(12) United States Patent
`Roth et al.
`
`I IIIII IIIIIIII Ill lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll 111111111111111111
`US006285987Bl
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`Sep.4,2001
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54)
`
`INTERNET ADVERTISING SYSTEM
`
`5, 1 page, Jul. 1995. *
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: David William Roth; Dylan Salisbury,
`both of San Francisco, CA (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Engage, Inc., Andover, MA (US)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 320 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 08/787,979
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Jan. 22, 1997
`
`Int. Cl.7 ............................. G06F 17/40; G06F 17/60
`(51)
`(52) U.S. Cl. ................................. 705/27; 705/26; 705/14;
`705/37; 705/400
`(58) Field of Search .................................. 705/26, 27, 14,
`705/37, 400
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`4,703,423 * 10/1987 Bado et al.
`.............................. 705/1
`4,789,928 * 12/1988 Fujisaki .................................. 705/37
`5,105,184
`4/1992 Pirani ................................... 340/721
`5,305,195
`4/1994 Murphy .
`5,515,270 * 5/1996 Weinblatt ............................... 705/14
`5,584,025
`12/1996 Keithlety .............................. 395/615
`5,684,963 * 11/1997 Clement ................................. 705/26
`5,710,884 * 1/1998 Dedrick ........................... 395/200.47
`5,721,827
`2/1998 Logan et al. .
`5,724,521 * 3/1998 Dedrick .................................. 705/26
`5,740,549 * 4/1998 Reilly et al. ........................... 705/14
`5,745,882 * 4/1998 Bixler et al. ........................... 705/26
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`WO 9726729 * 7/1997 (WO) .
`
`OIBER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Frook, John Evans, "Web sites sell ad space through auc(cid:173)
`tion-Despite industry skepticism, Individual Inc. and
`Netscape try out new strategies", Interactive Age, v2, n20, p.
`
`Article by Toland, P., entitled "CNET: The Computer Net(cid:173)
`work Unveils Revolutionary Internet Advertising Tool That
`Allows Customer Banner Ad Delivery Based on Demo(cid:173)
`graphic Information", PR Newswire, Dateline: San Fran(cid:173)
`cisco, Dec. 6, 1995 (3 pages).
`
`(List continued on next page.)
`
`Primary Examiner-Allen R. MacDonald
`Assistant Examiner-James W. Myhre
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ropes & Gray
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A system for providing advertisements from a central server
`to viewers who access web sites. The central server stores
`both advertisements which are to be displayed and an
`information data base. The data base includes information
`about viewers, information about the characteristics of par(cid:173)
`ticular web sites and other information relevant to which
`advertisements should be displayed for particular viewers.
`Proposed bids submitted by different advertisers are evalu(cid:173)
`ated in real time in order to determine which particular
`advertisement will be displayed to a viewer. Each proposed
`bid can specify a price or amount that the advertiser is
`willing to pay for the opportunity to display an advertise(cid:173)
`ment (a) to a viewer who has a particular set of character(cid:173)
`istics and (b) on a web site and web page that meets a
`particular set of criteria. The system includes ( a) a web
`server system which has data bases stored therein, (b)
`bidding agents which compare the characteristics of view(cid:173)
`ops to the specifications in proposed bids and which submit
`bids as appropriate, and ( c) bid selection logic which decides
`which bid to accept for each particular view-op.
`
`17 Claims, 13 Drawing Sheets
`
`CLIENT
`BROWSER
`
`14
`
`320
`
`VIEW SERVER
`
`162
`
`16R
`
`I - - - - - - - ' GIDDING AGENT
`
`LOG AND
`BILLING UNIT
`
`Twitter Exhibit 1009
`Twitter, Inc. v. BlackBerry Ltd.
`Page 00001
`
`

`

`US 6,285,987 Bl
`Page 2
`
`OIBER PUBLICATIONS
`
`"Sites Dip Into Cookies to Track User Info", 2 pgs, Obtained
`from Internet site http://www.webweek.com printed from
`Internet Aug. 5, 1996.
