baseline frequency of occurrence for a respective
candidate category, and determining when a frequency of occurrence
for a candidate category at the location exceeds a baseline
occurrence for that candidate category by a threshold amount.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein each of the one or more
categories for the location are derived according to whether a
frequency of occurrence for each category at the location exceeds a
baseline occurrence for that category.
13. The system of claim 10, wherein the content items are
advertisements.
14. The system of claim 10, wherein using the one or more
categories to boost candidate content items further comprises:
identifying candidate content items in response to a request to
serve a content item to a user in the location; determining whether
any content items of the candidate content items are associated
with the one or more categories; and applying a weight to a score
for each content items associated with a category of the one or
more categories.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein each content item is associated
with one or more categories specified by a creator of the content
item.
16. The system of claim 14, wherein the amount of the applied
weight can vary according to category.
17. The system of claim 10, further comprising: associating the
received search data with one or more times; and deriving one or
more categories for the location for each of the one or more
times.
18. The system of claim 10, comprising annotating the location with
the one or more categories.
19. A computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the
program comprising instructions that when executed by data
processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform
operations comprising: receiving search data from a plurality of
users within a geographic region associated with a location;
analyzing the received search data to derive one or more categories
for the location, wherein each of the one or more categories are
determined to be significant categories for the location; and using
the one or more categories to boost candidate content items for
delivery to users in the geographic region associated with the
location in response to future content item requests.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.120 to, and is a continuation of, U.S. application Ser. No.
13/111,833, filed on May 19, 2011, which claims the benefit under
35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.
61/346,875, filed on May 20, 2010, both of which are incorporated
by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates to content presentation.
[0003] Advertisers provide advertisements in different forms in
order to attract consumers. An advertisement ("ad") is a piece of
information designed to be used in whole or part by a user, for
example, a particular consumer. Ads can be provided in electronic
form. For example, online ads can be provided as banner ads on a
web page, as ads presented with search results, or as ads presented
in a mobile application.
[0004] One can refer to the inclusion of an ad in a medium, e.g., a
webpage or a mobile application, as an impression. An advertising
system can include an ad in a webpage, for example, in response to
one or more keywords in a user search query input to a search
engine. If a user selects the presented ad (e.g., by "clicking" the
ad), then the user is generally taken to another location
associated with the ad, for example, to another, particular web
page.
SUMMARY
[0005] This specification describes technologies relating to
content presentation.
[0006] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in
this specification can be embodied in methods that include the
actions of receiving data from a plurality of users within a
geographic region associated with a location; analyzing the
received data to derive a category for the location; annotating the
location with the category; and using the category to boost
candidate content items for delivery to users in the location in
response to future content item requests. Other embodiments of this
aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer
program products.
[0007] These and other embodiments can optionally include one or
more of the following features. The content items are
advertisements. Receiving data includes receiving search queries.
The method further includes determining a location of each user of
the plurality of users based on received location information from
the respective users. The received location information is global
positioning system coordinates. The method further includes
receiving a collection of user data across locations. Analyzing the
received data further includes identifying categories as associated
with particular user data; generating a distribution of categories
associated with received user data from the location; generating a
distribution of categories associated with the received user data
across locations; and comparing the distributions for categories at
the location that occur a threshold amount greater than for the
same categories across locations.
[0008] Using the category to boost candidate content items further
includes identifying candidate content items in response to a
request to serve a content item to a user in the location;
determining whether any content items of the candidate content
items are associated with the category; and applying a weight to a
score for each content items associated with the category. Each
content item is associated with one or more categories specified by
a creator of the content item. The amount of the applied weight can
vary according to category. Determining whether the content items
are associated with a category includes determining whether the
content item is associated with all categories except for
specifically excluded categories. The method further includes
associating the received data with one or more times; and deriving
one or more categories for the location for each of the one or more
times.
[0009] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in
this specification can be embodied in methods that include the
actions of receiving a request for a content item to present to a
user; determining one or more candidate content items; identifying
a location associated with the user; identifying the category
associated with the location; determining whether the category
matches the one or more candidate content items; boosting a score
of each candidate content items determined to match the category;
and selecting a content item of the one or more candidate content
items to serve to the user using the scores for the candidate
content items; and serving the content item to the user. Other
embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems,
apparatus, and computer program products.
