Systems and methods for determining relative placement of content items on a rendered page

Abstract

Systems and methods for determining the value of bids placed by content providers for placement positions on a page, e.g., a web page, rendered according to a given context, for instance, the search results listing for a particular query initiated on a search engine web site, are provided. Additionally, systems and methods are provided for determining placement of content items, e.g., advertisements and / or images, on a rendered page relative to other content items on the page based upon bid value.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of commonly assigned application U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 977,824, filed on Oct. 29, 2004, entitled “Systems and Methods for Determining Bid Value for Content Items to be Placed on a Rendered Page”, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not applicable. TECHNICAL FIELD [0003] The present invention relates to computing environments. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for determining the value of bids placed by content providers for placement positions on a rendered page, e.g., a web page. Additionally, the present invention relates to systems and methods for determining the placement of content items, e.g., advertisements and / or images, on a rendered page relative to other content items on the page. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] Searching and choosing products and services throu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a computer-implemented method for determining the placement of content items on a page (e.g., a web page) based on their bid value. The method involves receiving bids for the content items, with each bid based on a different pricing model. The method also includes estimating the click-through rate of the content items and determining their relative placement on the page based on the bid value. The method can also introduce randomness into the placement of the content items and allow content providers to bid for different attributes of the content items. The technical effects of the invention include improving the placement of content items on a page and optimizing the allocation of advertisements and images.

Problems solved by technology

One drawback to this approach, however, is that it does not take into account the probability that a user will access the information associated with the advertisement (or other content) and, accordingly, all of the risk resides with the search engine.

However, the probability that a user will access the information associated with a particular content item or descriptor may be difficult to determine, particularly when the content provider lacks a history with the search engine that can be empirically evaluated.

Additionally, in either of the above-described placement scenarios, content providers are unable to view the bids that are being placed by their competitors.

Images