Patent Publication Number: US-2016225020-A1

Title: Identfying mobile users to receive advertisements

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to identifying users that are unlikely to make in-app purchases and determining if the identified users should receive mobile advertisements. The present disclosure allows application developers to more effectively monetize users that are likely to make in-app purchases and users that are unlikely to make in-app purchases. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Application developers create application software for users to install on mobile devices, such as a smartphone or a tablet computer, or other user computing devices. The applications can be any program, software, applet, or other user device module that can be operated by the user on the user device. Applications can be designed to provide services to a user such as communications, banking, social networking, gaming, exercise tracking, shopping, or any other suitable service. The applications may be downloaded by users from application distribution systems or directly from application developers. Certain applications are provided to the user for free, while other applications require a payment from the user to be downloaded. 
     Users are provided opportunities by certain applications to make purchases while operating the application. Transactions conducted while “in” an application are referred to as “in-app purchases.” In an example, in-app purchases may be conducted in gaming applications to purchase items such as additional lives, upgraded gaming paraphernalia, gaming tips, or any other suitable items. In another example, in-app purchases may be conducted in social networking applications to purchase items such as emoticons, additional features, virtual currencies, stickers or badges, or other suitable items. 
     Application developers may prefer to monetize an application by charging an initial fee for the application or through in-app purchases. Certain application developers have resisted monetizing an application through advertisements on the application because the advertisements are considered to be distracting to the user and to detract from the user experience. 
     Conventional application developers have not been provided with sufficient user data or analytics to determine when a user should be provided with an advertisement. 
     SUMMARY 
     Techniques herein provide computer-implemented methods to determine if users should receive mobile advertisements. In an example embodiment, determining if users should receive mobile advertisements comprises a server at an advertisement provider system, a user computing device, and an application developer system. The server at an advertisement provider system receives usage data for an application provided by an application developer system and operating on a user computing device. The server analyzes the user usage data to develop a profile of the interaction of the user with the application, and identifies an amount of money spent by the user in conjunction with the application. The server estimates a lifetime spending value of the user based on the identified user spending. The application developer system transmits rules for determining an advertising schedule for advertisements to be provided based on the estimated lifetime value of the user. The server receives a notification that the user is interacting with the application and provides a particular advertisement to the user to the user on the application module of the application based on the determined advertising schedule. 
     In certain other example aspects described herein, systems and computer program products to determine if users should receive mobile advertisements are provided. 
     These and other aspects, objects, features, and advantages of the example embodiments will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrated example embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram depicting a system to determine whether to place an advertisement on a user device, in accordance with certain example embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  is a block flow diagram depicting a method to determine whether to place an advertisement on a user device, in accordance with certain example embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  is a block flow diagram depicting a method for an application developer to configure an application with an advertisement display module available, in accordance with certain example embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  is a block flow diagram depicting a method for the application developer to provide user data to advertisement provider system, in accordance with certain example embodiments. 
         FIG. 5  is a block flow diagram depicting a method for the application developer to configure advertisement module based on user usage data, in accordance with certain example embodiments. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram depicting a computing machine and module, in accordance with certain example embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     Overview 
     The example embodiments described herein provide computer-implemented techniques for determining whether to place an advertisement on an application operating on a user device. In an example embodiment, an application developer configures an application to provide user usage data to an advertisement provider system. The advertisement provider system analyzes the user usage data and provides user profiles to the application developer. The application developer configures a set of rules for providing an advertisement to the user computing device that is operating the application. The advertisement provider system receives the user usage data for a particular user and determines whether the particular user should receive an advertisement. If a determination is made that user should receive advertisement, the advertisement provider system communicates instructions to the user computing device to display an advertisement. 
     In an example embodiment, an application developer configures an application with an advertisement display module available. The advertisement display module operating on the application on a user computing device is capable of receiving instructions from the advertisement provider system to display an advertisement to user. The application developer configures a developer account with the advertiser provider system and begins to receive analyzed user usage data and user profiles from the advertisement provider system. The analyzed user data may comprise an amount that a user has spent on in-app purchases, a total number of in-app purchases, a likelihood that the user will spend more on in-app purchases, user demographics, and other suitable data. 
     The analyzed user data may additionally include an estimate of the value of the user to the application developer if the user were provided with advertisements. For example, the advertisement provider system may determine an appropriate number of advertisements that may be shown based on the activity level and other data related to the user. 
     The application developer configures rules on the advertising module for when a user should receive an advertisement while operating the application. For example, the application developer may configure a rule that any user that has made less than one in-app purchase in the last 30 days should receive an advertisement for a subsequent utilization of the application. The application developer may configure rules for frequency of advertisements, categories of products advertised, or any other suitable rules. In certain examples, the application developer receives an estimate of the value of the in-app purchases that the user is likely to conduct and the value of the user based on advertisements the user could receive. The application developer determines if the value of the potential in-app purchases is sufficient to forego providing advertisements to the user. The application developer may elect to forego providing advertisements to the user to provide an improved user experience to the user. 
     After configuring the rules on the application module, the application developer associates the advertisement module with the developer account on the advertisement provider system. When analyzed user usage data and user profiles are supplied to the advertisement module from the advertisement provider system, the advertisement module determines if an advertisement should be provided to the user computing device. In certain embodiments, the determination that an advertisement should be provided to the user computing device, may be made by the advertisement selector  143  of the advertisement provider system  140 , or by any other suitable component. 
     If an advertisement is to be provided to the user computing device, the advertisement module of the application developer system communicates a request to the advertisement provider system. The advertisement provider system selects an appropriate advertisement and transmits the advertisement to the user device. The user device displays the advertisement to the user. 
     The display is logged by the advertisement provider system. The logged display is used for billing to the party that bought the advertisement spot. The logged display can be further used for selecting the placement of future advertisements. 