[0010] These and other embodiments can optionally include one or
more of the following features. The content items are
advertisements. Identifying a location associated with the user
includes receiving location information from the user. Identifying
the category associated with the location includes searching a
mapping of location and categories. Each candidate ad is associated
with one or more categories. The one or more categories are
identified using advertiser supplied keywords. Selecting an ad of
the one or more candidate ads includes selecting the ad having the
highest score including any boosting.
[0011] Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in
this specification can be implemented so as to realize one or more
of the following advantages. Locations can be classified into one
or more categories based on the user information collected from
that location. Content items (e.g., ads) can be directed to a
location based on categories assigned to that location.
[0012] The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter
described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying
drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and
advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the
description, the drawings, and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example content
presentation system.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example ad system including
a location-category mapping.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example process for associating
a location with a category.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example process for serving an
ad.
[0017] Like reference numbers and designations in the various
drawings indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] Advertisers seek to have content items (e.g., ads) presented
to users likely to be interested in the content items. For example,
content items can be identified for particular users based on the
user's location and characteristics of that location. In
particular, locations can be associated with one or more categories
indicative of the types or interests of people at that location.
Content items matched to these categories can be boosted by a
system when determining content items to serve to users at the
location.
[0019] While reference will be made below to advertising systems
and processes, other forms of content including other forms of
sponsored content can be managed and presented in accordance with
the description below.
[0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example content
presentation system 100. In some implementations, one or more
advertisers 102 can directly, or indirectly, enter, maintain, and
log ad information in an advertising management system 104. Though
reference is made to advertising, other forms of content, including
other forms of sponsored content, can be delivered by the system
100. The ads can be in the form of graphical ads, such as banner
ads, text-only ads, image ads, audio ads, video ads, ads combining
one or more of any of such components, etc. The ads can also
include embedded information, such as links, meta-information,
and/or machine executable instructions.
[0021] One or more publishers 106 can submit requests for ads to
the system 104. The system 104 responds by sending ads to the
requesting publisher 106 for placement on, or association with, one
or more of the publisher's content items (e.g., web properties).
Example web properties can include web pages, television and radio
advertising slots, or print media space.
[0022] Other entities, such as users 108 and the advertisers 102,
can provide usage information to the system 104, such as, for
example, whether or not a conversion (e.g., a purchase or other
interaction including, for example, a request for driving
directions to a location associated with an ad, navigating to the
location associated with the ad, or walking to the location
associated with the ad) or a click-through related to an ad (e.g.,
a user has selected an ad) has occurred. This usage information can
include measured or observed user behavior related to ads that have
been served. The system 104 may perform financial transactions, for
example, crediting the publishers 106 and charging the advertisers
102 based on the usage information.
[0023] A network 110, such as a local area network (LAN), wide area
network (WAN), the Internet, one or more telephony networks or a
combination thereof, connects the advertisers 102, the system 104,
the publishers 106, and the users 108.
[0024] One example publisher 106 is a general content server that
receives requests for content (e.g., articles, discussion threads,
music, video, graphics, search results, web page listings,
information feeds, etc.), and retrieves the requested content in
response to the request. The content server can submit a request
for ads to an advertisement server in the system 104. The ad
request can include a number of ads desired. The ad request can
also include content request information. This information can
include the content itself (e.g., page, video broadcast, radio
show, or other type of content), a category corresponding to the
content or the content request (e.g., arts, business, computers,
arts-movies, arts-music, etc.), part or all of the content request,
content age, content type (e.g., text, graphics, video, audio,
mixed media, etc.), geo-location information, etc.
[0025] In some implementations, the content server or a client
browser can combine the requested content with one or more of the
ads provided by the system 104. The combined content and ads can be
sent/rendered to the users 108 that requested the content for
presentation in a viewer (e.g., a browser or other content display
system). The content server can transmit information about the ads
back to the advertisement server, including information describing
how, when, and/or where the ads are to be rendered (e.g., in HTML
or JavaScript.TM.).
[0026] Another example publisher 106 is a search service. A search
service can receive queries for search results. In response, the
search service can retrieve relevant search results from an index
of documents (e.g., from an index of web pages). Search results can
include, for example, lists of web page titles, snippets of text
extracted from those web pages, and hypertext links to those web
pages, and can be grouped into a predetermined number of (e.g.,
ten) search results.
