Framework to evaluate content display policies

US8504558B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• YAHOO HOLDINGS, INC. · US

Inventors

• Deepak Agarwal · Manesar, IN
• Pradheep Elango · Mountain View, US
• Raghu Ramakrishnan · Santa Clara, US
• Seung-Taek Park · San Jose, US
• Bee-Chung Chen · San Jose, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 31, 2008
• Grant date: Aug 6, 2013
• Expiry date: Nov 30, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q30/02
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Content display policies are evaluated using two kinds of methods. In the first kind of method, using information, collected in a “controlled” manner about user characteristics and content characteristics, truth models are generated. A simulator replays users' visits to the portal web page and simulates their interactions with content items on the page based on the truth models. Various metrics are used to compare different content item-selecting algorithms. In the second kind of method, no explicit truth models are built. Events from the controlled serving scheme are replayed in part or whole; content item-selection algorithms learn using the observed user activities. Metrics that measure the overall predictive error are used to compare different content-item selection algorithms. The data collected in a controlled fashion plays a key role in both the methods.