     By using and relying on the methods and systems described herein, the application developer system and the advertisement provider system dynamically provide advertisements to only the users that meet the requirements configured by the application developer. As such, the systems and methods described herein may be employed to allow the application developer to monetize certain users via advertisements without negatively affecting the user experience of users that make in-app purchases. Certain users are allowed to enjoy advertisement fee application usage if the users are profitable to the application developer. Certain users are allowed to use the application without charge because the users are monetized in an alternate manner. Hence, the methods and systems described herein permit application developers to monetize additional users without the risk of negatively affecting the user experience of in-app purchasers. 
     Example System Architectures 
     Turning now to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate like (but not necessarily identical) elements throughout the figures, example embodiments are described in detail. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram depicting a system  100  to determine whether to place an advertisement on a user device, in accordance with certain example embodiments. As depicted in  FIG. 1 , the system  100  includes network computing systems  110 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150  that are configured to communicate with one another via one or more networks  120 . In some embodiments, a user  101  or other operator associated with a device must install an application and/or make a feature selection to obtain the benefits of the techniques described herein. 
     In example embodiments, the network  120  can include a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), an intranet, an Internet, storage area network (“SAN”), personal area network (“PAN”), a metropolitan area network (“MAN”), a wireless local area network (“WLAN”), a virtual private network (“VPN”), a cellular or other mobile communication network, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, near field communication (“NFC”), Wi-Fi, or any combination thereof or any other appropriate architecture or system that facilitates the communication of signals, data, and/or messages. Throughout the discussion of example embodiments, it should be understood that the terms “data” and “information” are used interchangeably herein to refer to text, images, audio, video, or any other form of information that can exist in a computer-based environment. 
     Each network computing system  110 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150  includes a device having a communication module capable of transmitting and receiving data over the network  120 . For example, each network computing device  110 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150  can include a server, desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, a television with one or more processors embedded therein and/or coupled thereto, smart phone, handheld computer, personal digital assistant (“PDA”), or any other wired or wireless, processor-driven device. In the example embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 , the network computing devices  110 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150  are operated by users  101 , advertisement spot purchaser operators, advertisement provider system operators, and application developer system operators, respectively. 
     An example user computing device  110  comprises a data storage unit  112 , a communication application  113 , a web browser  114 , a user interface  115 , an advertisement display module  118 , and an application  116 . 
     In an example embodiment, the data storage unit  112  comprises a local or remote data storage structure accessible to the user computing device  110  suitable for storing information. In an example embodiment, the data storage unit  112  stores encrypted information, such as HTML5 local storage. 
     In an example embodiment, the user  101  uses a communication application  113 , such as a web browser  114  application, to view, download, upload, or otherwise access documents or web pages via a distributed network  120 . In an example embodiment, the communication application  113  can interact with web servers or other computing devices connected to the network  120 , including the user computing device  110 , an advertisement provider system  140 , and an application developer system  150 . In an example embodiment, the web browser  114  can enable the user  101  to interact with web pages using the user computing device  110 . 
     In an example embodiment, the user interface  115  enables the user  101  to interact with the application  116  and/or web browser  114 . For example, the user interface  115  may be a touch screen, a voice-based interface, or any other interface that allows the user  101  to provide input and receive output from an application or module on the user computing device  110 . In an example embodiment, the user  101  interacts via the user interface  115  with the application  116  and/or web browser  114  to select and download applications from the application developer system  150  or the advertisement provider system  140 . 
     In an example embodiment, the advertisement display module  118  communicates with the advertisement provider system  140  or the application developer system  150  to provide user usage data and to receive advertisements. For example, if the advertisement provider system  140  is requested to provide an advertisement to the user device  110 , then the advertisement provider system  140  provides a communication to the advertisement display module  118 . The advertisement display module  118  displays the advertisement in a manner configured by the application developer system  150 . In an example, the application developer system  150  configures the advertisement to be displayed in a banner advertisement, a pop-up advertisement, or any suitable advertisement display. The advertisement display module  118  operates on the application  116 , on the user computing device  110 , or in any suitable manner. 
     In an example embodiment, the application  116  is a program, function, routine, applet, or similar entity that exists on and performs its operations on the user computing device  110 . Applications can be designed to provide services to a user such as communications, banking, social networking, gaming, exercise tracking, shopping, or any other suitable service. The applications may be downloaded by users from application distribution systems or directly from application developers. Certain applications are provided to the user  101  for free, while other applications require a payment from the user  101  to be downloaded. 
     In certain example embodiments, the user  101  must install the application  116  and/or make a feature selection on the user computing device  110  to obtain the benefits of the techniques described herein. In an example embodiment, the user  101  may access the application  116  on the user computing device  110  via the user interface  115 . In an example embodiment, the application  116  may be associated with the application developer system  150 , the advertising provider system  140 , or any other suitable party. 
     In certain example embodiments, one or more functions herein described as performed by the application  116  may also be performed by a web browser  114  application, for example, a web browser  114  application associated with a application provider system  140  or associated with the payment processing system  140 . In certain example embodiments, one or more functions herein described as performed by the application  116  may also be performed by the user computing device operating system. In certain example embodiments, one or more functions herein described as performed via the web browser  114  may also be performed via the application  116 . 
     In an example embodiment, the application developer system  150  communicates with the user computing device  110 , the advertisement provider system  140 , the advertisement spot purchaser  130 , or any suitable party via the network  120 . An example application developer system  150  comprises a data storage unit  152 , a communication application  153 , an application development module  156 , and an advertisement module  158 . 
     In an example embodiment, the data storage unit  152  comprises a local or remote data storage structure accessible to components of the application developer system  150  suitable for storing information. In an example embodiment, the data storage unit  152  stores encrypted information, such as HTML5 local storage. 
     In an example embodiment, an application developer system  150  operator uses a communication application  153 , such as a web browser application, to view, download, upload, or otherwise access documents or web pages via a distributed network  120 . In an example embodiment, the communication application  153  can interact with web servers or other computing devices connected to the network  120 , including the user computing device  110 , and advertisement spot purchaser  130 , and an advertisement provider system  140 . 
