This Background is intended to provide the basic context of this patent application and it is not intended to describe a specific problem to be solved.
Modern commerce often happens by searching a network, such as the Internet, using a search engine for a specific item. Many sellers are skilled at manufacturing goods or by providing services but are less skilled at having their goods and services noticed by a search engine or having their good and services advertised on a search engine in response to a search.
In response, some sellers have become skilled at providing good or service data to a search engine such that their goods and services may be displayed in response to a search, especially a shopping search. However, creating useful advertisements in response to certain keywords has remained a challenge to many providers of goods and services.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
A method of electronically analyzing structured offers from a vendor to create keyword based advertisements for the vendor is disclosed. Offers from the vendor are reviewed. Attributes are extracted from the offers and submitted to an analysis system. A keyword list is received from the analysis system where the keyword list includes the attributes and related keyboards to the attributes. An electronic advertising campaign is created, including advertising copy and illustrations. A query with keywords is received. The query is submitted to a query keyword analysis system. A query keyword list is then received from the query keyword analysis system where the query keyword list contains query keywords and related query keyboards to the query keywords. A query list is created where the query list contains query keywords and related query keyword. It may be determined if the query list is sufficiently similar to the keyword list. If the query list is determined to be sufficiently similar to the keyword list, an advertisement for the vendor may be created. Related attributes, keywords and images may be added to the advertisement, advertising text may be created to go with the attributes and the attributes, keywords and images may be displayed as an advertisement. It also may be determined how much to bid for an advertisement. A bid may be issued in a bid amount for a keyword, an advertising placement may be determined, the success of the bid may be determined, a click through rate may be checked, a buying rate may be checked, the bid amount may be adjusted and the adjustment may repeat.
Although the following text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of the description is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.
It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph.
With reference to
The computer 110 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 180, via a local area network (LAN) 171 and/or a wide area network (WAN) 173 via a modem 172 or other network interface 170.
Computer 110 typically includes a variety of computer readable media that may be any available media that may be accessed by computer 110 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. The system memory 130 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 131 and random access memory (RAM) 132. The ROM may include a basic input/output system 133 (BIOS). RAM 132 typically contains data and/or program modules that include operating system 134, application programs 135, other program modules 136, and program data 137. The computer 110 may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media such as a hard disk drive 141 a magnetic disk drive 151 that reads from or writes to a magnetic disk 152, and an optical disk drive 155 that reads from or writes to an optical disk 156. The hard disk drive 141, 151, and 155 may interface with system bus 121 via interfaces 140, 150.
A user may enter commands and information into the computer 110 through input devices such as a keyboard 162 and pointing device 161, commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not illustrated) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 120 through a user input interface 160 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 191 or other type of display device may also be connected to the system bus 121 via an interface, such as a video interface 190. In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers 197 and printer 196, which may be connected through an output peripheral interface 195.
Some networks are more specific, such as shopping based networks. On these networks, the results are more targeted to selling goods and services. Users are usually looking for prices for a specific good or service or for comparable goods and services. In these situations, sellers will often submit data to a search engine on good and services for sale. The data may be structured in a format that makes it easier for the search engine to locate and display the goods.
At block 205, offers from a vendor may be reviewed. In some situations, offers may be received from the vendor (and may be stored) as structured data.
In some instances, the data may need to be parsed or even normalized. For example, the quantity and price provided by a seller may be for three units but most users will likely search for a single unit. The data may be normalized such that the quality and price, for example, may be the same for all offers.
At block 210, attributes may be extracted from the seller offers. Some example attributes but not limitations may include a merchant name, offer title, offer description, brand, product title, product category, product sku, product color and product price. Of course, other attributes are possible depending on the offer, the desires of the seller, etc., and are contemplated.
At block 215, the attributes may be submitted to an analysis system. At a high level, an analysis system may extract from the attributes terms that might be useful in responding to a query or to be placed in an advertisement.
At block 300, the attributes may be accepted by the analysis system. The attributes may be communicated in any useful manner, such as a flat file, a common separated file, as an array, etc. It should be noted that not all words or terms in the query may be attributes. For example, the word “the” may be part of a query such as “The best running shoe.” The word “the” would not be further analyzed. In one embodiment, a list of common terms that may be part of a query but do not need further analysis may be created and words on the “do not review” list may be skipped. Similar lists may be used to classify all the terms. For example, the query “Adidas Stan Smith” is for a specific shoes and a useful advertisement should be for Adidas Stan Smith shoes and alternative shoes may be limited.
