System and Method for Targeting Information Items Based on Popularities of the Information Items

Abstract

Systems, methods and non-transitory computer readable media are provided for selecting information items in connection with electronic messages. A request is obtained for a conversation from a user. The conversation including a plurality of electronic messages. A response to the request for the conversation is made. The request includes selecting an electronic message from the plurality of electronic messages in the conversation. Also, a plurality of information items is selected for a group of users including the user based on information identifying a communication channel, through which the group of users communicate with the computing system. The plurality of information items is associated with a keyword included in the electronic message. The plurality of information items and the conversation are then formatted for provision to the user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of selecting information items in connection with electronic messages, comprising:
 on a computing system having one or more processors that execute one or more programs stored in a memory of the computing system:
 obtaining a request for a conversation from a user, the conversation including a plurality of electronic messages; 
 responding to the request for the conversation, the responding including:
 (A) selecting an electronic message from the plurality of electronic messages in the conversation; 
 (B) selecting a plurality of information items for a group of users including the user based on information identifying a communication channel, through which the group of users communicate with the computing system, wherein the plurality of information items is associated with a keyword included in the electronic message; and 
 (C) formatting the plurality of information items and the conversation for provision to the user. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selecting of the plurality of information items is further based on (i) user geographical information obtained from the request and (ii) a measure of popularity of the plurality of information items, wherein the user geographical information is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein the group of users comprises one of a plurality of distinct groups of users for which the computing system has access to popularity information for respective information items. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein user geographical information for the user is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein at least one of the information items is an item specifically targeting users located in a region corresponding to the user geographical information. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein user geographical information for the user is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein at least one of the information items is selected if the information item targets users located in a region corresponding to the user geographical information. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein user geographical information for the user is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein at least one of the information items is selected in accordance with click-through rate information for users located in a region corresponding to the user geographical information. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information items include at least one advertisement. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selecting the plurality of information items is based on, at least on part, a relevancy metric quantifying relevancy of the information items to the selected electronic message. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selecting the plurality of information items is based on, at least in part, a measure of popularity of the plurality of information items, wherein the computing system has access to popularity information for respective information items, and wherein the plurality of information items are selected from a set of candidate information items, and the measure of popularity of the information items corresponds to values of a popularity metric associated with the candidate information items. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the popularity metric for each of the candidate items is a cumulative click-through rate for the item during a predefined time period. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the popularity metric for each of the candidate items is based on a set of geography-specific click-through rates for the item during a predefined time period. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the information items are selected if one of the geography-specific click-through rates for the item, corresponding to user geographical information associated with a user accessing the selected electronic message from a client device, is above a predefined threshold. 
     
     
         12 . A computer system for serving information items to a user in connection with an electronic message comprising:
 a memory;   one or more processors; and   at least one program, stored in the memory and executed by the one or more processors, the at least one program further including instructions for:
 obtaining a request for a conversation from a user, the conversation including a plurality of electronic messages; 
 responding to the request for the conversation, the responding including:
 (A) selecting an electronic message from the plurality of electronic messages in the conversation; 
 (B) selecting a plurality of information items for a group of users including the user based on information identifying a communication channel, through which the group of users communicate with the computing system, wherein the plurality of information items is associated with a keyword included in the electronic message; and 
 (C) formatting the plurality of information items and the conversation for provision to the user. 
 
   
     
     
         13 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the selecting of the plurality of information items is further based on (i) user geographical information obtained from the request and (ii) a measure of popularity of the plurality of information items, wherein the user geographical information is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein the group of users comprises one of a plurality of distinct groups of users for which the computing system has access to popularity information for respective information items. 
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein user geographical information for the user is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein at least one of the information items is an item specifically targeting users located in a region corresponding to the user geographical information. 
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein user geographical information for the user is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein at least one of the information items is selected if the information item targets users located in a region corresponding to the user geographical information. 
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein user geographical information for the user is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein at least one of the information items is selected in accordance with click-through rate information for users located in a region corresponding to the user geographical information. 
     
     
         17 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the information items include at least one advertisement. 
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs for serving information items to a user in connection with an electronic message, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to:
 obtain a request for a conversation from a user, the conversation including a plurality of electronic messages;   respond to the request for the conversation by a method including:
 (A) selecting an electronic message from the plurality of electronic messages in the conversation; 
 (B) selecting a plurality of information items for a group of users including the user based on information identifying a communication channel, through which the group of users communicate with the computing system, wherein the plurality of information items is associated with a keyword included in the electronic message; and 
 (C) formatting the plurality of information items and the conversation for provision to the user. 
   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the selecting of the plurality of information items is further based on (i) user geographical information obtained from the request and (ii) a measure of popularity of the plurality of information items, wherein the user geographical information is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein the group of users comprises one of a plurality of distinct groups of users for which the computing system has access to popularity information for respective information items. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein user geographical information for the user is derived from an IP address of the client device associated with the user, and wherein at least one of the information items is an item specifically targeting users located in a region corresponding to the user geographical information.