     The application developer system  150  may be utilized by an operator or others to develop applications  116 , distribute applications  116 , configure developer accounts on an advertisement provider system  140 , receive user usage data and analytics, configure advertisement modules  158 , and perform any other suitable tasks for developing and managing applications  116 . 
     In an example embodiment, the application development module  156  is a program, function, routine, applet, or similar entity that exists on and performs operations on the application developer system  150 . In certain example embodiments, application development module  156  must be installed and/or had a feature selection made on the application developer system  150  to obtain the benefits of the techniques described herein. The application development module  156  may be used to design, configure, code, revise, or distribute an application  116 . The application development module  156  may be any platform, programming environment, software package, hardware accessory, or any suitable module to assist with the development of an application  116 . 
     The advertisement module  158  may be utilized by an operator of the application developer system  150  or others to coordinate the placement of advertisements on a user computing device  110 . The operator may use the advertisement module  158  to receive analytics from the advertisement provider system  140 , configure rules for providing advertisements, apply the rules, and provide advertisement requests to the advertisement provider system  140 . The advertisement module  158  can be associated with the developer account on the advertisement provider system  140  to allow the advertisement placement on the user computing device  110  to be performed automatically. 
     The advertisement provider system  140  provides advertisements to user computing devices  110  to be displayed on, or in conjunction with, an application  116 . The advertisement provider system  140  can receive advertisement data from an advertisement spot purchaser  130 , receive a request to provide an advertisement, communicate the advertisement to a user computing device  110 , or perform any other suitable actions to complete the process. An advertisement provider system  140  may further provide an opportunity for users  101  to purchase applications  116 , download applications  116 , update applications  116 , or purchase or download any other suitable software, computer programs, digital media. An example advertisement provider system  140  comprises an analytics module  141 , a data storage unit  142 , and an advertisement selector  143 . In an example embodiment, the application developer system  150  has a developer account with the advertisement provider system  140 . For example, the advertisement provider system  140  may receive a developer operator&#39;s username and password and allow the operator to access services provided by the advertisement provider system  140 . In an example embodiment, the advertisement provider system  140  communicates with the application  116  resident on the user computing device  110  to obtain user usage data, provide advertisements, if communicate other data and information. In another example embodiment, the advertisement provider system  140  communicates with the advertisement spot purchaser  120  to sell advertisement spots on the application  116 , receive advertisement data, or exchange other suitable data and information. In an example embodiment, the advertisement provider system  140  communicates with the application developer system  150  to provide analytics, to receive application information, and to communicate other data information. 
     In an example embodiment, the analytics module  141  receives user usage data and analyzes the data to provide information and recommendations to the application developer system  150 . The analytics module  141  generates analytical data about a user&#39;s  101  usage of the application  116 , such as user demographic information, frequency and length of use of the application  116  by the user  101 , in-app purchase history of the user  101 , and other suitable data. The data may be communicated to the application developer system  150  or accessed by the application developer system  150  on the developer account on the advertisement provider system  140 . 
     In an example embodiment, the advertisement selector  143  receives a request to provide an advertisement to be displayed on the advertisement module  118  on the user computing device  110 . The advertisement selector  143  accesses a database of available advertisements to make the selection. The advertisement selector  143  may select an appropriate advertisement to communicate to the advertisement module  118  based on configured rules or other selection criteria established by the application developer system  150 , the advertisement spot purchaser  130 , or any other suitable party. 
     In an example embodiment, the data storage unit  142  comprises any local or remote data storage structure accessible to the payment processing system hands-free module  141  suitable for storing information. In an example embodiment, the data storage unit  142  stores encrypted information, such as HTML5 local storage. In an example embodiment, the data storage unit  142  stores user financial account information and/or user credit account information. 
     An example advertisement spot purchaser  130  comprises a data storage unit  132 . The data storage unit  132  comprises a local or remote data storage structure accessible to the merchant computing device  150  suitable for storing information. In an example embodiment, the data storage unit  152  stores encrypted information, such as HTML5 local storage. 
     The advertisement spot purchaser  130  can provide advertisement data to the advertisement provider system  140  to be displayed to a user  101 . The advertisement spot purchaser  130  may purchase a configured number of spots. The advertisement spot purchaser  130  may be charged on a per view basis, a per click basis, per action basis, or any other suitable system. The advertisement spot purchaser  130  may request certain applications on which to display the advertisements. Any other advertisement options may be requested or configured by the advertisement spot purchaser  130 . 
     It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are example and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers and devices can be used. Moreover, those having ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure will appreciate that the user computing device  110 , the advertisement spot purchaser  130 , the advertisement provider system  140 , and the application developer system  150  illustrated in  FIG. 1  can have any of several other suitable computer system configurations. For example, a user computing device  110  embodied as a mobile phone or handheld computer may or may not include all the components described above. 
     In example embodiments, the network computing devices and any other computing machines associated with the technology presented herein may be any type of computing machine, such as, but not limited to, those discussed in more detail with respect to  FIG. 6 . Furthermore, any modules associated with any of these computing machines, such as modules described herein or any other modules (scripts, web content, software, firmware, or hardware) associated with the technology presented herein may by any of the modules discussed in more detail with respect to  FIG. 6 . The computing machines discussed herein may communicate with one another as well as other computing machines or communication systems over one or more networks, such as network  120 . The network  120  may include any type of data or communications network, including any of the network technology discussed with respect to  FIG. 6 . 