`"Cybertimes Start Ups Plot to make the Web Confortable for
`Advertisers" 4 pgs Obtained from Internet site http://ww(cid:173)
`w.netgravithy.com printed from Internet Mar. 28, 1996.
`"Click here for DoubleClick Information Request Form et.
`seq." 82 pgs, Obtained form Internet site http://www.double(cid:173)
`click.net printed from Internet Aug. 4, 1996.
`
`"Focalink Welcome to Focalink" 34 pgs. Obtained from
`Internet site http://www.focalink.com etc. printed from
`Internet Aug. 8, 1996.
`"About Worldata Worlddata Information Marketing Ser(cid:173)
`vices", 48 pgs. Obtained from Internet site http://www.worl(cid:173)
`data.com printed from Internet Sep. 3, 1996.
`ImgisAdForce Features and Benefits: 12 pgs Obtained from
`Internet site http://www.imgis.com printed from Internet Jul.
`28, 1996.
`* cited by examiner
`
`Page 00002
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 1 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`11
`I
`
`CLIENT
`BROWSER
`
`H UMAN
`V IEWER
`10
`
`11 A
`\
`I COOKIE
`
`~
`
`F
`WEB
`PAGE
`
`WEB SITE
`
`-14
`
`ADVERTISING WEB SERVER SYSTEM
`
`...-16
`
`DATA BASE OF v
`ADVERTISEMENTS
`
`15
`
`A
`16C-
`
`DATA BASE OF v-
`VIEWER INFO
`
`'-------t---
`
`168
`
`BID
`SELECTION
`LOGIC
`
`•
`30A
`308
`30Z
`I
`\
`I
`•
`I BIDDING AGENT I I BIDDING AGENT I I BIDDING AGENT I
`
`...-18
`
`BID INPUT
`SYSTEM
`
`FIG. 1
`
`Page 00003
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 2 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`USER SELECTS
`WEB PAGE
`
`i
`
`WEB PAGE LINKS
`TO SERVER
`!
`VIEWER INFORMATION
`COLLECTED
`
`i.- 201
`
`-- 202
`
`-- 203
`
`FIG. 2A
`
`ADVERTISING SPACE BECOMES
`AVAILABLE ON A WEB PAGE
`(IN REAL TIME)
`
`..-210
`
`WEB SERVER SYSTEM 16
`SENDS VIEW-OP
`INFORMATION TO BIDDING AGENTS
`(IN REAL TIME)
`
`..-211
`
`ADVERTISER SETS
`PROPOSED BID WITH
`PARAMETERS
`
`212
`
`--
`
`BIDDING AGENTS SEND BIDS
`TO BID SELECTION LOGIC
`
`BID SELECTION LOGIC PICKS
`WINNING BID
`
`ADVERTISEMENT SENT TO
`BROWSER 11
`
`..-213
`
`..-214
`
`..-215
`
`FIG. 2B
`
`Page 00004
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 3 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`.......-11
`
`CLIENT
`BROWSER
`
`i.-14
`
`WEB SITE
`
`WEB SERVER
`
`i.-310
`
`AD TABLES
`
`..-- 16A
`
`320
`I
`
`VIEW SERVER
`
`16C--
`
`POST VIEWOP -
`-
`BID
`
`BID
`SELECTION
`LOGIC
`
`-
`
`19B
`
`DATA TABLES
`
`'
`
`'
`LOG AND
`BILLING UNIT
`
`v320A
`
`FIG. 3
`
`BIDDING AGENT
`
`BIDDING AGENT
`
`BIDDING AGENT
`
`i--30A
`
`i--30B
`
`i--30Z
`-
`
`I
`BID INPUT
`SERVER
`
`---18
`
`DATA TABLE
`
`18-T
`
`Page 00005
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 4 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`DATA TABLES 16B IN VIEW SERVER 320
`
`! ws
`cu
`! SP ! TS r-
`TABLE NAME HUD
`
`408
`
`AA
`
`pp
`
`cu
`
`ws
`TS
`SP
`TABLE NAME SOD
`
`AC
`
`AJ ! TSC r- 409
`
`FIG. 4
`
`! LTS ! IP
`
`! ON
`
`co
`BT
`EA
`TABLE NAME CUD
`
`cu
`
`zc ! PDC r- 410
`
`......... BL _____ ! __ CT __ L ..... ! __ V __ L ........... __ TE ______ AA ............ ____ ...... r-412
`TABLE NAME AAD
`
`415A
`VODX
`NAME OF MEMORY AREA VOD
`
`r- 415
`
`Page 00006
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 5 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`FIG. 5A
`
`CONTINUED IN FIG 58
`
`Page 00007
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 6 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`FIG. 5B
`
`CONTINUED IN FIG 5C
`
`Page 00008
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 7 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`519
`
`COMPUTE
`LAST AD USER
`
`522
`
`COUNT (SCAN) SOD 1----.c
`
`FIG. 5C
`
`524
`
`525
`
`526
`
`TRY TO BUY
`
`SELECT NEXT ADD
`
`SUBMIT BID
`
`528
`
`DONE
`
`Page 00009
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 8 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`PROCESS BEGINS WHEN WEB SERVER 310
`PROVIDES A NEW VIEW-OP TO SERVER 320
`
`RECEIVE VIEW-OP CALL FROM
`WEB SERVER 310
`(RAW VIEW OP DATA)
`
`v 601
`
`ESTABLISH AREA FOR VOD
`(WRITE TO THIS AREA)
`
`PARSE DOMAIN
`
`PARSE ACCEPTS (MAP TO CTs)
`
`PARSE BROWSER
`
`BEGIN OPERATION
`FIG. 6A
`
`WRITE SP, WS, COOKIE TO VOD
`
`CREATE NEW VIEW-OP
`RECORD IN SOD
`
`WRITE NEW RECORD
`
`WRITE TS TO SOD
`
`~
`(GO TO NEXT PAGE)
`
`v 605
`
`v 606
`
`v 607
`
`v 608
`
`v 609
`
`- 610
`
`-611
`
`-612
`
`Page 00010
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 9 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`ELSE
`
`SELECT ON CUD USING
`OTHER HEURISTICS
`
`SET (OR CLEAR) VOD.CU
`
`616
`
`617
`
`622
`
`WRITE CUD REC TO VOD
`
`FIG. 6B
`
`615
`
`YES
`
`SELECT ON CUD WHERE
`COOKIE MATCH
`
`621
`
`YES
`
`INSERT NEW USER IN
`CUD
`
`INSERT NEW CUD REC.
`CUD
`
`IN
`
`623
`
`630
`
`631
`
`632
`
`SELECT FROM SOD 100 MOST
`CURRENT PURCHASES THAT INVOLVE
`THIS VIEWER
`ORDER BY TS INTO VOD
`
`SELECT FROM HUD WHERE CU,
`SPI, SWI ALL MATCH FOR MOST
`RECENT 100 RECORDS
`INTO VOD
`
`SELECT FROM AAD
`WHERE BUDGET ACTIVE
`TO VOD
`
`(GO TO NEXT PAGE)
`
`Page 00011
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 10 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`634
`
`EACH BIDDING AGENT RUNS ITS
`LOGIC (SEE FIGURE 5)
`
`635
`
`641
`
`642
`
`643
`
`644
`
`653
`
`654
`
`SEND RESULT TO VIEW
`SERVER 320
`
`PICK MAXIMUM BID
`
`UPDATE AAD DA TA
`
`CHECK FOR EXPIRATION OF
`BIDDING AGENT
`
`SET VOD.AA SLOT TO WINNER
`
`COMPOSE SOD RECORD FROM
`VOD DATA
`
`INSERT SOD RECORD
`
`(GO TO NEXT PAGE)
`
`FIG. 6C
`
`646
`
`YES
`
`SELECT OLDEST CUD
`RECORD AND POST
`TO ARCHIVE FILE
`
`651
`
`YES
`
`DELETE OLDEST
`CUD RECORD
`
`Page 00012
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 11 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`656
`
`YES
`
`SELECT OLDEST SOD
`RECORD POST TO
`ARCHIEVE
`
`661
`
`YES
`
`DELETE OLDEST SOD
`RECORD
`
`665
`
`NO
`
`INSERT NEW HUD REC
`
`FIG. 6D
`
`662
`
`SELECT FROM HUD WHERE CU=
`CU,SP,SW,
`CURRENT TIME INTERVAL
`
`663
`
`WRITE DATA TO VOD
`
`666
`
`UPDATE EXISTING HUD REC
`
`(GO TO NEXT PAGE)
`
`Page 00013
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 12 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`671
`
`YES
`
`DELETE OLDEST
`HUD RECORD
`
`672
`
`673
`
`674
`
`675
`
`CREATE ACCOUNTING REC. FROM
`VOD DATA
`
`POST FOR ACCOUNTING
`SEND TO ARCHIVE
`
`POST AD CONTENT INDEX TO
`WEB SERVER 310
`
`DELETE THE VOD
`
`(WAIT FOR NEXT VIEW-OP
`AND THEN START PROCESS
`FROM THE BEGINNING)
`
`FIG. 6E
`
`Page 00014
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.4,2001
`
`Sheet 13 of 13
`
`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`711
`
`712
`
`WEB
`BROWSER
`
`ISP
`
`716A
`
`730A
`
`SERVER
`
`SERVER
`
`730B
`
`SERVER
`
`716C
`
`730C
`
`718
`
`BID INPUT
`UNIT
`
`FIG. 7
`
`Page 00015
`
`

`

`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`1
`INTERNET ADVERTISING SYSTEM
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to computer networks and
`more particularly to a method and system for selecting and
`then displaying advertisements on Internet World Wide Web
`sites.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Many web sites on the Internet World Wide Web regularly
`display advertisements. The particular advertisement that is
`displayed when a viewer accesses a web site can either be
`stored locally on the web site or it can be stored on a central
`server. (As used herein the term viewer refers to an indi(cid:173)
`vidual who views or looks at a web page using a program
`such as a web browser).
`The Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and the Hyper
`Text Mark Up Language (HTML) provide a mechanism
`whereby a web page can easily reference material located on
`a remote server. The HTTP mechanisms for referencing and
`obtaining material from a remote server is useful in provid(cid:173)
`ing advertising material for display to viewers. There are
`commercially available systems which provide advertising
`material for web sites from a central server and various web
`pages have HTML references to this central server. With
`such an arrangement, when a viewer accesses a web page
`which has an appropriate HTML reference, the viewer sees
`advertisement that is provided by the central server.
`Using standard HTTP facilities it is possible to track when
`a particular viewer accesses a web site and thus it is possible
`to compile a data base which in essence provides a profile of
`the sites a particular viewer has accessed. Furthermore, it is
`known that particular categories of viewers generally access
`particular types of web sites. The capabilities inherent in the
`World Wide Web for tracking the sites that a viewer has seen
`provides a mechanism for targeting particular advertise(cid:173)
`ments to particular categories of viewers.
`There are prior art systems which provide advertisements
`from a central server that has a data base of information 40
`concerning characteristics of viewers. A data base of viewer
`information can be compiled from a variety of sources
`including the information about a viewer which is available
`when a viewer accesses a server. In such prior art systems,
`the particular advertisement which is displayed when a
`particular viewer accesses a web site is determined by the
`characteristics of the viewer as provided by the data base of
`viewer information and by other information such as the
`characteristics of the web site which the viewer has
`accessed. Using such systems advertisers can target adver(cid:173)
`tisements by criteria such as web site category, geographic
`location of the viewer, the operating system of the viewer's
`computer, the type of browser which the viewer is using, the
`Internet domain type of the viewer, etc.
`Advertisers who use such prior art systems must specify
`in advance, the targeting criteria they want to use for their
`advertisements. The central server then provides advertise(cid:173)
`ments to viewers based upon ( a) the targeting criteria
`provided by the advertisers (b) the information which the
`central server has in its data base concerning the particular
`viewer, (c) information about the web site that has been
`accessed by the viewer and (d) other information available
`to the central server such as the time of day.
`
`10
`
`20
`
`2
`viewers who access web sites. With the present invention the
`central server system stores both advertisements which are
`to be displayed and an information data base. The data base
`includes information about viewers, information about the
`5 characteristics of particular web sites and other information
`relevant to which advertisements should be displayed for
`particular viewers. In contrast to the prior art systems, the
`present invention evaluates, in real time, bids submitted by
`different advertisers in order to determine which particular
`advertisement will be displayed to a viewer.
`The fact that a viewer has accessed a web page which has
`an HTML reference to the advertising server of the present
`invention, is herein referred to as a view opportunity or
`view-op. The characteristics of each view-op include the
`15 characteristics of the particular web site and web page being
`accessed and the characteristics of the viewer including
`demographic information about the viewer and information
`as to what other sites this viewer has accessed in various
`periods of time.
`With the present invention each advertiser provides one or
`more "proposed bids" which specify how much the adver(cid:173)
`tiser is willing to pay for displaying a particular advertise(cid:173)
`ment in response to a view-op with certain characteristics.
`Each proposed bid can specify a price or amount that the
`25 advertiser is willing to pay for the opportunity to display an
`advertisement (a) to a viewer who has a particular set of
`characteristics and (b) on a web site and web page that meets
`a particular set of criteria. Each proposed bid can be depen(cid:173)
`dent upon or require satisfaction of various criteria which
`30 must be met in order for a bid of a particular amount to be
`submitted. For example an advertiser might specify that the
`first one thousand times that view-ops meeting certain
`criteria occurs, a bid of five cents will be submitted and each
`time thereafter that a view-op meeting the criteria occurs a
`35 bid of one cent will be submitted. The amount bid for a
`view-op can be dependent on as many criteria as the
`advertiser cares to specify. Another example is that an
`advertiser might bid ten cents if the view-op was by a viewer
`who had recently visited a particular web page and one cent
`for the same view-op if the viewer had not recently visited
`the particular web page. Yet another example of a parameter
`which could be specified in a proposed bid is the "click(cid:173)
`through" rate for the particular site where the view-op
`originated. The click-through rate is the rate at which
`45 viewers click on an advertisement to access the advertiser's
`web site. Thus, the bidding parameters can either be simple
`or complex.
`The present invention includes (a) a web server system
`which has data bases stored therein, (b) bidding agents
`50 which compare the characteristics of view-ops to the speci(cid:173)
`fications in proposed bids and which submit bids as
`appropriate, and (c) bid selection logic which decides which
`bid to accept for each particular view-op.
`With the present invention, when a view-op arises, the
`55 bidding agents evaluate the characteristics of the view-op
`compared to the specifications in proposed bids and the
`bidding agents submit bids to the bid selection logic where
`appropriate. Next, the bid selection logic selects the highest
`bid from the various available bids and the advertisement
`60 which is specified in the highest bid is displayed. The novel
`aspect of the present invention is the organization, operation
`and interaction between the bidding agents, the server which
`provides information to the bidding agents, the bid selection
`logic and the associated mechanisms for presenting the
`65 advertisements.
`The present invention provides a very flexible system
`whereby advertisers can minimize cost and maximize effec-
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention provides an improved method and
`system for providing advertisements from a central server to
`
`Page 00016
`
`

`

`US 6,285,987 Bl
`
`3
`tiveness while the owner of web sites can obtain the highest
`possible revenue for displaying advertisements on their site.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a simplified system block diagram of a preferred
`embodiment of the invention.
`FIGS. 2A and 2B are simplified block flow diagrams of
`the operation of the invention.
`FIG. 3 is an overall block diagram of a preferred embodi(cid:173)
`ment of the invention.
`FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the organization of various
`tables which are utilized by the present invention.
`FIGS. SA to SC are flow diagrams showing how each
`view-op is evaluated or tested to determine if a bid should
`be submitted.
`FIGS. 6A to 6E are flow diagrams showing the operation
`of the system.
`FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of
`the invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
`OF THE INVENTION
`
`In order to explain the principles of the invention, an
`overall simplified diagram of a first preferred embodiment of
`the invention is shown in FIG. 1 and a simplified block
`diagram of the operation of the system is shown in FIGS. 2A
`and 2B. After the principles of the invention have been
`explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the first preferred 30
`embodiment of the invention is described with reference to
`FIGS. 3 to 6.
`As shown in FIG. 1, a human viewer 10 utilizes a client
`browser 11 to access a web page 12 on a web site 14. The
`web page 12 is transmitted to browser 11 in a conventional 35
`manner. Web page 12 includes an HTML reference to a file
`(i.e. an advertisement) located on an advertising web server
`system 16. The client browser 11 has what is known in the
`art as a "cookie" llA which provides information from
`browser 11 to the web server system 16. The client browser 40
`11, the cookie llA, the web site 14 and the web page 12 are
`all conventional and in widespread use. For example, the
`client browser 11 could be one of the commercially available
`web browsers, for example, the commercially available and
`widely used web browser marketed by Netscape Commu- 45
`nications Corp. under the trademark "Netscape Navigator".
`The web site 14 and the web page 12 could be any of the
`thousands of web sites and web pages which are part of the
`World Wide Web and which have HTML references to
`advertisements which are located on a remote server.
`Web page 12 includes an HTML reference to an adver(cid:173)
`tisement stored on advertising web server system 16. Each
`time client browser 11 displays web page 12, the human
`viewer 10 will see an advertisement which is provided by
`advertising web server system 16. Such HTML references 55
`are in widespread use and they are implemented using
`conventional HTML tags. Advertising web server system 16
`includes a data base of advertisements 16A, a data base of
`viewer information 16B, and a bid selection logic 16C. The
`bid selection logic 16C receives bids from bidding agents
`30A to 30Z which in turn receive information concerning
`proposed bids from bid input system 18. For purposes of
`illustration only three identical bidding agents 30A, 30B and
`30Z are specifically shown. The reference number 30 will be
`used to refer to a typical bidding agent It should be under- 65
`stood that the system could include any number of bidding
`agents. For example, a system could include several thou-
`
`20
`
`4
`sand bidding agents 30. Bid input system 18 provides
`bidding agents 30 with proposed bids which specify how
`much should be bid for view-ops with particular character(cid:173)
`istics. Each bidding agents 30 evaluates each view-op to
`5 determine if the view-op meets the criteria specified in a
`particular proposed bid and if so how much should be bid.
`Each bidding agent 30 evaluates a view-op with respect to
`one proposed bid to determine if a bid should be submitted.
`Each proposed bid includes a list of parameters which
`10 specify the particular type of viewer which the advertiser
`wants to reach. For example, a proposed bid might specify
`that the advertiser is willing to pay five cents for the
`opportunity to place an advertisement on a web page which
`is accessed by a viewer who has accessed three financial web
`15 pages and an automotive web page within the last week.
`In general the system includes one bidding agent 30 for
`each proposed bid (see later discussion about multi-level
`bids). Each advertiser would have an associated bidding
`agent 30 for each ad campaign the advertiser wants to
`conduct. Advertisers submit proposed bid, to their associated
`bidding agents for evaluation against view-ops. Bidding
`agents 30 can be simple or complex and if desired they can
`have the ability to evaluate more than one proposed bid to
`determine what bid should be submitted to the bid selection
`25 logic 16C.
`When a view-op presents itself (i.e. when viewer 10
`accesses a web page 11 which contains an HTML reference
`to server system 16) the advertising web server system 16
`performs four operations:
`(1) It updates the information about the viewer which is
`in data base 16B.
`(2) It sends information concerning the view-op to the
`bidding agents 30. The information sent includes infor(cid:173)
`mation that the server system 16 received from browser
`11 and information in data base 16B. Bidding agents 30
`in turn decide which bids to submit to bid selection
`logic 16C.
`(3) It compares various bids received from bidding agents
`30 in order to determine which advertisement to dis(cid:173)
`play.
`( 4) It sends the appropriate advertisement from data base
`16A to browser 11.
