Automatically determining a size for a content item for a web page

1. A method for selecting and serving a content item based on a determined content item size for a resource, the method comprising:

serving, using a processing module, a script to a client device in response to a request, the script configured to:

determine a size of a viewport,

determine a width of a parent element of a resource, and

determine a content item size based, at least in part, on the size of the viewport and the width of the parent element;

receiving, at a processing module, a dimension of the determined content item size;

determining, using a processing module, a set of content items based, at least in part, on the received dimension of the determined content item size

selecting, using a processing module, a content item from the determined set of content items; and

serving, using a processing module, data to effect display of the selected content item in the parent element with the resource.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determined content item size is selected from a set of predetermined standard sizes.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the script is further configured to rank each predetermined standard size of a set of predetermined standard sizes, wherein the ranking is based, at least in part, on an area of each predetermined standard size, an estimated revenue value of each predetermined standard size, and a ratio match value.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the ratio match value is based, at least in part, on the width of the parent element and a width of the viewport.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the ratio match value is based, at least in part, on a ratio of a first dimension of each predetermined standard size to the width of the parent element.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the ratio match value is further based, at least in part, on a ratio of a second dimension of each predetermined standard size to the width of the viewport less the width of the parent element.

7. The method of claim 3 , wherein a predetermined standard size of the set of predetermined standard sizes is not ranked if an area of the predetermined standard size exceeds a predetermined percentage of an area of the viewport.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the script is further configured to determine a second content item size based, at least in part, on a second size of the viewport and a second width of the parent element.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

receiving, at a processing module, a dimension of the determined second content item size; and

serving, using a processing module, second data to the client device to effect display of the selected content item with the resource based on the dimension of the determined second content item size.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the script is further configured to resize the selected content item based on the determined second content item size.

11. A system for serving content items comprising:

one or more processing modules; and one or more storage devices storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing modules, cause the one or more processing modules to perform operations comprising:

serving a script to a client device in response to a request, the script configured to:

determine a size of a viewport,

determine a width of a parent element of a resource,

rank each predetermined standard size of a set of predetermined standard sizes based, at least in part, on the size of the viewport and the width of the parent element, and

determine a content item size based on the ranking of each predetermined standard size of a set of predetermined standard sizes;

receiving a dimension of the determined content item size;

determining a set of content items based, at least in part, on the received dimension of the determined content item size

selecting a content item from the determined set of content items; and

serving data to effect display of the selected content item in the parent element with the resource.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the ranking of each predetermined standard size is further based, at least in part, on an area of each predetermined standard size, an estimated revenue value of each predetermined standard size, and a ratio match value.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the ratio match value is based, at least in part, on a ratio of a first dimension of each predetermined standard size to the width of the parent element and a ratio of a second dimension of each predetermined standard size to the width of the viewport less the width of the parent element.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein a predetermined standard size of the set of predetermined standard sizes is not ranked if an area of the predetermined standard size exceeds a predetermined percentage of an area of the viewport.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the script is further configured to determine a second content item size based, at least in part, on a second size of the viewport and a second width of the parent element.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more storage devices store instructions that cause the one or more processing modules to perform operations further comprising:

receiving a dimension of the determined second content item size; and

serving second data to the client device to effect display of the selected content item with the resource based on the dimension of the determined second content item size.

17. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processing modules, cause the one or more processing modules to perform operations comprising:

serving a script to a client device in response to a request, the script configured to:

determine a size of a viewport,

determine a width of a parent element of a resource,

rank each predetermined standard size of a set of predetermined standard sizes based, at least in part, on an area of each predetermined standard size and a ratio match value, and

determine a content item size based, at least in part, on the ranking of each predetermined standard size of a set of predetermined standard sizes;

receiving a dimension of the determined content item size;

determining a set of content items based, at least in part, on the received dimension of the determined content item size

selecting a content item from the determined set of content items; and

serving data to effect display of the selected content item in the parent element with the resource.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 17 , wherein the ranking of each predetermined standard size is further based on an estimated revenue value of each predetermined standard size.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18 , wherein the estimated revenue value of each predetermined standard size is specific to at least one of the resource or a publisher of the resource.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 17 , wherein a predetermined standard size of the set of predetermined standard sizes is not ranked if an area of the predetermined standard size exceeds a predetermined percentage of an area of the viewport.