     Example Processes 
     The example methods illustrated in  FIGS. 2-5  are described hereinafter with respect to the components of the example operating environment  100 . The example methods of  FIGS. 2-5  may also be performed with other systems and in other environments. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram depicting a method  200  to determine whether to place an advertisement on a user computing device  110 , in accordance with certain example embodiments. The method  200  is described with reference to the components illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     In block  210 , the application developer system  150  configures an application  116  with an available advertisement display module  118 . Block  210  is described in greater detail hereinafter with reference to the method  210  described in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram depicting a method  210  for an application developer  150  to configure an application  116  with an advertisement display module  118  available, in accordance with certain example embodiments. The method  210  is described with reference to the components illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     In block  310 , the application developer system  150  creates code for the application  116 . Operators and others at the application developer system  150  create application software for users  101  to install on mobile devices, such as a smartphone or a tablet computer, or other user computing devices. The applications  116  can be any program, software, applet, or other user device module that can be operated by the user  101  on the user computing device  110 . Applications  116  can be designed to provide services to a user  101  such as communications, banking, social networking, gaming, exercise tracking, shopping, or any other suitable service. 
     The application  116  can be designed with a user interface system to allow interaction with the user  101 . The application  116  may be designed to be used on one or more particular types of user computing device  110 , or the application  116  may be designed to be used on any type of user computing device  110 . The application  116  may be associated with another application or module of the user computing device  110 , such as communication application  113 , and require certain functions of the application or module to operate. 
     The application  116  can be developed on a standardized software platform or any other suitable software platform. The completed code is operable to allow the application to be installed on a user computing device  110  and operated in a manner consistent with the design intent. 
     In block  320 , the application developer system  150  accesses requirements for an advertisement display module  118 . The advertisement display module  118  may access advertisement display module  118  requirements in a database stored on the data storage unit  142  of the advertisement provider system  140  over the network  120 . The requirements may be stored in any other suitable location. The requirements may comprise instructions for the manner in which the advertisement display module  118  is to be configured in the application code to provide advertisements to the user  101 . The database may provide examples of the code or sections of the code that may be copied and used in the development of the advertisement display module  118 . The requirements provide guidance for placement of the advertisement on the display of the application  116 , timing of the advertisement, appearance of the display, size of the display, or any other suitable characteristics of an advertisement that will be presented with the advertisement display module  118 . 
     In block  330 , the application developer system  150  incorporates the code for the advertisement display module  118  into the application  116 . After accessing and retrieving the requirements and any available code for the advertisement display module  118 , the application developer system  150  configures the programming code of the application  116  to include the code for the advertisement display module  118 . The advertisement display module  118  may be written into the code, plugged into the code as a module or other component of the code, or in anyway associated with the code that is written for the application  116 . The application  116  is programmed such that, after installation on a user computing device  110 , the advertisement display module  118  operating on the application  116  is capable of receiving instructions from the advertisement provider system  140  to display an advertisement to user  110 . 
     From block  330 , the method  210  returns to block  220  of  FIG. 2 . 
     Returning to  FIG. 2 , in block  220 , the application developer system  150  configures a developer account with the advertisement provider system  140 . An operator of the application developer system  150  accesses the advertisement provider system  140  over the network  120 , via email, text, over the Internet, or via any suitable communication technology. The developer account is configured with the application developer system  150  identification information, preferences, information about applications  118  developed by the application developer system  150 , analyzed data preferences, financial account information, and any other suitable information. 
     In block  230 , the application developer system  150  provides user usage data to advertisement provider system  140 . Block  230  is described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the method  230  described in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting a method  220  for the application developer system  150  to provide user usage data to advertisement provider system  140 , in accordance with certain example embodiments. The method  230  is described with reference to the components illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     In block  410 , application developer system  150  incorporates code for providing user usage data to the application developer system  150  and/or advertisement provider system  140  in to the application  116 . The user usage data can include user demographic information, frequency and length of use of the application  116  by the user  101 , in-app purchase history of the user  101 , user computing device  110  information, and other suitable data. The advertisement display module  118  may access code or requirements in a database stored on the data storage unit  142  of the advertisement provider system  140  over the network  120 . The requirements may comprise instructions for how the advertisement display module  118  is to be configured in the application code to provide the user usage data. The database may provide examples of the code or sections of the code that may be copied and used in the development of the advertisement display module  118 . The requirements provide guidance for how the usage data should be collected, transmitted, stored, and sorted. 
     The application developer system  150  incorporates the code for providing the usage data into the application  116 . After accessing and retrieving the requirements and any available code, the application developer system  150  configures the programming code of the application  116  to include the code for providing the user usage data. The providing of the user usage data may be written into the code, plugged into the code as a module or other component of the code, or in any way associated with the code that is written for the application  116 . The application  116  is programmed such that, after installation on a user computing device  110 , the application  116  is capable of collecting the user usage data and providing the data to the advertisement provider system  140  and/or the application developer system  150 . In certain embodiments, certain data may not be collected or transmitted unless authorized by the user  101 . 
     In block  420 , application developer system  150  provides the application  116  to the user computing device  110 . In an example, a user  101  may navigate a web browser  114  of a user computing device  110  to a webpage of an application distributer system  150  or an advertisement provider system  140 . In the example, the advertisement provider system  140  is an example of an application distributer. In the example, all the functions of the application distributer system  150 , such as providing an opportunity for users  101  to purchase applications  116 , download applications  116 , update applications  116 , or purchase or download any other suitable software, computer programs, digital media, are performed by the advertisement provider system  140 . In alternate embodiments, the application distributer system  150  can be a separate system, a system that is associated with the advertisement provider system  140 , or any other system or party. 
     In the example, the application developer system  150  provides the application to the advertisement provider system  140  for distribution. For example, the user computing device  110  navigates a web browser  114  of a user computing device  110  to a webpage of the advertisement provider system  140 . The user  101  makes a selection of the application  101  on the webpage with a request to provide the application  116  to the user computing device  110 . The advertisement provider system  140  communicates instructions to the user computing device  110  to download the application  116 . The application is downloaded onto the user computing device  110  and the user  101  is provided access to the application  116  by the user computing device  110 . 
     In another example, the application developer system  150  provides the application  116  to the user computing device  110 . The user computing device  110  may navigate a web browser  114  of a user computing device  110  to a webpage of the application developer system  150  and download the application  116  in a similar manner as described above with reference to the providing of the application  116  by the advertisement provider system  140 . In another example, the application  116  may be installed on the user computing device  110  by the manufacturer and provided with the user computing device  110  at the time of purchase. The application  116  may be obtained by the user computing device  110  from any suitable location at any suitable time. 
     In block  430 , one or more users  101  utilize the application  116  on one or more user computing devices  110 . In an example, after downloading the application  116  to the user computing device  110 , the user  101  initiates a session with the application  116  by selecting an object on the user interface  115  of the user computing device  110  that opens the application  116 . The user  101  may interact with the application  116 , such as by configuring an account, viewing a media presentation, conducting transactions, requesting information, interacting with other application  116  users, or performing any suitable actions provided by the application  116 . 
     In block  440 , the user computing device transmits user usage data to application developer system  150  and/or advertisement provider system  140 . When the user  101  interacts with the application  116 , the application  116  gathers user usage data based on the programed code installed by the application developer system  150 . The user usage data may comprise an amount of time that the user  101  is interacting with the application  116 , in-app and other purchases being made by the user  101 , the number of times that the user  101  initiates the application  101 , the model or type of user computing device  110  that the user  101  is using to interact with the application  116 , demographic information about the user  110 , related applications that are resident on the user computing device  110 , or any other suitable user usage data. 
     The user computing device  110  transmits the user usage data to the application developer system  150  and/or the advertisement provider system  140 . In certain examples, the user computing device  110  transmits the user usage data directly to the advertisement provider system  140  for analysis via the Internet over the network  120 , via email, text, BLUETOOTH, or via any other suitable communication technology. In certain examples, the user computing device  110  transmits the user usage data to the application developer system  150  which will be re-transmitted to the advertisement provider system  140 . Any other suitable method for transmitting the user usage data to the advertisement provider system  140  may be utilized. 
     In block  450 , the advertisement provider system  140  analyzes user usage data. After receiving the user usage data, the analytics module  141  on the advertisement provider system  140  analyzes the user usage data to produce a profile of a user  101  or a group of users. The profile generated by the analytics module  141  includes characteristics of the user  101 , such as an amount that user  101  has spent on in-app purchases, a total number of in-app purchases, a likelihood that the user will spend more on in-app purchases, user demographics, and other suitable data. 
     The analyzed user usage data may additionally include an estimate of the value of the user  101  to the application developer system  150  over the lifetime of the user&#39;s  101  interaction with the application  116 . That is, based on the history of in-app purchases and other purchases of the user  101 , the analytics module  141  generates an estimate of how much the user  101  may be expected to spend on the application  116 . The estimate may be based on the previous purchases of the user  101  in the application  116 , related applications, previous versions of the application  116 , or any other suitable applications. The estimate may be based on the purchase histories of similar users. The estimate may be based on the expected lifetime of the user&#39;s usage of the application  116 . For example, the analytics module  141  calculates an expected length of time that the user  101  will actively engage the application  116 . For example, a social network application may have an expected lifespan of 10 years. In another example, a simple game application may only have an expected lifespan of 1 year. Based on the purchase history of the user  101  as described and the expected lifespan of the application  116 , the analytics module  141  extrapolates a lifetime spend of the user  101  on the application  116 . 
     The analytics module  141  can additionally calculate a value of the user  101  to the application developer system  150 . Based on the usage history of the user  101  and expected advertisement spot rates, the analytics module  141  calculates a value of the user  101  if the user  101  were provided with advertisements. In an example, the advertisement provider system determines an appropriate number of advertisements that may be shown based on the activity level and other data related to the user  101  and determines the value of showing that number of advertisements. 
     In certain examples, the user usage data is collected for a configured amount of time before the analysis is generated. For example, the advertisement provider system  140  does not generate an analysis until 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months of user usage data are collected. The length of time may be configured to ensure that enough user usage data is collected to make accurate estimates of the user value. Different applications may require different configured amounts of time required. For example, an application  116  that is used frequently and offers many opportunities to make an in-app purchase may require a shorter amount of time to make an accurate estimate as an application  116  that is used infrequently or has few opportunities to make an in-app purchase. 
     From block  450 , the method  230  returns to block  240  of  FIG. 2 . 
     Returning to  FIG. 2 , in block  240 , the application developer system  150  receives analyzed user usage data from the advertisement provider system  140 . The advertisement provider system  140  provides the analyzed user usage data to the application developer system  150  via the Internet over the network  120 , via email, text, or any other suitable communication technology. The communicated analyzed data may include identifiers for the user  101 , a user account identifier, the analyzed data, the lifetime value estimates for in-app purchases, the lifetime value estimates for advertisements, and any other suitable data. 
     In block  250 , the application developer system  150  configures advertisement module  158  rules based on the user usage data. Block  250  is described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the method  250  described in  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram depicting a method  250  for the application developer system  150  to configure advertisement module  158  rules based on user usage data, in accordance with certain example embodiments. The method  230  is described with reference to the components illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     In block  510 , the application developer system  150  identifies users  101  that utilize in-app purchases. The application developer system  150  can receive the identification of users  101  that make in-app purchases in any suitable format. For example, the application developer system  150  can receive a ranking of in-app purchasers and an identification of an individual user&#39;s  101  position in that ranking, such as number 50 out of 1000. In another example, the application developer system  150  can receive a total amount spent by the user  101 . In another example, the application developer system  150  can receive an expected lifetime value of the user  101  that predicts how much the user  101  may be expected to spend on in-app purchases on the application  116 . In another example, the application developer system  150  can receive a rating of the user  101  spending. The rating may be a letter grade, such as an A or B, a descriptive rating, such as “GOOD” or “POOR”, a number rating, such as 0-100, or any other suitable rating system. 
