Patent ID: 8060402

Claim:
A computer implemented method, comprising: storing 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; generating, by the ad server, 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; generating 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; receiving on the ad server, from a client, a first request, the first request being a request for the advertisement identified by the first reference; in response to the first request, determining from the first-advertiser-specific hostname in the first reference that the first request is associated with the first advertiser and sending to the 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 client; receiving on the ad server, from the client, a second request, the second request being a request for the advertisement identified by the second reference; in response to the second request, determining from the second-advertiser-specific hostname in the second reference that the second request is associated with the second advertiser and sending to the 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 client; receiving a third request from the client, the third request including the first client cookie; in response to the third request, recording the third request including the unique first-advertiser-specific identifier of the first client cookie; and using the recorded third request to derive advertising metrics for the first advertiser.