Patent ID: 7653627

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for utilizing content of an online conversation to select advertising content for display, the method comprising: receiving, via a computing device, the content of the online conversation, wherein the online conversation comprises an instant messaging session; extracting one or more keywords from the content of the online conversation; characterizing the one or more keywords that are extracted from the content of the online conversation as one or more of an advertising selection keyword and a user-intention keyword, wherein an advertising selection keyword includes a keyword that matches a word on an advertising-keyword list, and wherein a user-intention keyword indicates user interest in a topic and includes a keyword that is proximate to one or more of a trigger word and a trigger phrase, which are identified in a pre-defined list; scoring a keyword that has been characterized as an advertising selection keyword, wherein scoring comprises calculating a measure of frequency of the advertising selection keyword; determining that the advertising selection keyword, which has been scored, has also been characterized as a user-intention keyword; re-weighting the advertising selection keyword, which has also been characterized as a user-intention keyword, to be given greater weight in a joint-probability-distribution algorithm that is usable to select advertising content; selecting the advertising content to be displayed based on the joint-probability-distribution algorithm, which includes the advertising selection keyword that has been both scored and re-weighted; and outputting in association with the content the advertising content that is selected.