1. User configurable advertising profiles applied to Web page banners
Patrick Baudisch GMD-IPSI October 97
GMD

2. Content Current situation Motivation Adapting banners to users
Requirements
Existing approaches & rating
User configurable advertising profiles
Conclusions

3. Current situation
Economical aspects gain influence on the World Wide Web
Refinancing sites becomes an important issue
Difficulty in transferring small amounts of money through the web (subscription fees)
Advertising gains significance

4. Advertising banners
Example:
Spiegel
Online
June ‘96

5. Web advertising is far from reaching its potential
There are only few advertising clients, especially in Germany
Banners have low impact on users
Users see no use in banners, only costs
banners lengthen transmission, thus raising transmission fees
banners are usually not related to users’ interests
Adapt banners to users

6. Adapting banners to users: Desired effect
Internet commer- cialization
more advertising clients
better user
involvement
more users
of the service
better user acceptance
refinanciation allowing better content quality
increasing number of Internet users
user related advertising banners

7. Requirements Effectiveness Wide applicability Low effort for users
Low effort for the site provider
Low effort for advertising clients
Respect user privacy

8. Existing concepts Internet demography Users are young, educated, ...
Page content Accept only matching banners
User demography: Form or IP-Address Find out who users are
Web history: Bookmark upload or cookie Find out what pages users view

9. Classification relate to person relate to Web pages restrictive
Internet
page content
demo g
raphy
adaptive
User
Web history
demogr a
phy
manual/
Form
IP-
Book
Cooki
automatic
address
mark es

10. Problems, problems, ... Restrictive -> not widely applicable
Adaptive -> require minimum banner set
Demography -> poor adaptation
Manual -> many users refuse extra effort
Automatic -> violate privacy

11. Approaches vs. Requirements
web history (cookies)
web history (bookmarks)
User demography (IP-a.)
User demography (form)
page content
Internet demography
effectiveness
applicability
low user effort
low site effort
low a. client effort
privacy
(*Higher bars = better ratings)

12. User configurable advertising profiles
Problem: Banner selection based on demography or Web history is indirect, thus inaccurate
Possible solution: Find out what users think about presented banners
Generate personal advertising profile according to feedback about banners
Use profile to select most suitable banners

13. User interface
Mouse click on banner (following the link) means positive feedback. Increases probability for similar banners
Mouse click on trashcan (removes banner) means negative feedback Decreases probability for similar banners

14. Feedback propagation Banners are related by a similarity graph21 p1
Banner 2 n 21 p p2 23
Banner 3 p3 n 23
Banners are related by a similarity graph
Each banner has a display probability

15. Test implementation: Channels
Simplify graph to shallow tree
Similar banners are grouped as “Channels”
Additional interface: Users may access profile directly
Advertising clients use this interface to place banners
Default = off Ads

16. Advertising profiles: Rating
Hypothesis: Direct manipulation less biases high effectiveness
Requires account and minimum banner set (like all adaptive systems)
Increased performance requires extra users interaction
Users are not forced to participate

17. Advertising profiles vs. Requirements
effectiveness
applicability
low user effort
low site effort
low a. client effort
privacy
(*Higher bars = better ratings)

18. Conclusions (“Moral”)
Users can access and control their data
“Advertising is necessary to finance sites” We expect that users accept this fact
Give advertising pull charac- teristics (matching the Web)
“Info channels”: Advertising gains an informative character
Evaluation within “TV-Online”