Method, computer program product, and system for accounting for variable dimensions of content items when positioning content items in a user interface having slots for displaying content items

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing code comprising instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

• obtain candidate content items including one or more standard candidate content items and one or more extended candidate content items, each standard candidate content item having sizing information specifying a first width in an interface to be displayed to a user, each extended candidate content item having sizing information specifying a second width larger than the first width;
• receive a request for content from a user;
• determine a content score for each candidate content item, the content score for a candidate content item indicating a likelihood of the user performing an interaction when the candidate content item is displayed to the user;
• select candidate content items including a candidate standard candidate content item and a corresponding candidate extended candidate content item;
• generate a directed acyclic graph from the selected candidate content items, the directed acyclic graph comprising a plurality of nodes connected by edges, the directed acyclic graph representing candidate spatial placement positions of the selected candidate content items, wherein the directed acyclic graph comprises:
• the plurality of nodes corresponding to placement positions of the selected candidate content items of the interface, wherein the plurality of nodes comprise a first node representing a first placement position of the candidate standard candidate content item occupying the first width and a second node representing a second placement position of the candidate extended candidate content item occupying the second width, and
• an edge between a starting node and a destination node identifying a particular selected candidate content item to display at a placement position corresponding to the destination node, the particular selected candidate content item having particular sizing information, the edge having a weight comprising an expected value of displaying the selected candidate content item corresponding to the destination node;
• and
• cause to display, in the interface, one or more of the candidate content items determined by nodes and edges along a path through the directed acyclic graph selected based on aggregated expected values of edges along the path.

A system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• memory configured to store code comprising instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
• obtain candidate content items including one or more standard candidate content items and one or more extended candidate content items, each standard candidate content item having sizing information specifying a first width in an interface to be displayed to a user, each extended candidate content item having sizing information specifying a second width larger than the first width;
• receive a request for content from a user;
• determine a content score for each candidate content item, the content score for a candidate content item indicating a likelihood of the user performing an interaction when the candidate content item is displayed to the user;
• select candidate content items including a candidate standard candidate content item and a corresponding candidate extended candidate content item;
• generate a directed acyclic graph from the selected candidate content items, the directed acyclic graph comprising a plurality of nodes connected by edges, the directed acyclic graph representing candidate spatial placement positions of the selected candidate content items, wherein the directed acyclic graph comprises:
• the plurality of nodes corresponding to placement positions of the selected candidate content items of the interface, wherein the plurality of nodes comprise a first node representing a first placement position of the candidate standard candidate content item occupying the first width and a second node representing a second placement position of the candidate extended candidate content item occupying the second width, and
• an edge between a starting node and a destination node identifying a particular selected candidate content item to display at a placement position corresponding to the destination node, the particular selected candidate content item having particular sizing information, the edge having a weight comprising an expected value of displaying the selected candidate content item corresponding to the destination node;
• and
• cause to display, in the interface, one or more of the candidate content items determined by nodes and edges along a path through the directed acyclic graph selected based on aggregated expected values of edges along the path.