Real-time distribution and adjustment of content placement

1. A system that is programmed for adjusting, at runtime, visibility of a particular content item of a plurality of content items in a rendering of restaurant data, the system comprising:

a database that is configured to store a plurality of score values respectively corresponding to the plurality of content items, wherein a score value of the plurality of score values is used to rank a respective content item with respect to other content items;

one or more computing devices that are coupled to the database and to one or more digital data storage devices storing instructions which, when executed using the one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to:

compute, for the particular content item of the plurality of content items, a first random value based on a first session identifier that identifies a first communication session between the one or more computing devices and a first client device;

generate a first adjusted score value for the particular content item based on combining the first random value with a particular score value, of the plurality of score values, that corresponds to the particular content item;

generate, based at least in part on the first adjusted score value for the particular content item, a randomized ranking of the particular content item with respect to the plurality of content items;

send, to the first client device via the first communication session, the plurality of content items including the particular content item, the particular content item being sorted, in a first sort order, among the plurality of content items according to the randomized ranking based at least in part on the first adjusted score value.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more digital data storage devices store further instructions which, when executed using the one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to:

compute, for the particular content item of the plurality of content items, a second random value based on a second session identifier that identifies a second communication session between the one or more computing devices and a second client device, wherein the second session identifier is different from the first session identifier;

generate a second adjusted score value for the particular content item based on combining the second random value with the particular score value, of the plurality of score values, that corresponds to the particular content item;

generate, based at least in part on the second adjusted score value for the particular content item, a second randomized ranking of the particular content item with respect to the plurality of content items, wherein the second randomized ranking is different from the first-referenced randomized ranking;

send, to the second client device via the second communication session, the plurality of content items including the particular content item, the particular content item being sorted, in a second sort order, among the plurality of content items according to the randomized ranking based at least in part on the second adjusted score value, wherein the second sort order is different from the first sort order.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first random value is computed based on hashing the first session identifier for the first communication session and an attribute of the particular content item.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first random value is computed based on using the first session identifier for the first communication session as a seed value for a random number generator that takes, as input, an attribute of the particular content item.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first adjusted score value causes the particular content item to be included in a first subset of the plurality of content items that is rendered, at the first client device, in a visible region of an output instead of being included in a second subset of the plurality of content items that is rendered, at the first client device, in a non-visible region of the output.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first adjusted score value causes the particular content item to be included in a first subset of the plurality of content items that is rendered, at the first client device, in a non-visible region of an output instead of being included in a second subset of the plurality of content items that is rendered, at the first client device, in a visible region of the output.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more digital data storage devices store further instructions which, when executed using the one or more computing devices before the first adjusted score value for the particular content item is generated, cause the one or more computing devices to:

determine, based on user interaction data collected from a plurality of client devices, that a number of conversions for the particular content item has exceeded a threshold value;

in response to determining that the number of conversions for the particular content item has exceeded the threshold value, determine a score adjustment value to decrease the visibility of the particular content item.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more digital data storage devices store further instructions which, when executed using the one or more computing devices before the first adjusted score value for the particular content item is generated, cause the one or more computing devices to:

determine, based on user interaction data collected from the first client device, that a conversion for the particular content item previously occurred at the first client device;

in response to determining that the conversion for the particular content item previously occurred at the first client device, determine a score adjustment value to increase the visibility of the particular content item.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more digital data storage devices store further instructions which, when executed using the one or more computing devices before the first adjusted score value for the particular content item is generated, cause the one or more computing devices to:

predict, based on geolocation data collected from the first client device, a travel path for the first client device;

in response to predicting the travel path for the first client device, determine a score adjustment value to increase the visibility of the particular content item according to a distance between the travel path and a location corresponding to the particular content item.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more digital data storage devices store further instructions which, when executed using the one or more computing devices before the first adjusted score value for the particular content item is generated, cause the one or more computing devices to:

determine a particular time period during which the first communication session was established;

determine a score adjustment value to increase the visibility of the particular content item for the particular time period.

11. A method for adjusting, at runtime, visibility of a particular content item of a plurality of content items in a rendering of restaurant data, the method comprising:

storing, in a database, a plurality of score values respectively corresponding to the plurality of content items, wherein a score value of the plurality of score values is used to rank a respective content item with respect to other content items;

computing, for the particular content item of the plurality of content items, a first random value based on a first session identifier that identifies a first communication session between one or more computing devices and a first client device;

generating a first adjusted score value for the particular content item based on combining the first random value with a particular score value, of the plurality of score values, that corresponds to the particular content item;

generating, based at least in part on the first adjusted score value for the particular content item, a randomized ranking of the particular content item with respect to the plurality of content items;

sending, to the first client device via the first communication session, the plurality of content items including the particular content item, the particular content item being sorted, in a first sort order, among the plurality of content items according to the randomized ranking based at least in part on the first adjusted score value;

wherein the method is performed by the one or more computing devices.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

computing, for the particular content item of the plurality of content items, a second random value based on a second session identifier that identifies a second communication session between the one or more computing devices and a second client device, wherein the second session identifier is different from the first session identifier;

generating a second adjusted score value for the particular content item based on combining the second random value with the particular score value, of the plurality of score values, that corresponds to the particular content item;

generating, based at least in part on the second adjusted score value for the particular content item, a second randomized ranking of the particular content item with respect to the plurality of content items, wherein the second randomized ranking is different from the first-referenced randomized ranking;

sending, to the second client device via the second communication session, the plurality of content items including the particular content item, the particular content item being sorted, in a second sort order, among the plurality of content items according to the randomized ranking based at least in part on the second adjusted score value, wherein the second sort order is different from the first sort order.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first random value is computed based on hashing the first session identifier for the first communication session and an attribute of the particular content item.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first random value is computed based on using the first session identifier for the first communication session as a seed value for a random number generator that takes, as input, an attribute of the particular content item.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first adjusted score value causes the particular content item to be included in a first subset of the plurality of content items that is rendered, at the first client device, in a visible region of an output instead of being included in a second subset of the plurality of content items that is rendered, at the first client device, in a non-visible region of the output.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first adjusted score value causes the particular content item to be included in a first subset of the plurality of content items that is rendered, at the first client device, in a non-visible region of an output instead of being included in a second subset of the plurality of content items that is rendered, at the first client device, in a visible region of the output.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising, before generating the first adjusted score value for the particular content item:

determining, based on user interaction data collected from a plurality of client devices, that a number of conversions for the particular content item has exceeded a threshold value;

in response to determining that the number of conversions for the particular content item has exceeded the threshold value, determining a score adjustment value to decrease the visibility of the particular content item.

18. The method of claim 11 , further comprising, before generating the first adjusted score value for the particular content item:

determining, based on user interaction data collected from the first client device, that a conversion for the particular content item previously occurred at the first client device;

in response to determining that the conversion for the particular content item previously occurred at the first client device, determining a score adjustment value to increase the visibility of the particular content item.

19. The method of claim 11 , further comprising, before generating the first adjusted score value for the particular content item:

predicting, based on geolocation data collected from the first client device, a travel path for the first client device;

in response to predicting the travel path for the first client device, determining a score adjustment value to increase the visibility of the particular content item according to a distance between the travel path and a location corresponding to the particular content item.

20. The method of claim 11 , further comprising, before generating the first adjusted score value for the particular content item:

determining a particular time period during which the first communication session was established;

determining a score adjustment value to increase the visibility of the particular content item for the particular time period.