Graphical certifications of online advertisements intended to impact click-through rates

Abstract

Embodiments are directed towards improving a user's experience and confidence in advertisements shown within web pages or other online media, in part, by providing additional information for a given advertisement to be displayed along with the given advertisement to encourage, or discourage, a user to click on or interact with the advertisement. Such information to be displayed about a given advertisement may include, without limitation, information about the advertisement, such as its security status (e.g. it has been found to be free from malware), information about the advertiser, including if the advertiser is determined to be trusted based on some criteria, customer satisfaction information, information about the goods and/or services being advertised, including, for example, if how they compare to a competitor, and information about the destination Web page or Web site that the advertisement leads to when a user clicks it.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A network device, comprising:
 a transceiver for sending and receiving information over a network; and   a processor that is configured to execute instructions that perform actions, including:
 receiving a request for an audit associated with an advertisement containing a link to a destination media; 
 performing the audit to:
 determine a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule; 
 
 associating such compliance with a characteristic of the destination media's trustworthy nature; 
 based on a result of the audit, selectively binding a certificate to the advertisement, whereby the binding indicates the associated characteristic of trustworthy nature of the destination media; 
 enabling the advertisement and the bound certificate to be transmitted to and displayed by a client computing device in conjunction with content served by a content server, such that the certificate provides an indication of the associated characteristic of trustworthy nature of the destination media; 
 collecting statistical information indicative of engagement by user computers with the advertisement and the presence of the certificate indicating that the destination media is from a trustworthy source; 
 generating trend data using the collected statistical information indicative of engagement by user computers with the advertisement and the presence of the certificate indicating that the destination media is from a trustworthy source; and 
 generating a trend data report using the trend data for transmission to a recipient. 
   
     
     
         2 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the destination media comprises a Web page;   the audit comprises a survey, opinion poll or business report;   the determination of a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule, comprises a determination that the destination media has received a rating by a third party agency exceeding a first threshold; and   the certificate conveys a ranking or rating associated with a company advertising a good or service.   
     
     
         3 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the destination media comprises a Web page. 
     
     
         4 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the audit comprises a survey, opinion poll or business report. 
     
     
         5 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the determination of a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule, comprises a determination that the destination media has received a rating by a third party agency exceeding a first threshold. 
     
     
         6 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the certificate conveys a ranking or rating associated with a company advertising a good or service. 
     
     
         7 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the client computing device comprises a mobile telephone. 
     
     
         8 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement and the bound certificate are configured to be displayed on the client computing device using an interface different than a browser. 
     
     
         9 . The network device of  claim 1 , wherein the destination media comprises a game. 
     
     
         10 . A computer implemented method comprising:
 receiving at a computer system comprising hardware a request for an audit associated with an advertisement containing a link to a destination media;   performing, using the computer system, the audit to:
 determine a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule; 
 associate such compliance with a characteristic of the destination media's trustworthy nature; 
   based on a result of the audit, selectively binding a certificate to the advertisement using the computer system, whereby the binding indicates the associated characteristic of trustworthy nature of the destination media;   enabling the bound certificate to be transmitted to and displayed by a client computing device in conjunction with the advertisement and content served by a content server, such that the certificate provides an indication of the associated characteristic of trustworthy nature of the destination media;   collecting, using the computer system, statistical information indicative of engagement by user computers with the advertisement and the presence of the certificate indicating that the destination media is from a trustworthy source;   generating, using the computer system, trend data using the collected statistical information indicative of engagement by user computers with the advertisement and the presence of the certificate indicating that the destination media is from a trustworthy source; and   generating, using the computer system, a trend data report using the trend data for transmission to a recipient.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein:
 the destination media comprises a Web page;   the audit comprises a survey, opinion poll or business report;   the determination of a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule, comprises a determination that the destination media has received a rating by a third party agency exceeding a first threshold; and   the certificate conveys a ranking or rating associated with a company advertising a good or service.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the destination media comprises a Web page. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the audit comprises a survey, opinion poll or business report. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the determination of a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule, comprises a determination that the destination media has received a rating by a third party agency exceeding a first threshold. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the certificate conveys a ranking or rating associated with a company advertising a good or service. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the client computing device comprises a mobile telephone. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the advertisement and the bound certificate are configured to be displayed on the client computing device using an interface different than a browser. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the destination media comprises a game. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions that when executed by a system including at least one computing device cause the system to perform operations comprising:
 receive a request for an audit associated with an advertisement containing a link to a destination media;   perform the audit to:
 determine a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule; 
 associate such compliance with a characteristic of the destination media's trustworthy nature; 
   based on a result of the audit, selectively bind a certificate to the advertisement, whereby the binding indicates the associated characteristic of trustworthy nature of the destination media;   enable the advertisement and the bound certificate to be transmitted to and displayed by a client computing device in conjunction with content served by a content server, such that the certificate provides an indication of the associated characteristic of trustworthy nature of the destination media;   collect statistical information indicative of engagement by user computers with the advertisement and the presence of the certificate indicating that the destination media is from a trustworthy source;   generate trend data using the collected statistical information indicative of engagement by user computers with the advertisement and the presence of the certificate indicating that the destination media is from a trustworthy source; and   generate a trend data report using the trend data for transmission to a recipient.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein:
 the destination media comprises a Web page;   the audit comprises a survey, opinion poll or business report;   the determination of a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule, comprises a determination that the destination media has received a rating by a third party agency exceeding a first threshold; and   the certificate conveys a ranking or rating associated with a company advertising a good or service.   
     
     
         21 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the destination media comprises a Web page. 
     
     
         22 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the audit comprises a survey, opinion poll or business report. 
     
     
         23 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the determination of a compliance with at least one contractual criteria, standard, or rule, comprises a determination that the destination media has received a rating by a third party agency exceeding a first threshold. 
     
     
         24 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the certificate conveys a ranking or rating associated with a company advertising a good or service. 
     
     
         25 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the certificate is configured to be displayed on the client computing device using an interface different than a browser. 
     
     
         26 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the destination media comprises a game.