In addition, the attributes may be ranked for relevance and for the ability to provide useful keywords. The ranking may be accomplished in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, past experience is used to rank the attributes such as past success in providing useful keywords, results of consumer surveys, results of trend analysis of search queries, results of past terms click response rates and results of past terms purchase rates. In another embodiment, a training set of queries, attributes and ranking is used to train the system to recognized attributes and to rank them based on the rankings in the training set. Of course, additional ways of ranking attributes are possible and are contemplated.
At block 305, keywords may be selected that are related to the attributes. For example, if the attribute is running shoe, a similar keyword may be trainer, jogging, distance, mileage, and shock absorbing. The keywords may be useful in determining what query words should be responded to with the good or services of the seller. The rankings from block 300 may be used to help pick the keywords. For example, if the search is for a Canon camera lens rather than a Canon camera, the attribute may be “lens” as opposed to “camera” and the keyword of “lens” would be of great importance. Logically, keywords related to the heaviest weighted attribute may be more prevalent and given more importance.
In one embodiment, a list of related keywords is maintained for attributes. The list may be created by past experience. In another embodiment, the list may reflect an intended audience, such as premium shoe shoppers. In another embodiment, the list is based on past queries by users. Of course, other methods of analyzing the attributes and finding relevant keywords are possible and are contemplated. In some embodiments, the keywords and the attributes are returned.
In another embodiment, at block 310, the keywords may be ranked. The ranking may be based several factors, including, but not limited to, past success in matching the keywords and attributes to queries, results of consumer surveys, results of trend analysis of search queries, results of past terms click response rates and results of past terms purchase rates. Of course, other ways of ranking the results are possible and are contemplated.
At block 315, the attributes and/or keywords may have weights added in relation to the rankings. For example, if the ranking from block 310 determined that a first keyword was very highly ranked, the first keyword may be given a large weight. The weight may be used for a variety of reasons, such as determine how aggressively to bid on a keyword or whether the keyword should be included in an advertisement. Of course, other uses of the weights may be possible and are contemplated.
At block 320, the weighted attributes and keywords may be returned. The return may occur in any common way in modern computing methodology, such as populating a file, changing the value of a variable, etc.,
In some embodiments, a type of feedback loop may be used to monitor the created advertisement. The feedback loop may monitor the success or failure of the advertisement and may modify the advertisement based on the success or failure of the advertisement.
At block 400, feedback may be received from the advertisement where feedback may include a click through rate and/or a purchase rate. A click through rate may indicate the number or percentage of times that an advertisement is selected when displayed. A purchase rate may indicate a number or percentage of times that a purchase was made based on an advertisement. The concept is that an effective advertisement should have a higher click through and purchase rate than an ineffective advertisement. An ineffective advertisement likely needs to be adjusted in some way, such as changing keywords in the ad, displaying the advertisement in response to different queries, etc.
At block 405, the advertisement may be adjusted. The adjustment may be, for example and not limitation, adding new terms, removing some terms, changing the order of the terms and adding additional graphics. The purpose of the adjustment is to make the advertisement more effective by having more people select the advertisement or have more people make a purchase based on the ad. At block 410, the method of adjusting the advertisement may repeat, meaning the adjustment may be ongoing.
Referring again to
In some embodiments, the keywords may be geographically adjusted. Some words have different meanings in different parts of the world. As an example, the term “french fries” may be a term used in the United States, while the term “chips” may be used in the United Kingdom and “pommes frites” may be used in France. The keyword list may be modified to find relevant keywords based on the location of the request. The location of the request may be determined in several known ways, such as observing the IP address of the request or requiring a user to log in and state a location. Further, the keywords may be even more localized, such as by state, city, neighborhood, etc. In addition, the related keywords may be creating in any language.
An electronic advertising campaign may be created. The advertising campaign may contain several elements. Text for the advertisement may be created. The text may contain the keywords and attributes in sentences or as bullet points. Images may also be included to help attract users or generate interest. The campaign may have a variety of elements and levels. In some levels, the advertisement may just be text. In other levels, the advertisement may include text and images. In yet another level, the advertisement may include text, images, video and sound. The levels may be priced at different costs or may relate to the desires of a seller or the nature of the good or service to be sold.
At block 225, a query may be received. The query may contain keywords such as “Canon Powershot” or “Nike running shoe.” The query may be a request for information or may be made specifically to a shopping site and may be a request for the lowest prices for a good or service. Queries or text entered into a search engine are well known.
At block 230, the query may be submitted to a query keyword analysis system.
