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                                                     Seminar

             Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management
                                  The Chinese University of Hong Kong

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Title

:

Optimal Keyword Bids in Search-Based Advertising with Stochastic Ad Positions

　

　

　

Speaker

:

Prof. Mahmut Parlar

　

　

DeGroote School of Business

　

　

McMaster University

　

　

　

Date

:

Jan. 26th, 2011 (Wednesday)

　

　

　

Time

:

4:45 p.m-5:45 p.m.

　

　

　

Venue

:

Room 513

　

　

William M.W. Mong Engineering Building

　

　

(Engineering Building Complex Phase 2)

　

　

CUHK

　

　

　

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Abstract:
　

U.S. expenditures on search engine advertising in 2010 are estimated to total over $12.4 billion, nearly half of all internet advertising expenditures. In search-based advertising, advertisers bid for keywords, where bid price determines ad placement, which in turn affects the click--through rate and the conversion rate. Advertisers typically have a fixed daily budget that should not be exceeded, so an advertiser must spend the budget intelligently by selecting the right keywords and then allocating the right proportion of the budget for each keyword. In this paper, we construct and examine a stochastic model for this selection and allocation process. We provide analytical results for the single-keyword problem and examine the multiple-keyword problem numerically. We show the implications of having a probabilistic budget constraint on the model and its solution. We investigate the interaction between keywords of varying levels of risk and return. Our paper provides a critical analysis of the advertiser's problem that will serve as a jumping point for future research. (Co-authors: Susan Cholette, Ozgur Ozluk and Mahmut Parlar)


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Biography:
　

Mahmut Parlar is a Professor of Management Science at McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business and a former Chair of the Management Science/Information Systems Area. He holds a B.Sc. in mathematics (1973) and an M.Sc. in operations research/statistics (1975) both from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, and a Ph.D. in management sciences (1979) from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Mahmut Parlar's research program is focused in the areas of stochastic modelling, dynamic optimization and game theory applications in supply chain management. His work in these and related areas has been supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) research grants since 1980 and have appeared in the form of nearly 100 articles published in journals such as Operations Research, Management Science, Naval Research Logistics, IIE Transactions, Journal of Operations Management, Annals of Operations Research, Transportation Science, Applied Mathematical Finance and others. Professor Parlar is the author of a book entitled "Interactive Operations Research with Maple" published in 2000 by Birkhauser, Boston.


************************* ALL ARE WELCOME ************************

　

　

　

Host

:

Prof. Sean X. Zhou

Tel

:

(852)2609 8336

Email

:

zhoux@se.cuhk.edu.hk

　

　

　

Enquiries

:

Prof. Nan Chen or Prof. Sean X. Zhou

　

:

Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management

　

　

CUHK

Website

:

http://www.se.cuhk.edu.hk/~seem5201

Email

:

seem5201@se.cuhk.edu.hk

　

　

　

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