Abstract: A method for controlling a purchasing pace in a real-time bidding environment is provided. A pacing parameter is dynamically adjusted using a multi-loop control algorithm including an outer control loop and an inner control loop, wherein the outer control loop outputs a control parameter, and the inner control loop uses this control parameter as an input and outputs a current value of the pacing parameter, which is adjusted over time by the multi-loop control algorithm. A series of bid requests generated by a real-time bidding exchange are received, each identifying a respective available ad placement in a respective webpage being loaded. For each received bid request, a decision is made in real-time, during the loading of the respective webpage, whether to submit a bid to purchase the respective ad placement based at least on the current value of the dynamically adjusted pacing parameter.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for managing purchasing of online advertisements in a real-time bidding system is provided. A setpoint profile defining one or more changes in a setpoint value over time is accessed, wherein the setpoint value indicates a target number of advertisement purchases in a particular time period. A controller executes a control loop feedback algorithm intended to produce actual advertisement purchase results that track the setpoint profile over time. The actual advertisement purchase results may experience time lags when encountering changes in the setpoint value due to the operation of the control loop feedback algorithm. Thus, the method further includes executing a profile modification algorithm to modify the setpoint profile to account for such time lags associated with the actual advertisement purchase results.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method includes receiving a series of bid requests from a real-time bidding exchange, each corresponding to an available advertisement placement, determining whether to bid on each bid request based on a current value of a pacing threshold, and dynamically adjusting the value of the pacing threshold over time using a control loop feedback algorithm, such as a PID controller, a PI controller, or a PD controller, for example. The method may also include determining a score for each received bid request that represents an attractiveness of the advertisement placement associated with that bid request for a particular advertising campaign, and determining whether to bid on that bid request based at least on the determined bid request score and the current value of the pacing threshold. The control loop feedback algorithm may be designed to produce actual advertisement purchase results that track a defined setpoint profile over time.