US 8,898,072 B2Granted

Optimizing electronic display of advertising content

AssigneeHubpages, Inc.

InventorsJames Reitz, Paul Deeds

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Abstract

In one embodiment, a selection process executing in an optimizing engine is invoked as users are presented with web pages that include ad content. The selection process provides an initial population of sets of characteristics that specify an initial generation of layouts of ads for the pages. The characteristics can include anything that affects an ads appearance on the display. For example, ad type, position within a web page, color, size, text font, animation, etc. can be specified. Statistics are obtained as to each ad or page layout's performance or impact on the user, such as revenue obtained from ads in the layout, how many user's click an ad, how long users view an ad, etc. Once a large enough sample of user impacts is obtained a second population of sets of characteristics is created to improve the overall performance of the initial population. In a preferred embodiment, genetic computational procedures are used to create each population and to create new characteristic sets and remove underperforming sets.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

generating a first plurality of agents, wherein each agent includes a set of ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array, wherein each ad characteristic definition includes a set of ad characteristics ordered in a linear array, that define how an ad associated with the respective ad characteristic definition is displayed, and wherein a position of each ad characteristic definition along a linear array of a respective agent determines a respective ad slot within a page layout;
sending display information to a user device to display the ad content according to the first plurality of agents;
accepting a user input signal associated with the user device to indicate an impact of the ad content upon a human user for each agent of the first plurality;
generating a second plurality of agents, wherein each agent of the second plurality of agents includes a set of ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array, wherein each ad characteristic definition includes a set of ad characteristics ordered in a linear array, that define how an ad associated with the respective ad characteristic definition is displayed, and wherein each agent of the second plurality of agents is derived at least in part from better-performing agents of the first plurality according to the impact of each agent of the first plurality;
determining that a first agent and a second agent are better-performing than at least one other agent, wherein the first agent includes a set of first ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array, and wherein the second agent includes a set of second ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array;
using a first portion of the first agent and a second portion of the second agent to create a third agent, wherein the first portion includes one or more ad characteristic definitions of the first agent, wherein the second portion includes one or more ad characteristic definitions of the second agent, and wherein the third agent includes a combination of ad characteristic definitions from the first and second portions;
and
sending display information to the user device to display the ad content according to the third agent.

5 more elements

An apparatus comprising:

a processor;
one or more instructions executable by the processor for:
generating a first plurality of agents, wherein each agent includes a set of ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array, wherein each ad characteristic definition includes a set of ad characteristics ordered in a linear array, that define how an ad associated with the respective ad characteristic definition is displayed, and wherein a position of each ad characteristic definition along a linear array of a respective agent determines a respective ad slot within a page layout;
sending display information to a user device to display the ad content with main content according to the first plurality of agents;
accepting a user input signal associated with the user device to indicate an impact of the ad content upon a human user for each agent of the first plurality;
generating a second plurality of agents, wherein each agent of the second plurality of agents includes a set of ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array, wherein each ad characteristic definition includes a set of ad characteristics ordered in a linear array, that define how an ad associated with the respective ad characteristic definition is displayed, and wherein each agent of the second plurality of agents is derived at least in part from the better-performing agents of the first plurality according to the impact of each agent of the first plurality;
determining that a first agent and a second agent are better-performing than at least one other agent, wherein the first agent includes a set of first ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array, and wherein the second agent includes a set of second ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array;
using a first portion of the first agent and a second portion of the second agent to create a third agent, wherein the first portion includes one or more ad characteristic definitions of the first agent, wherein the second portion includes one or more ad characteristic definitions of the second agent, and wherein the third agent includes a combination of ad characteristic definitions from the first and second portions;
and
sending display information to the user device to display the ad content with the main content according to the third agent.

7 more elements

A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium including instructions for:

generating a first plurality of agents, wherein each agent includes a set of ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array, wherein each ad characteristic definition includes a set of ad characteristics ordered in a linear array, that define how an ad associated with the respective ad characteristic definition is displayed, and wherein a position of each ad characteristic definition along a linear array of a respective agent determines a respective ad slot within a page layout;
and wherein a position of each ad characteristic definition within a respective agent corresponds to a respective ad slot within a page layout;
sending display information to a user device to display the ad content with main content according to the first plurality of agents;
accepting a user input signal associated with the user device to indicate an impact of the ad content upon a human user for each agent of the first plurality;
generating a second plurality of agents, wherein each agent of the second plurality of agents includes a set of ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array, wherein each ad characteristic definition includes a set of ad characteristics ordered in a linear array, that define how an ad associated with the respective ad characteristic definition is displayed, and wherein each agent of the second plurality of agents is derived at least in part from the better-performing agents of the first plurality according to the impact of each agent of the first plurality;
determining that a first agent and a second agent are better-performing than at least one other agent, wherein the first agent includes a set of first ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array, and wherein the second agent includes a set of second ad characteristic definitions ordered in a linear array;
using a first portion of the first agent and a second portion of the second agent to create a third agent, wherein the first portion includes one or more ad characteristic definitions of the first agent, wherein the second portion includes one or more ad characteristic definitions of the second agent, and wherein the third agent includes a combination of ad characteristic definitions from the first and second portions;
and
sending display information to the user device to display the ad content with the main content according to the third agent.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/738,421Filed 20 Apr 2007
Published: US 2008/0262913 A123 Oct 2008
Granted: 25 Nov 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification3 codes

G06Q 30/02
Commerce: marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
G06Q 30/0236
Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates: incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
G06Q
Information and communication technology [ict] specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial