Method and Apparatus for Better Web Ad Matching by Combining Relevance with Consumer Click Feedback

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for better web ad matching by combining relevance with consumer click feedback. In one example, the method includes receiving a query page, extracting features from the query page, re-weighting the query page, evaluating the query page in light of each ad in order to score each ad and pick substantially best ad matches of the indexed ads, and returning the substantially best ad matches to the consumer computer.

1 . A method of comparing query pages to indexed ads in order to provide better web ad matching, the method comprising:
 receiving a query page;   extracting features from the query page;   re-weighting the query page;   evaluating the query page in light of each ad in order to score each ad and pick substantially best ad matches of the indexed ads; and   returning the substantially best ad matches to the consumer computer.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the re-weighting the query page includes ranking words of the query page based on a measure that quantifies interaction between words occurring in the query page and ad regions of the indexed ads. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the re-weighting the query page includes ranking words of the query page by computing average tf-idf scores across the query page and indexed ads for respective regions under consideration. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising calculating a final score for each ad in order to pick substantially best ad matches, wherein the calculating the final score includes using logistic regression to adjust the final score, wherein the final score represents a click probability of a particular ad for a particular query of the query page. 
   
   
       5 . A method of indexing ads in order to provide better web ad matching, the method comprising:
 receiving ads that were clicked at a consumer computer;   extracting ad features from the ads;   sorting the ads according to ad identification to provide a data file; and   inverting the data file to sort the data file according to feature identification, wherein sorting the ads includes computing a static score for each ad using parameters learnt from using logistic regression on some training data.   
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the logistic regression is performed on regions of each ad, and wherein each region has a different impact on the static score. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the static score is used to assign ad identification to the ads in decreasing ad score order. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising writing the inverted data to an ads index database. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising applying a variable selection technique to select a subset of important words of the ad features to be used in the logistic regression. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the variable selection technique includes at least one of:
 using clicks and views on the ads; and   using relevance scores of words of the ads that are independent of click feedback.   
   
   
       11 . An apparatus for comparing query pages to indexed ads in order to provide better web ad matching, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive a query page, the apparatus comprising:
 a page feature extraction device configured to extract features from the query page;   a page feature re-weighting device configured to re-weight the query page;   a page evaluation device configured to evaluate the query page in light of each ad in order to score each ad and pick substantially best ad matches of the indexed ads, wherein the apparatus is configured to return the substantially best ad matches to the consumer computer.   
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the page feature re-weighting device is further configured to rank words of the query page based on a measure that quantifies interaction between words occurring in the query page and ad regions of the indexed ads. 
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the page feature re-weighting device is further configured to rank words of the query page by computing average tf-idf scores across the query page and indexed ads for respective regions under consideration. 
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the click probability calculation device is configured to calculate a final score for each ad in order to pick substantially best ad matches and to use logistic regression to adjust the final score, wherein the final score represents a click probability of a particular ad. 
   
   
       15 . An apparatus for indexing ads in order to provide better web ad matching, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive ads that were clicked at a consumer computer, the apparatus comprising:
 an ad feature extraction device configured to extract ad features from the ads;   an ad identification assignment device configured to sort the ads according to ad identification to provide a data file; and   an ad inversion sort device configured to invert the data file to sort the data file according to feature identification, wherein the apparatus is further configured to sort the ads by computing a static score for each ad using parameters learnt from using logistic regression on some training data.   
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to perform logistic regression on regions of each ad, and wherein each region has a different impact on the static score. 
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to use the static score to assign ad identification to the ads in decreasing ad score order. 
   
   
       18 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising an ad indexing device configured to write the inverted data to an ads index database. 
   
   
       19 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the apparatus is further configured to apply a variable selection technique to select a subset of important words of the ad features to be used in the logistic regression. 
   
   
       20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the variable selection technique includes at least one of:
 using clicks and views on the ads; and   using relevance scores of words of the ads that are independent of click feedback.   
   
   
       21 . A computer readable medium carrying one or more instructions for comparing query pages to indexed ads in order to provide better web ad matching, wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:
 receiving a query page;   extracting features from the query page;   re-weighting the query page;   evaluating the query page in light of each ad in order to score each ad and pick substantially best ad matches of the indexed ads; and   returning the substantially best ad matches to the consumer computer.