Secure conversion tracking

Abstract

In response to a conversion action associated with an online advertisement (“ad”), an advertiser associated with the ad generates a unique identifier (e.g., a pseudo random number), which is transmitted to a payment system through a user device. In some implementations, the unique identifier can be generated by a payment system in response to a request from an advertiser. The advertiser stores the unique identifier in a secure location that is accessible by the payment system. The payment system compares the received unique identifier with the stored unique identifier. If the received unique identifier matches the stored unique identifier, and if the received unique identifier was not previously generated by the advertiser, then the payment system deems the conversion action to be valid.

1 . A secure conversion tracking method, comprising:
 receiving a conversion notification, the notification including a unique identifier generated by an advertiser in response to a conversion action;   determining if the unique identifier was submitted in a previous notification; and   if the unique identifier was not submitted in a previous notification, validating the conversion action.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , where receiving a conversion notification further comprises:
 receiving the conversion notification from a user device.   
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , where determining if the unique identifier was submitted in a previous notification further comprises:
 determining if the unique identifier is stored on a website associated with the advertiser; and   if the unique identifier is stored on the website associated with the advertiser, determining if the unique identifier was submitted in the previous notification.   
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , where determining if the unique identifier is stored on a website associated with the advertiser further comprises:
 crawling a file having the unique identifier as a filename; and   comparing the filename to a list of filenames of previously crawled files.   
   
   
       5 . A secure conversion tracking method, comprising:
 detecting a conversion action; and   responsive to detecting a conversion action,
 generating a unique identifier; 
 storing the unique identifier in a location that is accessible to a verification process; and 
 generating a conversion notification that includes the unique identifier. 
   
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 sending the conversion notification to a user device for use in a conversion callback to the payment system.   
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 deleting the stored unique identifier after a period of time has elapsed.   
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 5 , where generating a conversion notification further comprises:
 generating a code snippet that includes the unique identifier.   
   
   
       9 . A secure conversion tracking method, comprising:
 receiving a request to generate a unique identifier;   generating a unique identifier in response to the request;   sending the unique identifier to a first device, where the unique identifier is stored at a location accessible to a verification process;   receiving a conversion callback from a second device, the conversion callback including the unique identifier; and   initiating the verification process to confirm the conversion using the unique identifier.   
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , where confirming a conversion further comprises:
 searching the location for the unique identifier; and   if the unique identifier is found, confirming that the conversion is valid.   
   
   
       11 . A method, comprising:
 associating a unique identifier with a conversion action related to an advertisement; and   validating subsequent conversion actions for the advertisement, including confirming that the subsequent conversion actions are not associated with the unique identifier.   
   
   
       12 . A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the operations of:
 receiving a conversion notification, the notification including a unique identifier generated by an advertiser in response to a conversion action;   determining if the unique identifier was submitted in a previous notification; and   if the unique identifier was not submitted in a previous notification, validating the conversion action.   
   
   
       13 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , where receiving a conversion notification further comprises:
 receiving the conversion notification from a user device.   
   
   
       14 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 12 , where determining if the unique identifier was submitted in a previous notification further comprises:
 determining if the unique identifier is stored on a website associated with the advertiser; and   if the unique identifier is stored on the website associated with the advertiser, determining if the unique identifier was submitted in the previous notification.   
   
   
       15 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , where determining if the unique identifier is stored on a website associated with the advertiser further comprises:
 crawling a file having the unique identifier as a filename; and   comparing the filename to a list of filenames of previously crawled files.   
   
   
       16 . A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the operations of:
 detecting a conversion action; and   responsive to detecting a conversion action,
 generating a unique identifier; 
 storing the unique identifier in a location that is accessible to a verification process; and 
 generating a conversion notification that includes the unique identifier. 
   
   
   
       17 . A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the operations of:
 receiving a request to generate a unique identifier;   generating a unique identifier in response to the request;   sending the unique identifier to a first device, where the unique identifier is stored at a location accessible to a verification process;   receiving a conversion callback from a device, the conversion callback including the unique identifier; and   initiating the verification process to confirm the conversion using the unique identifier.   
   
   
       18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 17 , where confirming a conversion further comprises:
 searching the location for the unique identifier; and   if the unique identifier is found, confirming that the conversion is valid.   
   
   
       19 . A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the operations of:
 associating a unique identifier with a conversion action related to an advertisement; and   validating subsequent conversion actions for the advertisement, including confirming that the subsequent conversion actions are not associated with the unique identifier.   
   
   
       20 . A secure conversion tracking system, comprising:
 means for receiving a conversion notification, the notification including a unique identifier generated by an advertiser in response to a conversion action;   means for determining if the unique identifier was submitted in a previous notification; and   if the unique identifier was not submitted in a previous notification, means for validating the conversion action.