Patent ID: 7904303

Claim:
A computer implemented method of targeting, the method comprising: receiving, at a computer, online activity of at least one user; selecting, using a computer, a predictor item having a relevance to the online activity of the user; receiving, at a computer, a plurality of affinity items having affinity scores that indicate relevance between the predictor item and the affinity items, wherein the affinity items and the predictor items are categorized in a classification system comprising a plurality of nodes arranged in a hierarchical tree structure; identifying, using a computer, affinity items from among the plurality of affinity items having affinity scores that are greater than a threshold; calculating, using computer, a difference score measuring a difference between the identified affinity items and the predictor item, wherein the difference score corresponds to the number of nodes separating said predictor item and the identified affinity items within said hierarchical tree structure; selecting, using a computer, a first affinity item from among the identified affinity items based on a difference score for the first affinity item; and using, in a computer, the first affinity item to target advertising to the user.