Abstract: Example systems may include: receiving a request for allocation of a content inventory unit; receiving two or more bids for the content inventory unit, each bid being subject to a respective sharing fraction; determining one or more adjusted bids, where each adjusted bid is determined based on one of the two or more bids and the respective sharing fraction for the bid; allocating the content inventory unit to a buyer that submitted a highest bid from among the two or more bids; determining a payment from the buyer as a maximum member of a first set of prices that comprises at least one of the two or more bids; determining a payment to a seller as a maximum member of a second set of prices that includes at least one of the adjusted bids; and transmitting data reflecting the allocation of the content inventory unit to the buyer.

Abstract: For a set of auction items, establishing a subsidy specification comprising an initial subsidy balance. For each auction item in the set, establishing winning bid price criteria, winning bidder criteria, and a reserve price. Receiving at least one bid. Determining a winning bid price from among the received bids according to the winning bid price criteria. For a winning bid price less than the reserve price by an amount not greater than the subsidy balance, decrementing the subsidy balance by the difference between the reserve price and the winning bid price, and awarding the auction item to the winning bidder at the winning bid price.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for allocating content. In one aspect, a method includes identifying bids for a plurality of eligible bidders that are eligible to provide a content item in response to a content item request. From among the eligible bidders, a set of passback bidders having a passback capability are identified. The passback capability provides passback bidders an option refuse to provide a content item. From among the bidders, a set of general bidders, for which the passback capability is not enabled, are identified. A bidder chain that includes a highest general bidder and passback bidders is generated. A highest bidder in the bidder chain that does not refuse to provide a content item after being identified as the winning bidder is selected as the final bidder.

Abstract: This specification describes technologies relating to selection and delivery of online content. One aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include determining a share fraction based on a received reserve price and based in part on a distribution of past bids for content inventory units in one or more content slots provided by a publisher. The methods may further include determining a second reserve price based in part on the received reserve price and based in part on a distribution of past bids for content inventory units in one or more content slots provided by the publisher. The methods may further include receiving one or more bids for the content inventory unit and allocating the content inventory unit to a buyer based in part on the one or more bids and the second reserve price.

Abstract: Example techniques for determining a price for content may include the following operations: obtaining bids from content providers, where the bids correspond to amounts that the content providers will pay to present content on a portal hosted by a publisher; obtaining surcharges corresponding to an effect on the publisher of presenting content from the content providers on the portal; using one or more processing devices to adjust the bids in accordance with corresponding surcharges to thereby produce adjusted bids; comparing the adjusted bids to determine a winner of an auction to present content on the portal hosted by the publisher; determining a price for the winner to pay based on the surcharge; and charging the winner the price for presenting content on the portal.

Abstract: Content item presentation slots (e.g., advertisement slots) can be grouped into a slot group so that more than one presenter (e.g., advertiser) can share a corresponding number of slots on the publisher's property over a defined time period. The presenters can be scheduled to the slots within the slot group to maximize a performance measurement (e.g., number of clicks) that each presenter realizes according to budget constraints that are defined by the presenters.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for allocating resources. In one aspect, a method includes receiving an advertisement request and identifying eligible advertisements that are eligible to be provided in response to the advertisement request. For each of the eligible advertisements an impression score corresponding to the advertisement request is received and a discount factor for each eligible advertisement is computed. The discount factor can be computed based on a function of previous impression scores for previous advertisement requests for which the eligible advertisement was provided. Using the impression scores and the discount factors for the eligible advertisements an allocation score is computed for each eligible advertisement. Using the allocation scores, an eligible advertisement is selected and provided in response to the request.

Abstract: Content item presentation slots (e.g., advertisement slots) can be grouped into a slot group so that more than one presenter (e.g., advertiser) can share a corresponding number of slots on the publisher's property over a defined time period. The presenters can be scheduled to the slots within the slot group to maximize a performance measurement (e.g., number of clicks) that each presenter realizes according to budget constraints that are defined by the presenters.

Abstract: Co-performance measurements can be determined for a plurality of content items, each co-performance measurement being associated with a corresponding content item and each co-performance measurement being a measure of the effect of the corresponding content item on the performance of one or more other content items that are presented with the corresponding content item. A set of content items can be selected for presentation to a viewer, wherein the set of content items comprises the content items that maximize a cumulative performance of the set of content items. Each content item can be assigned to a presentation position based on the co-performance measurement of each content item.

Abstract: In an online advertising system, preferred cost bidding allows advertisers to specify a preferred “average” cost target (e.g., cost-per-click (CPC), cost per thousand impressions (CPM)), rather than a “maximum” cost target (e.g., maximum CPC, CPM). The system attempts to bring the advertiser's overall advertising cost as close as possible to the advertiser's specified average cost, using an iterative process (e.g., a feedback loop) that updates bids for keywords using historical performance data for the key words. In some implementations, a bid is automatically adjusted in an adaptive way to compensate for natural changes in fluctuations of the market using historical performance data to compute a bid that is likely to result in an average cost (per click) that is close to the advertiser's preferred average target cost (per click).

Abstract: A method for auctioning advertisement positions in a medium is disclosed. The method comprises receiving slot preference information comprising a first series of rankings at which an advertiser prefers to place a first advertisement relative to other advertisements on a medium, wherein two or more of the rankings in the first series are non-sequential, receiving a single bid for placement of the first advertisement at any of the rankings in the first series, and associating the first advertisement with a first ranking in the first series if the first ranking has not been previously associated with a different advertisement.