Selecting content associated with a collection of entities

A computer program product embodied in a non-transitive computer-readable medium including instructions, that when executed, cause one or more processors to:

• receive, from a content sponsor, selection criteria for presenting a first content item, including receiving an indication that the first content item is to be presented when a specified group of related entities are presented in a search results page;
• store a reference to the first content item and the selection criteria;
• after the storing, receive a query including one or more terms or phrases that do not identify the specified group of related entities;
• determine, by one or more processors, that the one or more terms or phrases refer to a first entity;
• determine, using one or more processors, that the first entity is included in the specified group of related entities and that a portion of the group of related entities are being provided for presentation on a responsive search results page;
• identify, from an inventory of content items, the first content item as eligible for presentation based on the determination that the portion of the group of related entities are being provided for presentation on the responsive search results page;
• and
• dynamically arrange, on the responsive search result page, a presentation of the portion of the group of related entities to position the first content item more prominently or to visually emphasize the first content item based on a bid by the content sponsor.

A system comprising:

• an entity engine comprising one or more processors that evaluates terms and phrases in a received query to identify associated collections of entities;
• a related content identification engine comprising one or more processors that identifies eligible content items from an inventory of content items, wherein each eligible content item identified is associated with selection criteria, including criteria specifying, or associated with, a group of related entities and the received query;
• a request handler comprising one or more processors that handles requests for content received by a content management system, the content management system selecting and providing content in response to requests for content;
• one or more processors;
• and
• one or more memory elements including instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to:
• receive, from a content sponsor, selection criteria for presenting a first content item, including receiving an indication that the first content item is to be presented when a specified group of related entities are presented in a search results page;
• store a reference to the first content item and the selection criteria;
• after the storing, receive a query including one or more terms or phrases that do not identify the specified group of related entities;
• determine, by one or more processors, that the one or more terms or phrases refer to a first entity;
• determine, using one or more processors, that the first entity is included in the specified group of related entities and that a portion of the group of related entities are being provided for presentation on a responsive search results page;
• identify, from an inventory of content items, the first content item as eligible for presentation based on the determination that the portion of the group of related entities are being provided for presentation on the responsive search results page;
• and
• dynamically arrange, on the responsive search result page, a presentation of the portion of the group of related entities to position the first content item more prominently or to visually emphasize the first content item based on a bid by the content sponsor.