Demographic Profiling via Anonymous Browser Cookies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional web-based advertising systems lack accuracy in determining user demographic profiles, leading to missed opportunities in targeting advertisements and presenting them to the wrong audience.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines user demographic profiles for anonymous users by installing unique identification data on their computers, generating records of visits to specific websites, and calculating demographic profiles based on website profiles, allowing for targeted advertisement selection and delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional registration data or internet audience measurement services are used to determine user demographic profiles, then the system is simple to operate, but the measurement precision is insufficient leading to inaccurate demographic information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component (identification data/cookie) that mediates between the user's anonymous browsing and the advertising system. This cookie stores identification information that enables accurate tracking of user behavior across websites without requiring direct registration or complex measurement services, thus improving measurement precision while maintaining system simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy (cookie) of user identification data that can be stored and transmitted across different websites. This copy enables the system to recognize and track the same user across multiple sites, providing accurate demographic profiling without requiring the user to repeatedly register or the system to implement complex identification mechanisms
2Measurement precision
If no user identification data is installed, then the user's privacy is protected and the system is simple, but the system cannot accurately track user visits or target advertisements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a lightweight, easily created identification cookie that can be deployed across millions of users without significant cost or complexity. This disposable-like approach allows the system to track user behavior accurately while the cookie remains a simple data structure that doesn't require ongoing maintenance or complex management
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by storing identification data specifically in the user's browser cookie, allowing the system to track individual users locally on their devices. This enables accurate visit tracking and demographic profiling while maintaining user anonymity at the system level, as the identification data remains distributed across individual user browsers rather than being centralized
3Measurement precision
If accurate demographic profiling is implemented through user registration, then the measurement precision improves, but the ease of operation decreases requiring user registration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by automatically installing the identification cookie on the user's browser during their first visit to a participating website. This eliminates the need for user registration or manual input of demographic information, as the system automatically tracks and profiles users based on their browsing behavior and the websites they visit
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-installing the identification cookie on the user's browser before any advertising or tracking activities begin. This initial setup occurs automatically during the user's first visit, enabling subsequent accurate tracking and demographic profiling without requiring any further user action or registration
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system determine a profile of a user. A website profile of a website is determined. The website profile is a plurality of probabilities that a random user visiting the website is a member of one or more demographic subgroups. A record of a visit by a website user to the website is accessed. An assignment of the website user to one or more of the demographic subgroups is assigned based on the website profile. A data or service is provided based on the assignment.