System and method allowing advertisers to manage search listings in a pay for placement search system using grouping

• US 20040260689A1
• Filed: 06/08/2004
• Published: 12/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Overture Services Incorporated (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhao, Peng, Soulanille, Thomas A., Phillips, Susan Florence, Cheung, Dominic Dough-Ming, Snell, Scott W., Graham, Gabriel, Kharma, Kenneth A., Watkins, Benjamin James, Ropp, Matthew S., Daw, Jeremy, Colace, Ann-Bettina
• Granted Patent: US 7,043,483 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A system for advertisers to efficiently manage their search listings in placement database search system includes grouping means for managing multiple categories for the search listings and query means for searching search listings. The system further includes quick-fill means for modifying an attribute in plurality of search listings by specifying the modification at single location.

Claims

1. A method for managing advertiser search listings in a pay for placement database search system, each search listing including at least one search term and a network location, the method comprising:

storing a database of search listings, at least some of the search listings being associated with respective advertisers, the search listings being searchable in response to a query received from a searcher; and

grouping advertiser search listings into advertiser defined categories, the advertiser defined categories being independent of search listing search terms.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving advertiser category data defining an advertiser category; and

creating an advertiser category in response to the advertiser category data.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

naming the category in response to the advertiser category data.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

renaming the category in response to the advertiser category data.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving advertiser category data defining an advertiser category; and

adding a listing to a category defined by the advertiser category data.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving advertiser category data defining one or more advertiser categories; and

moving an advertiser search listing between an advertiser category and another category in response to the advertiser category data.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein moving the advertiser search listing comprises:

moving the search listing between the advertiser category and one of an unassigned category and another advertiser category.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

modifying an attribute of a plurality of advertiser search listings grouped in a common advertiser defined category in response to a modification specified by the advertiser at a single location.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein modifying an attribute comprises at least one of:

modifying a Uniform Resource Locator (URL),

modifying a Title, and

modifying a category

for the plurality of advertiser search listings in a specified common advertiser defined category in response to the modification specified by the advertiser.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a search query from a searcher;

searching search listings of the database in response to one or more search criteria specified by the searcher in the search query; and

placing the matching search listings in a search result list page in response to bid amounts specified by the respective advertisers; and

providing the search result list page including the matching search listings to the searcher.

11. A database management method for an advertiser to manage advertiser search listings on a pay for placement database search system, the method comprising:

storing a plurality of search listings in a database, each search listing being associated with a respective advertiser and having at least one associated search term;

receiving a category indication for one or more search listings from the respective advertiser associated with the one or more search listings;

using the category indication to temporarily associate the one or more search listings for common processing by the pay for placement database search system; and

subsequently, operating commonly on the one or more associated search listings in response to database management operations of the respective advertiser.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the category indication comprises a category name.

13. A search listing management method for a pay for placement database system, the method comprising:

storing in a database search listings associated with advertisers, each search listing including a searchable search term;

processing search queries to the database; and

providing information about processed search queries grouped in accordance with advertiser defined search listing categories which are independent of search listing search terms.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein providing information comprises:

receiving time windowing information from the advertiser; and

providing information about access to search listings of the advertiser during a time window defined by the time windowing information.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein providing information comprises:

providing statistical information about one or more of

accessed search terms of the advertiser;

accessed uniform resource locators of the advertiser; and

categories of search listings of the advertiser.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein providing information comprises:

providing statistical information about one or more of cost per click information for search listings of the advertiser; and

total click information for the search listings of the advertiser.

19. A user interface for a pay for placement search system storing advertiser search listings, each search listing including at least a uniform resource locator (URL), the user interface comprising:

a display area configured to display a plurality of advertiser search listings;

for each advertiser search listing, a common hyperlink displayed with the advertiser search listing; and

apparatus for displaying a URL associated with a particular advertiser search listing upon a mouseover of the common hyperlink displayed with the particular advertiser search listing.

20. The user interface of claim 19 further comprising:

redirection apparatus for directing a web browser to the URL associated with the particular advertiser search listing upon receiving a click of the common hyperlink displayed with the particular advertiser search listing.

21. The user apparatus of claim 20 wherein the redirection apparatus opens a new browser window directed to the URL.