How Google Ads Detect Which Web Page You Are Viewing
A method for web browsers to identify the correct webpage address to show relevant advertisements, even when the ad code is hidden inside a frame.
Original patent title: “Serving advertisements based on content”
A method for web browsers to identify the correct webpage address to show relevant advertisements, even when the ad code is hidden inside a frame. Granted to Google LLC in 2006 with 16 claims and 427 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a way for an ad-serving system to figure out exactly which webpage a user is looking at so it can show relevant ads. When a website loads, it often includes small pieces of code (like JavaScript) that fetch ads. The problem is that these ads might be inside a sub-window called a frame, which can confuse the ad server about the actual page URL. This patent claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more → a method where the browser runs a comparison check: it looks at the location of the ad code and compares it to the main page URL. If they match, it uses that address; if they don't match or are blocked by security rules, it falls back to the 'referrer' link to find the true page address.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover the actual logic used to select which specific ad to display based on the page content.
- Does not cover methods of tracking user behavior across different websites or domains.
- Does not cover server-side ad insertion where the ad is baked into the HTML before the page reaches the browser.
- Does not cover non-browser applications that do not use URL-based document identifiers.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The innovation is the fallback logic: if the script cannot directly read the main page URL due to browser security restrictions (like cross-origin policies), it intelligently uses the 'referrer' header as a reliable secondary source to identify the page context.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Google AdSense ad units embedded on blogs and news websites
Third-party ad networks using JavaScript tags to scan page content
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This technology was fundamental to the growth of Google's AdSense program, which allowed publishers to easily monetize their websites. By solving the technical hurdle of 'frame-busting' or identifying content within complex web layouts, it ensured that advertisers could reliably target their ads to the specific content the user was reading. This helped turn the internet into a massive, ad-supported ecosystem.
Filed
February 26, 2003
Granted
November 14, 2006
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Google continues to lead in this space, though the methods have evolved significantly with the rise of privacy-focused web standards. Most major ad-tech companies, including The Trade Desk and various programmatic advertising platforms, utilize similar browser-side identification techniques to map ad inventory to content.
Market impact
This patent provided the technical plumbing for the modern programmatic advertising industry. By standardizing how ad scripts identify page context, it enabled the rapid scaling of contextual advertising, which remains the primary revenue model for the majority of the open web.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a way for an ad-serving system to figure out exactly which webpage a user is looking at so it can show relevant ads. When a website loads, it often includes small pieces of code (like JavaScript) that fetch ads. The problem is that these ads might be inside a sub-window called a frame, which can confuse the ad server about the actual page URL. This patent claims a method where the browser runs a comparison check: it looks at the location of the ad code and compares it to the main page URL. If they match, it uses that address; if they don't match or are blocked by security rules, it falls back to the 'referrer' link to find the true page address.
The clever bit
The innovation is the fallback logic: if the script cannot directly read the main page URL due to browser security restrictions (like cross-origin policies), it intelligently uses the 'referrer' header as a reliable secondary source to identify the page context.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover the actual logic used to select which specific ad to display based on the page content.
- Does not cover methods of tracking user behavior across different websites or domains.
- Does not cover server-side ad insertion where the ad is baked into the HTML before the page reaches the browser.
- Does not cover non-browser applications that do not use URL-based document identifiers.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Strong
Citation count
40/40
Highly cited
Claim breadth
11/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
5/20
Granted 10–20 years ago
Assignee scale
20/20
Major company or institution
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$117K – $374K
Midpoint $234K · expired or expiring · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
16 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Carobus, A. P., Anderson, D., Harik, G. R., Shivakumar, N., Buchheit, P., Jindal, D., Cui, Y., & Dean, J. A. (2006). How Google Ads Detect Which Web Page You Are Viewing (U.S. Patent No. 7,136,875). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7136875/google-maps
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Google Ads Detect Which Web Page You Are Viewing cover?
A method for web browsers to identify the correct webpage address to show relevant advertisements, even when the ad code is hidden inside a frame.
Who owns patent US 7136875?
Google LLC owns this patent, granted in 2006.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on November 14, 2026, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 7136875 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 427 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This technology was fundamental to the growth of Google's AdSense program, which allowed publishers to easily monetize their websites. By solving the technical hurdle of 'frame-busting' or identifying content within complex web layouts, it ensured that advertisers could reliably target their ads to the specific content the user was reading. This helped turn the internet into a massive, ad-supported ecosystem.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover the actual logic used to select which specific ad to display based on the page content.
Same assignee
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