An effective advertisement may be determined in a variety of ways, such as a good click through rate, a good purchase rate, etc. In some embodiments, the rates may be compared to a baseline. In other embodiments, the rates may be compared to a prediction while in other embodiments, the rates may be compared to past rates. Of course, the effectiveness may depend on the goods or services being sold, the desires of the seller, past performance, etc.
At block 235, a query keyword list may be received from the query keyword analysis system. The query keyword list may contain query keywords and related query keyboards to the query keywords where related keywords are additional terms related to the query keywords. The related words may be stored as a file and searched using the query keyword list. In another embodiment, the related words may be stored in a tree like fashion and the various terms in the query keyword list may proceed down the tree (or up the tree) collecting terms that may indicate that the query was related to the term.
At block 240, a query list may be created which may include query keywords and related query keyword where related query keyword may include additional terms related to the query keywords.
At block 245, it may be determined if the query list is sufficiently similar to the keyword list. For example, if the query was for running shoes, the query list may contain trainers, jogging shoes, and marathon shoes. The keyword list may contain terms related to the sale data received from the vendor. For example, the seller may sell cameras and “Canon” may be in the keyword list as may be “Powershot” and “Rebel” where Powershot and Rebel may be types of Canon cameras. Other terms may include “Nikon” and “Sony” which are also makers of cameras. The lists may appear as follows:
As can be seen, there are no matches in the above list, meaning it is likely that the query and the keyword list are not sufficiently similar. As another example, the seller may sell New Balance Running Shoes. The query list/keyword list comparison may be as follows:
As can be seen, “running” and “shoes” appear in each list, meaning it is likely that the query and the keyword list are sufficiently similar. In one embodiment, a single matching term may be sufficient for the query list and the keyword list to be considered sufficiently similar. In another embodiment, a more sophisticated system may be used to compare the lists. Also, the keywords may be more than a single word. The keywords maybe be a combination of words or phrases.
At block 250, if the query list is determined to be sufficiently similar to the keyword list, an advertisement may be created. The method may identify related attributes, keywords and images for the advertisement.
At block 255, advertising text may be created to go with the attributes. The text may contain terms from the query list and the keyword list along with words to entice a buyer such as “sale” or “discount.” In one embodiment, a template or form is used.
As another example, if a vendor is extremely price competitive, a price template 700 may be used which may emphasize the price by displaying the price very prominently, such as in bold or in a large font. The template 700 used may reflect the query. For example, if the query has the word “sale” the template 700 may emphasize the low price of the good or service. If the query has the word “best” the template 700 may emphasize the quality of the good or service. In some embodiments, the terms from the query may be repeated.
At block 260, the attributes, keywords and images may be displayed as an advertisement. The display may be based on the template 700 where terms from the query are displayed in a larger font than other terms. The image may be from the seller, may be an image from a manufacturer or may be a standard image. If an image is not available, the template 700 may leave the space blank or may display another eye catching image.
In one embodiment, the amount to be bid to place an advertisement in a prominent spot related to the search may be determined.
At block 505, an advertising placement may be determined. The placement may refer to the location on the display of the advertisement in relation to the search results of the search engine. A winning bid may be displayed in the most prominent location on a search result page with the second highest bid receiving the second best location, etc. Often, there may be a correlation between advertisement location and advertisement success.
At block 510, the success of the bid may be determined. The success may be determined in a variety of ways. As described previously, a click through rate may be determined as a success indicator. In another embodiment, a buying rate may be determined and used as a success indicator. The click through rate may be compared to a baseline, past rates, desired rates or predicted rates to determine the success.
At block 515, the bid amount may be adjusted. If the success of the bid was not satisfactory, the bid amount may be raised. If the success of the bid was satisfactory, the bid amount may kept the same or even lowered to ensure that the seller is not paying too much.
At block 520, the determining how much to bid step may be repeated. In other words, the method may be repeated and the bid amount further adjusted up or down to obtain the optimal combination of keyword bid and resulting sales. More specifically, bids that are too low will result in advertisements that are not displayed prominently and will not be satisfactory while bids that are too high may result in sales but may be so expensive that the profit from the sale may be lost.
In some embodiments, a cash back offer may be made when purchasing items through a specific web site. The cash back percentage also may be modified in a similar way to the key word bids as described in
As a result of the system, effective advertisements may be created using only the structured data 600 from the seller. The difficulty of determining keywords to bid on is eliminated as the system determines the keywords from the structured data 600. In addition, the structure data is used to create the text and images for an advertisement. The seller supplies the sales data and the system creates advertisement based on the sales data. In addition, the system may be able to create and adjust bids on keywords to better optimize sales.
In conclusion, the detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.