Patent ID: 8160926
Filing Date: 2012-04-17
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer program product, encoded on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to: store multiple advertisements for multiple advertisers on an ad server, including storing a first advertisement for a first advertiser and a second advertisement for a different second advertiser; generate hostnames specific to each of the multiple advertisers, including generating a first-advertiser-specific hostname specific to the first advertiser and a different second-advertiser-specific hostname specific to the second advertiser, each of the generated hostnames identifying the ad server; generate references that each identify a respective advertisement of the multiple advertisements and the ad server, the ad server being identified in each reference using the generated hostname specific to the advertiser of the respective advertisement, the references including a first reference that identifies the first advertisement and that identifies the ad server using the first-advertiser-specific hostname, the references further including a second reference that identifies the second advertisement and that identifies the ad server using the second-advertiser-specific hostname; receive on the ad server, from a first client, a first request, the first request being a request for the advertisement identified by the first reference; in response to the first request, determine from the first-advertiser-specific hostname in the first reference that the first request is associated with the first advertiser and sending to the first client a first client cookie, the first client cookie including a unique first-advertiser-specific identifier, the identifier being specific to the first advertiser and to the first client; receive on the ad server, from the first client, a second request, the second request being a request for the advertisement identified by the second reference; in response to the second request, determine from the second-advertiser-specific hostname in the second reference that the second request is associated with the second advertiser and sending to the first client a second client cookie, the second client cookie including a unique second-advertiser-specific identifier, the identifier being specific to the second advertiser and to the first client; record request data for a plurality of requests from a plurality of clients including the first client, the request data for each request comprising an advertiser-specific hostname identifying a particular respective advertiser and an advertiser-specific identifier specific to a particular respective client and the particular respective advertiser; and use the request data to derive advertising metrics.