     The application developer system  150  can receive an input from an operator of the application developer system  150  that specifies the characteristic(s) that are required to label a user  101  as an “in-app purchaser.” For example, the operator may configure the application developer system  150  to consider a user  101  with an expected lifetime value greater than $10.00 to be an in-app purchaser. In another example, the operator may configure the application developer system  150  to consider a user  101  that has purchased greater than $3.00 in the first month of use of the application  116  to be an in-app purchaser. In another example, the operator may configure the application developer system  150  to consider a user  101  that has purchased greater than $10.00 in a related application to be an in-app purchaser. In another example, the operator may configure the application developer system  150  to consider a user  101  that has a rating of A or B to be an in-app purchaser. Any other suitable standard may be configured to identify an in-app purchaser. 
     In block  520 , the application developer system  150  identifies income to be received from users  101  receiving advertisements on the advertisement module  158 . The advertisement provider system  140  provides information to the advertisement module  158  on the application developer system  150  that specifies the amount of money that would be earned by providing advertisements to the user  101  on the application  116 . The information can be provided as an expected lifetime advertising value of the user  101 , as a value per user session with the application  116 , as a value per month, or in any other suitable format. 
     The determination of the value of advertising to the user  101  can incorporate a possible decrease in use of the application  116  by the user  101  due to the advertisements. That is, a user  101  that is receiving advertisements on the application  116  may use the application  116  less frequently than when not receiving advertisements due to a possible decrease in the satisfaction level of the user experience on the application  116 . The decrease in use may be included in the calculation of the value of advertising to the user  101 . 
     The value of advertising to the user  101  is calculated, by the advertisement module  158 , based on the amount that the advertisement provider system  140  will pay to present an advertisement on the advertisement display module  118 . For example, if the advertisement provider system  140  is willing to pay $0.05 per advertisement presented, and the advertisement provider system  140  provides 10 advertisements per day to the user  101  on the advertisement display module  118 , then the value of advertising to the user  101  is $0.50 per day. If the user  101  of the example is expected to use the application  116  for 100 days before discontinuing use, then the lifetime value of advertising to the user  101  is equal to $50.00($0.50*100=$50.00). 
     The amount that the advertisement provider system  140  will pay to present an advertisement on the advertisement display module  118  may vary based on the history of purchases of the user  101 , the frequency that a user  101  is expected to use the application  116 , the negotiated price charged to the advertisement spot purchaser  130 , or any other suitable factor. The amount that the advertisement provider system  140  will pay may be based on factors such as a cost per presentation, cost per click, cost per action taken by the user  101 , or any other suitable factor. 
     In block  530 , the application developer system  150  configures rules on the advertisement module  158  for when a user  101  should receive an advertisement. For example, the advertisement module  158  compares the user usage data of a user  101  to the expected value of advertising to the user  101 . If the user  101  is likely to spend more on in-app purchases, then the advertisement module  158  elects to forego the advertisements to that user  101 . If the advertisement module  158  determines that more money will be received from advertisements than from in-app purchases by the user  101 , then the advertisement module  158  elects to provide advertisements. 
     The number or frequency of the advertisements may be configured based on the disparity between the amount the user  101  will likely spend more on in-app purchases and the amount expected value of advertising to the user  101 . That is, if the user  101  will spend less than $5 on in-app purchases, but the user  101  is worth $50 if provided with advertisements, then the application developer system  150  may elect to provide a greater number of advertisements to that user  101  than another user that will spend $30.00 on in-app purchases. 
     In another example, the advertisement module  158  configures a rule that any user  101  that has made less than one in-app purchase in the last 30 days should receive advertisements for subsequent uses of the application  116 . The advertisement module  158  may configure rules for frequency of advertisements, categories of products advertised, or any other suitable rules. 
     In another example, the advertisement module  158  prepares an advertisement schedule for the user  101 . That is, the advertisement module  158  compares the profile of the user  101  to the rules provided by the advertisement development system  150  and associates an advertisement schedule based on the rules. For example, the advertisement schedule determines a number of advertisements the user  101  is to receive per action on the application  116 . In another example, the advertisement schedule determines a number initiations of the application  116  before the user  101  is to receive an advertisement, such as an advertisement every third time the application  116  is initiated. In another example, the advertisement schedule provides more advertisements to a user  101  that has a lower estimated lifetime value, and less advertisements to a user  101  that has a higher estimated lifetime value. The advertisement schedule may be stored on the data storage unit  142  on the advertisement provider system  140 . 
     From block  530 , the method  250  returns to block  260  of  FIG. 2 . 
     In block  260 , the application developer system  150  links the advertisement module  158  on the application developer system  150  to the developer account on advertisement provider system  140 . The application developer system  150  ties the data generated by the analytics module  141  to the advertisement module  158  to allow stored user profiles to be compared to the configured rules. The application developer system  150  links the advertisement module  158  to the developer account by communicating a request to the analytics module  141  to provide user analytics directly to the advertisement module  158 . The advertisement module  158  is configured to receive the user analytics and to provide advertisement configuration and rules to the application developer system  150 . In another example, the rules of the advertisement module  158  are provided to the advertisement provider system  140  to allow advertisement provider system  140  to use the rules and preferences. 
     In block  270 , the advertisement provider system  140  receives a notice of a user activation of the application  116  on the user computing device  110 . The notice may be provided directly by the user computing device  110  when the user  101  initiates the application  116 . Additionally or alternatively, the notice may be provided by the user computing device  110  to the application developer system  150 . The application developer system  150  may forward the notification to the advertisement provider system  140 . The user computing device may communicate the notice to the advertisement provider system  140  and/or the application developer system  150  via an Internet connection over the network  120 , via text, email, or any other suitable communication technology. 
     In an example, the user  101  selects an option on the user computing device  110  to initiate the application  116 . The application  116  opens and a user interface of the application  116  is presented to the user  101 . The application  116  or the user computing device  101  recognizes instructions in the configuration of the application  116  to provide the notification to the advertisement provider system  140  and/or the application developer system  150 . The application  116  or the user computing device  101  initiates the communication to provide the notification as configured. 
