Patent ID: 8171156

Claim:
The method for optimizing internet traffic flow through a web network containing a plurality of interlinked content elements, the method comprising: collecting content data corresponding to a content element in the web network; obtaining a revenue value corresponding to the content element based on the corresponding content data; calculating a subsequent flow value corresponding to the content element; calculating an overall content value for the content element based on the corresponding revenue value and the corresponding subsequent flow value, comprising the following value function: v i = R i + β ⁢ ∑ j = 1 N ⁢ π i , j ⁢ v j wherein ν i is the overall content value for the content element; ν j is the overall content value for a next content element; β=1/(1+r); r is a cost of capital over a relevant predetermined time interval; π i,j is a probability of a transition from the content element to the next content element, and N is equal to a number of content elements; modifying the web network based on the overall content value and the content data, so as to increase overall revenue generated by the web network.