Method improving pay-per-click web-based search engines, and the like
First Claim
1. In a pay-per-click system of the type wherein a search engine lists merchant websites in an order according to incremental compensation for click-through to the websites, the improvement comprising the steps of:
- generating a code associated with a user of the search engine; and
concatenating the code prior to the click-through to determine whether the requested link to the merchant website is legitimate or fraudulent.
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Abstract
This invention improves upon existing pay-per-click arrangements periodically generating a code associated with the search-engine users. This code, preferably in the form of a serial number, is compared to the user of the website, such that by observing a metric like the number of clicks for a given period of time, be it a short time or a longer period, such as a day or a week, the system can automatically determine if certain clicks are illegitimate. This allows the pay-per-click company to more fairly invoice the merchants, thereby preventing fraudulent over use.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. In a pay-per-click system of the type wherein a search engine lists merchant websites in an order according to incremental compensation for click-through to the websites, the improvement comprising the steps of:
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generating a code associated with a user of the search engine; and
concatenating the code prior to the click-through to determine whether the requested link to the merchant website is legitimate or fraudulent. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification