Dynamically allocating computing resources to identify advertisements for presentation

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

• access, at a social networking system, a yield curve for a viewing user at a client device, wherein the yield curve for the viewing user is a value function that:
• represents a group of users that share at least one attribute;
• is associated with potential server allocation resources;
• and
• indicates an expected value to be generated by presenting an advertisement to the user at the client device per amount of server resources used to find an advertisement for presentation to the user at a client device;
• automatically determine, based on at least one slope represented in the yield curves, an amount of server resources to allocate for finding an advertisement for the viewing user at the client device, wherein the allocation amount is increased in the event the at least one slope represented in the yield curves greater than a maximum slope threshold or lesser than a minimum slope threshold, wherein the maximum slope threshold and minimum slope threshold is associated with an amount of expected value to the social networking system due to presenting the advertisement to the viewing user at the client device;
• and
• allocate the determined amount of server resources at one or more computing systems of the social networking system to find the advertisement for presentation to the user at the client device.

A system, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
• access, at an online system, a yield curve for a viewing user at a client device, wherein the yield curve for the viewing user is a value function that:
• represents a group of users that share at least one attribute;
• is associated with potential server allocation resources;
• and
• indicates an expected value to be generated by presenting an advertisement to the user at the client device per amount of server resources used to find an advertisement for presentation to the user at the client device;
• automatically determine, based on at least one slope represented in the yield curves, an amount of server resources to allocate for finding an advertisement for the viewing user at the client device, wherein the allocation amount is increased in the event the at least one slope represented in the yield curves greater than a maximum slope threshold or lesser than a minimum slope threshold, wherein the maximum slope threshold and minimum slope threshold is associated with an amount of expected value to the social networking system due to presenting the advertisement to the viewing user at the client device;
• and
• allocate the determined amount of server resources at one or more computing systems of the social networking system to find the advertisement for presentation to the user at the client device.