[0027] The search service can submit a request for ads to the
system 104. The request can include a number of ads desired. This
number can depend on the search results, the amount of screen or
page space occupied by the search results, the size and shape of
the ads, etc. In some implementations, the number of desired ads
will be from one to ten, or from three to five. The request for ads
can also include the query (as entered or parsed), information
based on the query (such as geo-location information, whether the
query came from an affiliate and an identifier of such an
affiliate), and/or information associated with, or based on, the
search results. Such information can include, for example,
identifiers related to the search results (e.g., document
identifiers or "docIDs"), scores related to the search results
(e.g., information retrieval ("IR") scores), snippets of text
extracted from identified documents (e.g., web pages), full text of
identified documents, feature vectors of identified documents, etc.
In some implementations, IR scores can be computed from, for
example, dot products of feature vectors corresponding to a query
and a document, page rank scores, and/or combinations of IR scores
and page rank scores, etc.
[0028] In some implementations, the advertisement management system
104 includes an auction process to select ads from the advertisers
102. For example, the advertisers 102 can be permitted to select,
or bid, an amount the advertisers are willing to pay for each
presentation of or interaction with (e.g., click of) an ad, e.g., a
cost-per-click amount an advertiser pays when, for example, a user
clicks on an ad. The cost-per-click can include a maximum
cost-per-click, e.g., the maximum amount the advertiser is willing
to pay for each click of an ad based on a keyword, e.g., a word or
words in a query. Other bid types, however, can also be used. Based
on these bids, ads can be selected and ranked for presentation.
[0029] The search service can combine the search results with one
or more of the ads provided by the system 104. This combined
information can then be forwarded to the users 108 that requested
the content. The search results can be maintained as distinct from
the ads, so as not to confuse the user between paid ads and
presumably neutral search results.
[0030] In some implementations, one or more publishers 106 can
submit requests for ads to the advertising management system 104.
The system 104 responds by sending ads to the requesting publisher
106 for placement on one or more of the publisher's web properties
(e.g., websites and other network-distributed content) that are
relevant to the web property. For example, if a publisher 106
publishes a sports-related web site, the advertising management
system can provide sports-related ads to the publisher 106. In some
implementations, the requests can instead be executed by devices
associated with the user 108, e.g., by the execution of a
particular script when the publishers web page is loading on a
client device.
[0031] In some alternative implementations, an ad push model is
used to provide ads from advertisers 102. In an ad push model, ads
can be pushed to idle screens (e.g., of a mobile devices or
particular applications) based on particular criteria (e.g., the
user's location).
[0032] Another example publisher 106 is a mobile application
developer. A mobile application is an application specifically
designed for operation on a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone).
The mobile application can also include ads positioned within the
content of the mobile application. Similarly to publishers 106, the
ads can be received from the system 104 for placement in the mobile
application when accessed by a user (e.g., when a particular page
of a mobile application is loaded on the mobile device).
[0033] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example ad system 200
including location-category mappings 222. The ad system 200 can
interact with users 204 at a location 206 and a search system 226
through a network 208. The network 208, e.g., a local area network
(LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet, one or more telephony
networks, cellular networks, or a combination thereof, allows for
communication between the ad system 200, the users 204, and the
search system 226, among others.
[0034] Specifically, the users 204 can receive one or more ads,
directly or indirectly, from the ad system 200. Additionally, the
users 204 can provide location information to the ad system 200
and/or the search system 226. For example, each user 204 can be
associated with a mobile device at a location 206. The mobile
device can include location information, e.g., global positioning
system (GPS) coordinates, which can be provided to the ad manager
202.
[0035] The location of a user can be, or be associated with, a
geographic area, place, or region and can refer to, for example,
GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) coordinates (e.g., latitude and
longitude), address locations, or a region surrounding particular
GPS coordinates. A region can be defined as an area within a
particular distance (e.g., one hundred feet) of particular GPS
coordinates. As another example, the location can be a semantic
location or a region surrounding a semantic location. A semantic
location can be, for example, a shopping mall, a park, a landmark,
or some other area of interest.
[0036] In some implementations, the user location information is
aggregated across users so that individually identifying
information is anonymized while still maintaining the attributes or
characteristics associated with the location information. In some
other implementations, the location information is anonymized (so
that the originating mobile device or mobile device user is
unidentifiable) before transmission to the ad system. In this way,
the actions of individual users can be obscured or unobservable
while still permitting analysis based on user locations.
Additionally, in some implementations, individual users can opt-in
to providing location information to the ad server. In some other
implementations, users can opt-out of providing location
information. Thus users can opt-in or opt-out of providing location
information to allow the system to analyze locations for ads as
well as to receive ads directed to their location.
[0037] The ad system 200 includes an ads repository 218, one or
more of which can be associated with one or more ad categories 216.