     In block  280 , the application  116 , the application developer system  150 , or the advertisement provider system  140  determines if the user  101  is to receive an advertisement. For example, the advertisement selector  143  of the advertisement provider system  140  compares the profile of the user  101  to the rules provided by the application developer system  150 . In another example, the advertisement module  158  of the application developer system  150  performs the comparison of the profile of the user  101  to the rules provided by the application developer system  150 . Examples of the rules are provided in greater detail in block  530  of  FIG. 5 . If the user  101  is to be provided with an advertisement, then the method  200  proceeds to block  290 . 
     In block  290 , the advertisement selector  143  of the advertisement provider system  140  selects an appropriate advertisement and provides the advertisement to the application  116  on the user computing device  110 . The appropriate advertisement may be an advertisement that meets the qualifications of the advertisement schedule that is associated with the user  101 . In an example, the advertisement schedule that is associated with the user  101  may have a queue of advertisements available for subsequent user interactions with the application  116 . In another example, the advertisement selector  143  may access a database of advertisements on the data storage unit  142  and select an appropriate advertisement based on the user profile at the time of the user  101  interaction with the application  116 . Any suitable process may be utilized by the advertisement selector  143 . 
     In an alternate embodiment, if the advertisement module  158  of the application developer system  150  performs the comparison of the profile of the user  101  to the rules provided by the application developer system  150 , then the advertisement module  158  provides a communication of a request to the advertisement selector  143  to provide the advertisement to the application  116  on the user computing device  110 . 
     The advertisement selector  143  or other component of the advertisement provider system  140  stores data associated with the presentation of the advertisement. The data may include a record that the user  101  received the advertisement, a record that the user  101  clicked the advertisement, a record that the user  101  performed an action associated with the advertisement, or any other suitable record. The advertisement provider system  140  may provide the records associated with the advertisement to the advertisement spot purchaser  130  with an invoice for payment. 
     Returning to block  280 , if the user  101  is not to be provided with an advertisement, then the method  200  proceeds to block  295 . In block  295 , the advertisement selector  143  of the advertisement provider system  140  does not provide an advertisement to the application  116  on the user computing device  110 . The user  101  operates the functions of the application  116  without receiving an advertisement. 
     Other Example Embodiments 
       FIG. 6  depicts a computing machine  2000  and a module  2050  in accordance with certain example embodiments. The computing machine  2000  may correspond to any of the various computers, servers, mobile devices, embedded systems, or computing systems presented herein. The module  2050  may comprise one or more hardware or software elements configured to facilitate the computing machine  2000  in performing the various methods and processing functions presented herein. The computing machine  2000  may include various internal or attached components such as a processor  2010 , system bus  2020 , system memory  2030 , storage media  2040 , input/output interface  2060 , and a network interface  2070  for communicating with a network  2080 . 
     The computing machine  2000  may be implemented as a conventional computer system, an embedded controller, a laptop, a server, a mobile device, a smartphone, a set-top box, a kiosk, a vehicular information system, one more processors associated with a television, a customized machine, any other hardware platform, or any combination or multiplicity thereof. The computing machine  2000  may be a distributed system configured to function using multiple computing machines interconnected via a data network or bus system. 
     The processor  2010  may be configured to execute code or instructions to perform the operations and functionality described herein, manage request flow and address mappings, and to perform calculations and generate commands. The processor  2010  may be configured to monitor and control the operation of the components in the computing machine  2000 . The processor  2010  may be a general purpose processor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, a reconfigurable processor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (“DSP”), an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), a graphics processing unit (“GPU”), a field programmable gate array (“FPGA”), a programmable logic device (“PLD”), a controller, a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware components, any other processing unit, or any combination or multiplicity thereof. The processor  2010  may be a single processing unit, multiple processing units, a single processing core, multiple processing cores, special purpose processing cores, co-processors, or any combination thereof. According to certain example embodiments, the processor  2010  along with other components of the computing machine  2000  may be a virtualized computing machine executing within one or more other computing machines. 
     The system memory  2030  may include non-volatile memories such as read-only memory (“ROM”), programmable read-only memory (“PROM”), erasable programmable read-only memory (“EPROM”), flash memory, or any other device capable of storing program instructions or data with or without applied power. The system memory  2030  may also include volatile memories such as random access memory (“RAM”), static random access memory (“SRAM”), dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”), and synchronous dynamic random access memory (“SDRAM”). Other types of RAM also may be used to implement the system memory  2030 . The system memory  2030  may be implemented using a single memory module or multiple memory modules. While the system memory  2030  is depicted as being part of the computing machine  2000 , one skilled in the art will recognize that the system memory  2030  may be separate from the computing machine  2000  without departing from the scope of the subject technology. It should also be appreciated that the system memory  2030  may include, or operate in conjunction with, a non-volatile storage device such as the storage media  2040 . 
     The storage media  2040  may include a hard disk, a floppy disk, a compact disc read only memory (“CD-ROM”), a digital versatile disc (“DVD”), a Blu-ray disc, a magnetic tape, a flash memory, other non-volatile memory device, a solid state drive (“SSD”), any magnetic storage device, any optical storage device, any electrical storage device, any semiconductor storage device, any physical-based storage device, any other data storage device, or any combination or multiplicity thereof. The storage media  2040  may store one or more operating systems, application programs and program modules such as module  2050 , data, or any other information. The storage media  2040  may be part of, or connected to, the computing machine  2000 . The storage media  2040  may also be part of one or more other computing machines that are in communication with the computing machine  2000  such as servers, database servers, cloud storage, network attached storage, and so forth. 
     The module  2050  may comprise one or more hardware or software elements configured to facilitate the computing machine  2000  with performing the various methods and processing functions presented herein. The module  2050  may include one or more sequences of instructions stored as software or firmware in association with the system memory  2030 , the storage media  2040 , or both. The storage media  2040  may therefore represent examples of machine or computer readable media on which instructions or code may be stored for execution by the processor  2010 . Machine or computer readable media may generally refer to any medium or media used to provide instructions to the processor  2010 . Such machine or computer readable media associated with the module  2050  may comprise a computer software product. It should be appreciated that a computer software product comprising the module  2050  may also be associated with one or more processes or methods for delivering the module  2050  to the computing machine  2000  via the network  2080 , any signal-bearing medium, or any other communication or delivery technology. The module  2050  may also comprise hardware circuits or information for configuring hardware circuits such as microcode or configuration information for an FPGA or other PLD. 
