Abstract: Methods, systems, and storage media for generating leads for vendors through a social media program are disclosed. Exemplary implementations may: estimate a conversion rank for an online promotion for a targeted prospect based at least in part on historical data of conversion ranks for a sample of the targeted prospect; simulate the online promotion to the sample of the targeted prospect; calculate a likelihood of conversion based on the simulating of the online promotion to the sample of the targeted prospect; and cause display of the likelihood of conversion as a confidence score.

Abstract: Auxiliary content provided in addition to search results is selected and presented to aid the user in completing tasks and increasing user interaction performance. Auxiliary content is processed utilizing existing search engine categorization and identification mechanisms, thereby facilitating the determination of similarities between the auxiliary content and indexed content that is identified as being responsive to a search query. At least some of the search results identified as being responsive to the search query are compared to auxiliary content to identify similarities, including visual similarities. Similar auxiliary content are selected to aid the user in completing tasks, and such selected auxiliary content is provided with the search results, including in a visually distinct or separated manner.

Abstract: The present invention provides techniques for use in measuring effects of social sharing, and social sharing user characteristics, on advertisement effectiveness. Measurement information can be used in many ways, such as in optimizing advertisement campaigns and advertisement targeting. Techniques are provided in which bucket testing experiments are utilized. Advertisement performance may be tracked, including downstream advertisement performance, which may follow social sharing, in measuring differences in advertisement performance between content sharing users and content non-sharing users. Techniques are provided in which user social graph information may be used in determining downstream advertisement performance, even without information regarding specific sharing instances.

Abstract: Refining a target audience for an advertising campaign, includes: obtaining a seed list of customers; defining the target audience as the customers from the seed list who share key characteristics of a desired customer; formulating an audience model; using the audience model, generating a client-specific segment of the defined target audience for targeting; and optimizing the client-specific segment using conversion data.

Abstract: A system and method for managing a communications network establishes an initial polling interval for a corresponding network element. The network management system detects whether the network element provides at least one status message during a group of sequential polls. Each poll within the group is preferably separated by the initial polling interval. The network management system adjusts the initial polling interval to a subsequent polling interval for the network element based on the detection of the status message to adaptively meet the communications traffic requirements.