The ad system 200 also includes a location classifier 220, a
location-category mapping 222, and ad logs 224. The location
classifier 220 classifies locations as belonging to a particular
category or categories. In some implementations, a particular
location can be classified as belonging to different categories at
different times or dates (e.g., a first category during the day and
a second category during the evening or a particular category
during a particular time of year such as a festival). For example,
a financial district in a city can have people that tend to be
older and affluent. Thus, the financial center can be classified
based on the characteristics of those users (e.g., their
searches).
[0038] Search logs 228 for users in the location can be used to
classify the location. In particular, the location classifier 220
can interact with a search system 226 to identify content from the
search logs 228 associated with the location. For example, the
search logs 228 can include query logs identifying search queries
submitted by one or more users at a given location. Classifying
locations is described in greater detail below with respect to FIG.
3.
[0039] The location-category mapping 222 associates a particular
location with one or more categories. Thus, for a given location,
and optionally a given time and/or date, the location-category
mapping 222 can be used to relate one or more categories for the
location.
[0040] Ad logs 224 allow the ad system 200 to log ads presented to
users 204 and any conversions associated with the presented ads.
For example, the ad logs 224 can identify particular ads presented
to individual users (e.g., impressions). The ad logs 224 can also
include a log of conversions associated with the presented ads
(e.g., conversion events associated with particular user actions
responsive to a presented ad).
[0041] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example process 300 for
associating a location with a category. The process 300 can be
performed, for example, by the ad system 200 of FIG. 2.
[0042] A collection of categories is identified (302). The
collection of categories includes one or more categories that can
be associated with locations. The collection of categories can be
identified by manual input (e.g., defined by one or more
individuals) or according to particular data processing techniques.
For example, the categories can be extracted from one or more
existing sets of categories or data sets can be processed to derive
categories. The categories can be derived by the ad system or can,
alternatively, be received from an external source. Received
categories can be filtered to a smaller number of categories
according to one or more criteria.
[0043] Categories can be determined in various different ways. For
example, categories can be based on surveying sample groups of
users at different locations, classifying users at different
locations based on the purchasing behavior of those users,
classifying users at different locations based on search queries,
ad clicks, or other input of those users, and classifying users
based on particular mobile applications.
[0044] User data is received (304). For example, the user data can
be received by a location classifier (e.g., location classifier
220) from a search system (e.g., search system 226). In particular,
the user data can include query logs for search queries submitted
by users within a specified location, e.g., within a geographic
region or area associated with a specified location. In some
implementations, search results responsive to the search queries
are also identified. For example, the ad classifier can receive
search results corresponding to the queries or, alternatively, the
ad classifier can interact with the search system to identify
search results for each query submitted by users at the location.
In some implementations, user data is more specific, for example,
the user data can be particular to specific times of day or date
ranges (e.g., based on timestamps of search logs).
[0045] One or more categories are derived for a particular location
(306). In some implementations, search information can be analyzed
to identify one or more relevant categories associated with each
result. For example, the queries submitted at the location can
analyzed according to the terms in the query. Additionally, the
search results can be analyzed, in particular, those search results
receiving the greatest number of clicks for submitted queries at
the location. Additionally, query refinements can be used (e.g.,
subsequent user modifications of a submitted query) to identify
categories for the location.
[0046] A distribution of categories across search results can be
maintained for the location (e.g., as a histogram of categories and
indicating the frequency of each category occurring in search data
for the location). A similar baseline distribution can be generated
for search queries in general (e.g., without consideration of
location). For example, general search results can be received for
a specific period of time from many different locations. For a
given location, the distribution of categories for the location can
be compared to the baseline distribution of categories to identify
significant categories for the location (e.g., categories that
occur significantly more often for the location relative to the
baseline distribution).
[0047] For example, at a given location the number of query results
associated with a category of home improvements can be greater than
the baseline occurrence of that category in query results. If the
difference relative to the baseline distribution is greater than a
specified threshold, than the location can be annotated with the
category "home improvement." The distribution can be generated for
the location in general or can be refined to particular times or
dates (e.g., different category distributions can be created from
search queries at particular times).
[0048] Locations are annotated with the associated categories
(308). For example, a location-category mapping (e.g.,
location-category mapping 222) can be used to annotate locations
with particular categories (e.g., in a table).
[0049] The categories associated with a location can be used to
boost ads matching those categories to users at that location
(310). Boosting ads using category-location associations are
described in greater detail below with respect to FIG. 4.
