Search engine account monitoring

• US 20030028529A1
• Filed: 03/28/2002
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Overture Services Incorporated (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Davis, Darren J., Savich, Peter, Cheung, Dominic Dough-Ming, Snell, Scott W., Shifflett, Scott A., Hu, Eugene F.
• Granted Patent: US 7,043,471 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

A system and method of generating an ordered search list via a search engine by determining various account balances to determine where a search listing will appear, if at all, in a search results list. If a web site advertiser'"'"'s account is below a threshold, the search listing associated with the advertiser will not appear in the search list. Various balances may be used. Some of the balances may be closer to real-time balances and others may be more accurate, for example by removing certain event charges that were later determined to be non-chargeable. By using and monitoring the various account balances, the search engine prevents over-delivery of advertising through search result listings and possible over-billing of the advertisers.

Claims

1. A method of generating an ordered search list via a search engine, the method comprising:

receiving from a searcher over a network a search request, the search request having at least one search term;

retrieving from a search results database a set of search listings associated with the search term, wherein at least some of the retrieved search listings in the set are associated with an advertiser'"'"'s account such that the advertiser'"'"'s account is charged a priced amount if a chargeable event occurs in connection with a selected search listing of the wherein at least some of the retrieved search listings;

determining an account balance for the advertiser'"'"'s accounts based on a difference between charges and deposits from respective advertisers;

ordering the search listings into a search result list according to a predetermined ordering methodology;

providing the ordered search list to the searcher via the network; and

assessing charges to the advertiser'"'"'s account as a function of the searcher selection of the search listing.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an account balance comprises determining a reconciled balance for an advertiser'"'"'s account via an accounting system, where the reconciled balance comprises a difference between deposits and a set of current chargeable event charges;

and ordering the search listings comprises ordering the search listings associated with advertisers with reconciled balances that are below a reconciled threshold as if their priced amount was zero.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein determining an account balance comprises determining a definitive balance for an advertiser'"'"'s account, where the definitive balance is the reconciled balance adjusted for charges and deposits after those included in the reconciled balance.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the definitive balance is the reconciled balance less any new definitive chargeable event charges plus any new credit card charges and plus any new adjustments.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein determining an account balance comprises determining an estimated definitive balance for an advertiser'"'"'s account, where the estimated definitive balance is the definitive balance less an estimated amount of new definitive chargeable event charges.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein determining an account balance comprises determining a monitoring balance for an advertiser'"'"'s account, where the monitoring balance is smaller of the estimated definitive balance plus a credit limit and a remaining capital amount.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the definitive chargeable event charges are chargeable event charges that have passed a fraud filter.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the chargeable event is a click and the fraud filter detects double clicks as non-chargeable clicks.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the fraud filter detects multiple clicks on a search listing from a searcher during a session as non-chargeable clicks.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the non-definitive chargeable event charges are charges that have passed a real-time fraud filter and the definitive chargeable event charges are charges that have passed a second fraud filter that uses data generated after a charge is charged to determine if that charge is fraudulent.

12. The method of claim 3 wherein determining an account balance comprises determining a working balance for an advertiser'"'"'s account, where the working balance is the definitive balance adjusted for any new non-definitive chargeable event charges.

13. The method of claim 3, wherein the threshold is zero dollars.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the predetermined ordering methodology comprises:

ordering the search listings in accordance with a relative relevance methodology.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the relative relevance methodology comprises:

order search listings so that search listings associated with advertisers'"'"' account balances that are below a threshold are ordered as if their priced amount was zero.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the relative relevance methodology comprises:

ordering the search listings by relative amounts respective advertisers have agreed to pay.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the relative relevance methodology comprises:

ordering the search listings by bid amounts of the respective advertisers.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the relative relevance methodology comprises ordering the search listings by respective popularity of the search listings.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the relative relevance methodology comprises ordering the search listings alphabetically.

9. The method of claim 9, wherein the fraud filter detects multiple clicks on a search listing in a search list from a searcher as non-chargeable clicks.

20. A network search engine comprising:

a search results database having a plurality of search listings, wherein each search listing is associated with a network location;

an account database that maintains account information associated with search listings;

an account monitoring system that monitors accounts in the account database and determines an account balance for each account; and

a search engine that generates an ordered search result list including at least one of the search listings from the search results database for which the account balance determined by the account monitoring system is above a threshold.

21. The search engine of claim 20 wherein the account monitoring system includes a real-time chargeable event agent that determines chargeable event charges for searchers'"'"' access to network sites associated with the search listing in substantially real-time.

22. The search engine of claim 20, wherein the account monitoring system includes an auto-charging agent that automatically charges a credit card account when the account balance is below a second threshold.

23. The search engine of claim 20 wherein the account monitoring system includes an auto-charging agent that automatically charges a credit card account on a periodic basis.

24. The search engine of claim 20, wherein the account monitoring system includes a fraud protection agent that accesses a fraud detection system to determine if any chargeable event charges are non-chargeable because the events associated with the charges were fraudulent.

25. The search engine of claim 20, wherein the account monitoring system includes an search listing agent that updates the search results database when an account crosses a threshold and that search listing is treated as having a priced amount of zero.

26. The search engine of claim 20, wherein the account monitoring system includes a bulk adjustment agent that automatically adjusts account balances with a minimum charge when the chargeable event charges are below a threshold.