     The input/output (“I/O”) interface  2060  may be configured to couple to one or more external devices, to receive data from the one or more external devices, and to send data to the one or more external devices. Such external devices along with the various internal devices may also be known as peripheral devices. The I/O interface  2060  may include both electrical and physical connections for operably coupling the various peripheral devices to the computing machine  2000  or the processor  2010 . The I/O interface  2060  may be configured to communicate data, addresses, and control signals between the peripheral devices, the computing machine  2000 , or the processor  2010 . The I/O interface  2060  may be configured to implement any standard interface, such as small computer system interface (“SCSI”), serial-attached SCSI (“SAS”), fiber channel, peripheral component interconnect (“PCI”), PCI express (PCIe), serial bus, parallel bus, advanced technology attached (“ATA”), serial ATA (“SATA”), universal serial bus (“USB”), Thunderbolt, FireWire, various video buses, and the like. The I/O interface  2060  may be configured to implement only one interface or bus technology. Alternatively, the I/O interface  2060  may be configured to implement multiple interfaces or bus technologies. The I/O interface  2060  may be configured as part of, all of, or to operate in conjunction with, the system bus  2020 . The I/O interface  2060  may include one or more buffers for buffering transmissions between one or more external devices, internal devices, the computing machine  2000 , or the processor  2010 . 
     The I/O interface  2060  may couple the computing machine  2000  to various input devices including mice, touch-screens, scanners, electronic digitizers, sensors, receivers, touchpads, trackballs, cameras, microphones, keyboards, any other pointing devices, or any combinations thereof. The I/O interface  2060  may couple the computing machine  2000  to various output devices including video displays, speakers, printers, projectors, tactile feedback devices, automation control, robotic components, actuators, motors, fans, solenoids, valves, pumps, transmitters, signal emitters, lights, and so forth. 
     The computing machine  2000  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections through the network interface  2070  to one or more other systems or computing machines across the network  2080 . The network  2080  may include wide area networks (WAN), local area networks (LAN), intranets, the Internet, wireless access networks, wired networks, mobile networks, telephone networks, optical networks, or combinations thereof. The network  2080  may be packet switched, circuit switched, of any topology, and may use any communication protocol. Communication links within the network  2080  may involve various digital or an analog communication media such as fiber optic cables, free-space optics, waveguides, electrical conductors, wireless links, antennas, radio-frequency communications, and so forth. 
     The processor  2010  may be connected to the other elements of the computing machine  2000  or the various peripherals discussed herein through the system bus  2020 . It should be appreciated that the system bus  2020  may be within the processor  2010 , outside the processor  2010 , or both. According to some embodiments, any of the processor  2010 , the other elements of the computing machine  2000 , or the various peripherals discussed herein may be integrated into a single device such as a system on chip (“SOC”), system on package (“SOP”), or ASIC device. 
     In situations in which the systems discussed here collect personal information about users, or may make use of personal information, the users may be provided with an opportunity or option to control whether programs or features collect user information (e.g., information about a user&#39;s social network, social actions or activities, profession, a user&#39;s preferences, or a user&#39;s current location), or to control whether and/or how to receive content from the content server that may be more relevant to the user. In addition, certain data may be treated in one or more ways before it is stored or used, so that personally identifiable information is removed. For example, a user&#39;s identity may be treated so that no personally identifiable information can be determined for the user, or a user&#39;s geographic location may be generalized where location information is obtained (such as to a city, ZIP code, or state level), so that a particular location of a user cannot be determined. Thus, the user may have control over how information is collected about the user and used by a content server. 
     Embodiments may comprise a computer program that embodies the functions described and illustrated herein, wherein the computer program is implemented in a computer system that comprises instructions stored in a machine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions. However, it should be apparent that there could be many different ways of implementing embodiments in computer programming, and the embodiments should not be construed as limited to any one set of computer program instructions. Further, a skilled programmer would be able to write such a computer program to implement an embodiment of the disclosed embodiments based on the appended flow charts and associated description in the application text. Therefore, disclosure of a particular set of program code instructions is not considered necessary for an adequate understanding of how to make and use embodiments. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more aspects of embodiments described herein may be performed by hardware, software, or a combination thereof, as may be embodied in one or more computing systems. Moreover, any reference to an act being performed by a computer should not be construed as being performed by a single computer as more than one computer may perform the act. 
     The example embodiments described herein can be used with computer hardware and software that perform the methods and processing functions described herein. The systems, methods, and procedures described herein can be embodied in a programmable computer, computer-executable software, or digital circuitry. The software can be stored on computer-readable media. For example, computer-readable media can include a floppy disk, RAM, ROM, hard disk, removable media, flash memory, memory stick, optical media, magneto-optical media, CD-ROM, etc. Digital circuitry can include integrated circuits, gate arrays, building block logic, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), etc. 
     The example systems, methods, and acts described in the embodiments presented previously are illustrative, and, in alternative embodiments, certain acts can be performed in a different order, in parallel with one another, omitted entirely, and/or combined between different example embodiments, and/or certain additional acts can be performed, without departing from the scope and spirit of various embodiments. Accordingly, such alternative embodiments are included in the scope of the following claims, which are to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass such alternate embodiments. 
     Although specific embodiments have been described above in detail, the description is merely for purposes of illustration. It should be appreciated, therefore, that many aspects described above are not intended as required or essential elements unless explicitly stated otherwise. Modifications of, and equivalent components or acts corresponding to, the disclosed aspects of the example embodiments, in addition to those described above, can be made by a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the benefit of the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit and scope of embodiments defined in the following claims, the scope of which is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass such modifications and equivalent structures.