[0050] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example process 400 for serving
an ad. The process 400 can be performed, for example, by the ad
system 200 of FIG. 2.
[0051] A request for one or more ads is received (402). For
example, the ad manager can receive an ad request from a user's
device (e.g., a user's browser or mobile application).
Alternatively, the ad system can receive an ad request from a
publisher providing content to the user (e.g., a web page, search
results, etc.). For example, a user of a mobile device at a given
location can use a mobile browser to initiate a search (e.g., by
inputting a search query to a search field). Presenting a page of
search results can also include presenting one or more ads on the
results page. Thus, the ads are requested from the ad system in
order to render the search results page including one or more
ads.
[0052] Candidate ads are identified (404). Candidate ads can be
identified using various information. For example, keywords, user
information (profile, demographics, location generally), and
publishers content can be used to identify candidate ads. For
example, ads can be associated with particular keywords that can be
matched to other content (e.g., search query terms, web page text).
Additionally, user information can identify likely interests of the
user which can be matched to ad keywords. In some implementations,
candidate ads are scored based on various factors including the
advertiser's financial agreements with the ad system (e.g., cost
per impression), and the degree to which the ad matches the other
content. Candidate ads can be ranked in order according to their
score.
[0053] Each candidate ad can be associated with one or more
categories. In some implementations, the categories are identified
based on the ad content (e.g., ad text) or keywords assigned to the
ad for use in directing ads to particular users. In some
implementations, advertisers can specifically identify categories
for the ad. For example, advertiser could direct ads to categories
such as `all financial districts,` all `university towns,` or all
`tourist places`. Alternatively, in some implementations,
advertisers can specifically exclude particular categories, for
example, an ad can be matched to all categories except `residential
locations.`
[0054] In some implementations, advertisers have the ability to
differentially bid for different categories. For example,
advertiser may be willing to bid higher for a certain keyword for
showing the ad in financial district versus showing the ad in
tourist towns. The bids can depend on the conversion rates they
experience from people looking at ads in different locations. The
advertiser's bid can be used to adjust the score for a matching
candidate ad of that category.
[0055] The location of the user is identified (406). In particular,
the user location can be received with the ad request. The user
location can be, for example, a specific GPS coordinates, a
geographic region surrounding particular GPS coordinates, an
address, or a semantic location (e.g., a business). In some
implementations, the user location can be obtained from an internet
protocol address (IP address), a user setting/choosing specific
location before issuing a query, or user input specifying a
location in a query. In some implementations, the location is a
particular location associated with a geographic area or region in
which the user is located (e.g., the bounds of a city).
[0056] One or more category associated with the user location is
identified (408). A mapping of locations and categories can be used
to identify categories associated with the user locations (e.g.,
the location-category mapping 222 of FIG. 2). In some
implementations, the user's location is required to exactly match
the category locations in order to identify a match. In some other
implementations, the degree of match is flexible. For example, the
user location can be identified within a specific range of GPS
coordinates identified for the category. In another example,
locations are defined by a hierarchy in which the user location and
category location need only match a next higher level in the
hierarchy (e.g., a user location of "Post Street" and a category
location of "Market Street" both match the higher location level of
"San Francisco").
[0057] Candidate ads matching the one or more categories are
boosted (410). In particular, as described above, each candidate ad
has an associated score. The candidate ads can be ranked in an
order defined by the respective scores. The score for the candidate
ads matching the one or more categories can be adjusted, increasing
the score (e.g., by adding an additional weight to a scoring
function or by adding a specified amount or percentage to the
score). The adjusted score may or may not change the ranking of the
ad depending on the score of the ads above the candidate ad in the
ranking order.
[0058] One or more ads to serve to the user are selected (412). In
some implementation, the highest ranked candidate ad or ads are
selected. The number of candidate ads selected for presentation to
the user can depend on the number of ads requested. The highest
ranked candidate ad or ads may or may not include a boosted
category ad. For example, the difference between two candidate ads
in the ranking can be greater than the amount of the change in
score from the boosting such that the relative position of the two
candidate ads is unchanged. Alternatively, in another example, the
change in score from the boosting can cause the score of the
boosted candidate ad to be greater than one or more higher ranked
ads. In such a scenario, the ranking is reordered to position the
boosted ad ahead of those candidate ads.
[0059] The selected one or more ads are served to the user (414).
