Mapping network addresses to organizations
Network addresses (e.g., IP addresses) are considered candidates for association with organizational entities (organizations or various subgroups thereof), based on some evidence of a relationship between them. The candidate addresses are scored based on one or more factors that indicate a probability that the candidate address actually belongs to the organizational entity. The candidate addresses with sufficient scores are stored as actual associations between the candidate address and the organizational entity.
1. A computer-implemented method of associating an organizational entity with a network address, the method comprising:
sending an e-mail to a user, the e-mail having a destination address with a domain name corresponding to the organizational entity and including a reference to external content;
receiving interaction data describing an interaction with the user over a network, the user associated with the organizational entity, the interaction data comprising a request for the external content and a network address associated with the user during the request;
retrieving a record associated with the organizational entity from a database;
determining, based at least in part on the interaction data, a score indicating a likelihood that the network address is associated with the organizational entity; and
responsive to the score exceeding a threshold, storing the network address in the record associated with the organizational entity.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the interaction data comprise an identifier of one of a plurality of possible techniques that was used to obtain the interaction data.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the reference to external content comprises a graphical object to be rendered in association with display of the e-mail to the user, the graphical object including a beacon pixel.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining the score comprises determining a geographic distance between a physical location associated with the network address and a physical location associated with the organizational entity.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining the score comprises determining a number of people associated with both the organizational entity and the network address.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining the score comprises determining a time of day at which the request was received.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining the score comprises determining a day on which the request was received.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining the score comprises determining a number of organizational entities with which the network address has been associated.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining the score comprises comparing a value of an attribute associated with the network address in a publicly-available database with a value of the attribute associated with the organizational entity in a contact database, the attribute being one of a telephone area code, an organization name, and an area code.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a network address associated with a request for a web page; and
transmitting an identifier of an organization associated with the received network address.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the organizational entity is a subgroup of an organization.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein determining the score is based at least in part on a time at which the interaction occurred.
13. A computer-implemented method for associating an organizational entity with a network address, the method comprising:
receiving interaction data describing an interaction with a user over a network, the user associated with an organizational entity, the interaction data comprising a network address associated with the user during the interaction;
retrieving a record associated with the organizational entity from a database;
comparing a value of an attribute associated with the network address in a publicly-available database with a value of the attribute associated with the organizational entity in a contact database, the attribute being one of a telephone area code, an organization name, and an area code
determining, based at least in part on a result of the comparing, a score indicating a likelihood that the network address is associated with the organizational entity; and
responsive to the score exceeding a threshold, storing the network address in the record associated with the organizational entity.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the interaction data comprise a name of the organizational entity specified by a user on a web page, and wherein the network address is an IP address associated with the user when the name of the organizational entity was specified on the web page.
15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the interaction data comprise a record of an interaction with an email, wherein the network address is an IP address from which the email was received.
16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein determining the score comprises determining a geographic distance between a physical location associated with the network address and a physical location associated with the organizational entity.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein determining the score comprises determining a number of people associated with both the organizational entity and the network address.
18. A computer-implemented method for associating an organizational entity with a network address, the method comprising:
receiving interaction data describing an interaction with a user over a network, the user associated with an organizational entity, the interaction data including a network address associated with the user during the interaction;
retrieving a record associated with the organizational entity from a database;
determining a geographic distance between a physical location associated with the network address and a physical location associated with the organizational entity;
determining, based at least in part on the determined geographic distance, a score indicating a likelihood that the network address is associated with the organizational entity; and
responsive to the score exceeding a threshold, storing the network address in the record associated with the organizational entity.
19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18 , wherein determining the score comprises determining a number of organizational entities with which the network address has been associated.
20. The computer-implemented method of claim 18 , wherein the interaction data comprise a name of the organizational entity specified by a user on a web page, and wherein the network address is an IP address associated with the user when the name of the organizational entity was specified on the web page.