`The operations performed by advertising web server
`system 16 are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIG. 2A shows
`how server system 16 uses the information from cookie llA
`to update the data base of viewer information 16B to reflect
`the fact that this particular viewer has accessed this particu(cid:173)
`lar web page. The operations proceed as shown by blocks
`50 201 to 203. Block 201 indicates that a viewer has selected
`web page 12 and that the selected web page has been
`transmitted to the viewer's browser 11. As indicated by
`block 202, web page 12 has an HTML reference to a file on
`server system 16 using conventional HTML techniques.
`Block 203 indicates that the server 16 then obtains data from
`cookie llA to update the data base of viewer information
`16B.
`When a viewer 10 accesses web page 12, which has an
`HTML reference to server system 16, the present invention
`60 determines which advertisement from data base 16A to
`present to the viewer. The manner in which the system
`performs these operations is shown by block diagram 2B.
`For example, one advertiser might have submitted a pro(cid:173)
`posed bid to bidding agent 30A which specified that he is
`willing to pay five cents for displaying an ad to a viewer who
`has accessed at least three financially oriented data bases
`within the last week. Another advertiser might have submit-
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`US 6,285,987 Bl
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`5
`ted a proposed bid to bidding agent 30B specifying that he
`is willing to pay six cents for displaying an advertisement to
`a viewer that has accessed at least three financially oriented
`data bases with the last five days. When a view-op occurs
`which is initiated by a viewer 10 who has accessed three 5
`financially oriented data bases in the last five days, bidding
`agents 30A and 30B would determine that the particular
`view-op satisfies the criteria specified by both advertisers.
`Both bids would be submitted to bid selection logic 16C and
`bid selection logic 16C would then select the highest bid and 10
`the advertisement specified by that advertiser would be
`displayed to the viewer. The criteria specified by the adver(cid:173)
`tisers may be much more complex and involve many more
`parameters than those given in the simple example specified
`above. However, notwithstanding the complexity of the 15
`proposed bids and the number of parameters specified in
`each proposed bid, the operations performed by bidding
`agents 30 and by bid selection logic 16C are as explained in
`the above simple example.
`As shown in FIG. 2B, a cycle of operation begins (block 20
`210) when a viewer 10 selects a web page 12 which has a
`HTML reference to web server system 16, that is, when a
`view-op occurs. It is noted that this occurs in real time and
`it can take place thousands of times per minute. Block 211
`indicates that the web server system 16 sends information 25
`concerning the view-op and related information in the data
`base 16B to the bidding agents 30. The bidding agents 30
`compare the information about the view-op to the proposed
`bids that have been submitted by advertisers. That is, the
`bidding agents 30 determine if the characteristics of the 30
`view-op meet the criteria in the proposed bids and if so they
`submit bids to bid selection logic 16C (block 213). As shown
`by block 214, the bid selection logic 16C compares various
`bids and selects the highest bid and therefore an advertise(cid:173)
`ment for display. The appropriate advertisement called for 35
`by the winning bid is then sent from data base 16A to
`browser 11 (block 215).
`Block 212 indicates that each advertiser submits proposed
`bids, each of which includes various parameters which, for
`example, specify the type of web page on which the adver- 40
`tiser wants to advertise and an amount, (i.e. the dollar
`amount) which the advertiser is willing to pay for having a
`particular advertisement displayed. Details of the various
`parameters which can be included in a proposed bid are
`explained later.
`In order to understand the power of the present system and
`its differences from the prior art, it is important to realize that
`the bidding agents 30 evaluate proposed bids in
`microseconds, that is, in real time. The rate at which "hits"
`on web pages occur (i.e. the rate at which viewers access 50
`web pages that have HTML reference to server system 16 )
`can be in the order of thousands per second. Thus, the
`evaluation of proposed bids is performed very quickly in
`real time. Proposed bids can contain parameters which
`specify that a proposed bid will in effect change in real time. 55
`For example a proposed bid might specify that for the first
`1000 matching view-ops, the proposed bid wail be five cents
`and for the next 1000 matching view-ops the proposed bid
`will be four cents. The actual submission of proposed bids
`by advertisers and the rate at which advertisers can change 60
`their proposed bids is measured in minutes compared to the
`rate at which the system evaluates proposed bids which is in
`the order of microseconds.