In some implementations, the ad system provides the selected ads
directly to the user's device (e.g., for incorporation into content
presented on the device. For example, a user's mobile browser can
integrate the ads into presented web content. Alternatively, mobile
applications can incorporate received ads into the displayed
application content. In some other implementations, the ads are
sent to a publisher (e.g., publishers 106) for incorporation into
content prior to sending the content to the user. For example, the
ads can be sent to a search system for incorporation into a search
results web page that is then sent to the user for display.
[0060] In some implementations, category based ad information can
be combined with one or more other types of techniques for
directing ads to particular users (e.g., geographic or interest
based techniques). The final score for a collection of candidate
ads can be based on a combination of the different techniques.
[0061] Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations
described in this specification can be implemented in digital
electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or
hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification
and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more
of them. Embodiments of the subject matter described in this
specification can be implemented as one or more computer programs,
i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded
on computer storage medium for execution by, or to control the
operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or in
addition, the program instructions can be encoded on an
artificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated
electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal that is generated to
encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus
for execution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage
medium can be, or be included in, a computer-readable storage
device, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial
access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more of
them. Moreover, while a computer storage medium is not a propagated
signal, a computer storage medium can be a source or destination of
computer program instructions encoded in an artificially-generated
propagated signal. The computer storage medium can also be, or be
included in, one or more separate physical components or media
(e.g., multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices).
[0062] The operations described in this specification can be
implemented as operations performed by a data processing apparatus
on data stored on one or more computer-readable storage devices or
received from other sources.
[0063] The term "data processing apparatus" encompasses all kinds
of apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including
by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, a system on
a chip, or multiple ones, or combinations, of the foregoing The
apparatus can include special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an
FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC
(application-specific integrated circuit). The apparatus can also
include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution
environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that
constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database
management system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtime
environment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of
them. The apparatus and execution environment can realize various
different computing model infrastructures, such as web services,
distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures.
[0064] A computer program (also known as a program, software,
software application, script, or code) can be written in any form
of programming language, including compiled or interpreted
languages, declarative or procedural languages, and it can be
deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a
module, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for
use in a computing environment. A computer program may, but need
not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored
in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one
or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single
file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple
coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,
sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be
deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers
that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites
and interconnected by a communication network.
[0065] The processes and logic flows described in this
specification can be performed by one or more programmable
processors executing one or more computer programs to perform
actions by operating on input data and generating output. The
processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus
can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g.,
an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC
(application-specific integrated circuit).
[0066] Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program
include, by way of example, both general and special purpose
microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of
digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions
and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both.
The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing
actions in accordance with instructions and one or more memory
devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer
will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from
or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for
storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical
disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a
computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile
telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or
video player, a game console, a Global Positioning System (GPS)
receiver, or a portable storage device (e.g., a universal serial
bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few. Devices suitable for
storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of
non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of
example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and
flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or
removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or
incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.
[0067] To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the
subject matter described in this specification can be implemented
on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray
tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displaying
information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g.,
a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the
computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for
interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to
the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual
feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from
the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech,
or tactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user
by sending documents to and receiving documents from a device that
is used by the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web
browser on a user's client device in response to requests received
from the web browser.
[0068] Embodiments of the subject matter described in this
specification can be implemented in a computing system that
includes a back-end component, e.g., as a data server, or that
includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or
that includes a front-end component, e.g., a client computer having
a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user
can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described
in this specification, or any combination of one or more such
back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components of
the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital
data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of
communication networks include a local area network ("LAN") and a
wide area network ("WAN"), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet),
and peer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).
[0069] The computing system can include clients and servers. A
client and server are generally remote from each other and
typically interact through a communication network. The
relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer
programs running on the respective computers and having a
client-server relationship to each other. In some embodiments, a
server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a client device
(e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving user input
from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated at
the client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can be
received from the client device at the server.
[0070] While this specification contains many specific
implementation details, these should not be construed as
limitations on the scope of any inventions or of what may be
claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to
particular embodiments of particular inventions. Certain features
that are described in this specification in the context of separate
embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single
embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the
context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple
embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,
although features may be described above as acting in certain
combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more
features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised
from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed
to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
[0071] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in
a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that
such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in
sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed,
to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances,
multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover,
the separation of various system components in the embodiments
described above should not be understood as requiring such
separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the
described program components and systems can generally be
integrated together in a single software product or packaged into
multiple software products.
[0072] Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been
described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following
claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be
performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results.
In addition, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures do
not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential
order, to achieve desirable results. In certain implementations,
multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.
* * * * *