`The operation of the browser 11, the operation of the web
`server 14, and the manner in which web pages produce 65
`HTML references to web server system 16 using the HTTP
`protocol and HTML mark up language are described in
`
`6
`numerous published books such as "HTML Source Book A
`Complete Guide to HTML" by IAN S. Graham, published
`by John Wiley and Sons (ISBN O 471-11849-4) or "The
`Internet Compete Reference" by Harley Hahn and Rick
`Stout, published by Osborne McGraw-Hill, ISBM 0
`07-881980-6. Numerous other books are also available
`which describe the HTTP protocol. Such books describe
`how a browser, such as 11, can access a web page, such as
`web page 12, which in turn has an HTML reference to a file
`(i.e. an advertisement) stored on a server such as advertising
`server system 16.
`A more detailed block diagram of the preferred embodi(cid:173)
`ment of the invention is shown in FIG. 3. Numerous
`additions and changes can be made in the preferred embodi(cid:173)
`ment shown in FIG. 3 without departing from the spirit of
`the invention. As will be explained later with reference to
`FIG. 7, a number of systems, each identical to the system
`shown in FIG. 3, (and each of which is at a different
`geographic location) can be interconnected into a network so
`as to more efficiently service view-op requests.
`As shown in FIG. 3, the preferred embodiment is com(cid:173)
`posed of five main units, namely, wet server 310, view
`server 320 (servers 310 and 320 together comprise the
`advertising web server system 16 shown in FIG. 1), identical
`bidding agents 30A, 30B and 30Z, bid input server 18 and
`log and billing unit 320A. As stated with respect to FIG. 1,
`a system can include any number of bidding agents. A
`typical system could include a thousand or more bidding
`agents. For clarity of illustration only three bidding agents
`30A, 30B and 30Z are specifically shown in FIG. 3. Here(cid:173)
`inafter the term bidding agent 30 will refer to one represen(cid:173)
`tative bidding agent. It should be understood that there could
`be many bidding agents 30 in a system.
`Bidding agents 30 evaluate bids to determine if a particu(cid:173)
`lar view-op meets the criteria of a particular bid. That is,
`bidding agents 30 compare the specifications in a proposed
`bid to the characteristics of a view-op. An example of the
`comparison process is explained later with reference to FIG.
`5. Bid selection logic 16C in view server 320 determines
`which advertisement will be displayed, that is, which is the
`highest bid for each particular view-op.
`The web client browser 11 accesses web sites (such as site
`14 ) using the conventional HTTP protocol. The present
`invention begins to function when the web page which is
`accessed by browser 11 contains a conventional Internet
`45 HTML reference to web server 310.
`The web server 310 provides an advertisement to web
`client browser 11 in response to an HTML reference. Such
`an operation is conventional. The function of the present
`invention i<; to determine which particular advertisement
`from data base 16A will be provided in response to each
`HTML reference from web client browser 11 to web server
`310.
`The web server 310, view server 320, bidding agents 30
`and bid input server 18 can all be implemented by computer
`programs that are all resident in and executed by one single
`physical computer. Alternatively, each of the components
`may be implemented in separate physical computers con(cid:173)
`nected by a conventional inter-computer network. The deci(cid:173)
`sion concerning implementation is a single computer or in a
`group of interconnected computers depends upon the cost,
`capacity and speed of the available computers. With respect
`to the explanation of the operation of the present invention,
`it is not relevant as to whether or not the various components
`are implemented in a single computer or in a network of
`interconnected computers.
`The web server 310 can be implemented using conven(cid:173)
`tional commercially available web server technology. For
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`example, the commercially available web server marketed
`under the tradename Zeus can be used to implement web
`server 310. The operating system used in web server 310 is
`conventional and is not described herein. It could for
`example be the conventional Unix operating system likewise
`view server 320 and bid input server 18 have) a conventional
`operating system such as the Unix operating system. The
`processes and programs described herein run as application
`programs under such a conventional and commercially
`available operating system.
`When web server 310 receives an HTTP request or HTML
`reference (a view-op), it delivers the contents the view-op t