System and method for a modular used controlled search engine

• US 20080208826A1
• Filed: 05/02/2008
• Published: 08/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nancy Kramer
• Original Assignee: Nancy Kramer
• Inventors: Kramer, Nancy
• Granted Patent: US 7,987,208 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

Method and system for delivery of personal search services and advertising. The method includes collecting information from the user about the user'"'"'s personal search engine, including, but not limited to digital content data sources, link crawl depth of those digital content data sources, and time interval to refresh the index of the digital content data sources created. In one embodiment of the present invention user'"'"'s do not pay a fee in return for allowing the provider to present advertising to the user as the user uses the invention. In another embodiment, advertisers purchase advertising display services from the provider to be displayed to specific users

Claims

1-94. -94. (canceled)

95. A system for delivering an advertising supported software service for searching and indexing distributed data in a network, the system comprising:

a plurality of digital content resources;

a remote browser device configured to receive an input from a search user;

an autonomous personal search engine delivered as a service, generated according to at least one search engine characteristic received from the remote browser device and configured to crawl, full text index and search at least one of the digital content resources defined according to the at least one search engine characteristic;

a network configured to connect and provide communications between the remote browser device and the autonomous personal search engine; and

the autonomous personal search engine is a standalone, independent and self-contained search engine that provides search services, the autonomous personal search engine is not provided as an additional feature of another system component, the autonomous personal search engine is not installed on the remote browser device, and the autonomous personal search engine comprises;

an advertising supported personal search engine comprises;

an advertising module configured to provide an advertising user with access to an advertising presentation services module.

96. The system of claim 95, wherein the advertising user purchases from the autonomous personal search engine advertising for display via the network and provides the autonomous personal search engine with advertising characteristic information of the advertising and, in response, the autonomous personal search engine provides the advertising user with at least one of at least one advertisement displayed via the network and statistics based on the advertising information.

97. The system of claim 96, wherein when at least a first advertising user and a second advertising user provide the same advertising characteristic information, the autonomous personal search engine conducts a bidding process to determine a priority of displaying the at least one advertisement.

98. The system of claim 96, wherein the advertising characteristic information is a display presented on a display device including at least one of text, graphics, animations, audio, link click-through location, price of advertising, quantity of advertising, method of payment and advertising targeting characteristic.

99. The system of claim 97, wherein the same advertising characteristic information includes advertising targeting characteristics.

100. The system of claim 98, wherein the advertising targeting characteristics includes at least one of a search user key word, a search user search engine subject category, a search user psycho graphic information, a search user demographic information, and a search user search engine content.

101. The system of claim 99, wherein the advertising targeting characteristics includes at least one of a search user key word, a search user search engine subject category, a search user psycho graphic data, a search user demographic data, and a search user search engine content.

102. The system of claim 96, wherein the statistics include at least one of a display frequency statistic of the at least one advertisement, a display quantity statistic of the at least one advertisement, an access frequency statistic of the at least one advertisement, an access quantity statistic of the at least one advertisement, a click-through rate statistic of the at least one advertisement and a cost of advertising statistic of the at least one advertisement.

103. The system of claim 98, wherein the statistics include at least one of a display frequency statistic of the at least one advertisement, a display quantity statistic of the at least one advertisement, an access frequency statistic of the at least one advertisement, an access quantity statistic of the at least one advertisement, a click-through rate statistic of the at least one advertisement and a cost of advertising of the at least one advertisement.

104. The system of claim 96, wherein the advertising presentation services module enables a returning advertising user to update the advertising characteristic information.

105. The system of claim 98, wherein the advertising presentation services module enables a returning advertising user to update the advertising characteristic information.

106. The system of claim 95, wherein the advertising user enters into an electronic advertising user agreement to access the advertising presentation services module.

107. A system for delivering a subscription software service for searching and indexing distributed data in a network, the system comprising:

a plurality of digital content resources;

a remote browser device configured to receive an input from a search user;

an autonomous personal search engine delivered as a service, generated according to at least one search engine characteristic received from the remote browser device and configured to crawl, full text index and search at least one of the digital content resources defined according to the at least one search engine characteristic;

a network configured to connect and provide communications between the remote browser device and the autonomous personal search engine; and

the autonomous personal search engine is a standalone, independent and self-contained search engine that provides search services, the autonomous personal search engine is not provided as an additional feature of another system component, the autonomous personal search engine is not installed on the remote browser device, and the autonomous personal search engine comprises;

a subscription module comprises;

a search user account module configured to enable the search user to establish a search user account to access the autonomous personal search engine.

108. The system of claim 107, wherein the search user account is a free account or a paid account.

109. The system of claim 108, wherein activation of the paid account enables the search user to create a search-user specific personal search engine.

110. The system of claim 109, wherein activation of the paid account enables the search user to establish the search-user specific personal search engine via the autonomous personal search engine, without receiving advertising displays provided by the autonomous personal search engine.

111. The system of claim 109, wherein activation of the search user specific personal search engine provides the search user with access to at least one enhanced functionality of the autonomous personal search engine including at least one of digital content data resource, crawl depth information and refresh interval information.

112. The system of claim 110, wherein activation of the search user specific personal search engine provides the search user with access to at least one enhanced functionality of the autonomous personal search engine including at least one of digital content data resource, crawl depth information and refresh interval information.

113. The system of claim 108, wherein activation of a free account enables the search user to create a search-user specific personal search engine as an advertising-supported personal search account subject to the search user agreeing to receive advertising based upon search user specific information.

114. The system of claim 113, wherein the advertising-supported personal search account enables the autonomous personal search engine to provide targeted advertising to the search user on behalf of an advertising user based upon the search user specific information.

115. The system of claim 114, wherein the search user specific information includes at least one of demographic data, psychographic data, a subject category established by the search user in the search-user specific personal search engine, content of the search-user specific personal search engine, and a search key word provided by the search user to the autonomous personal search engine.

116. The system of claim 108, wherein the search user account module enables the search user to upgrade the search user account from the free account to the paid account.

117. The system of claim 116, wherein activation of the paid account enables the search user to create an enhanced search-user specific personal search engine with access to at least one enhanced functionality of the autonomous personal search engine including at least one of digital content data resource, crawl depth information and refresh interval information.

118. The system of claim 117, wherein activation of the paid account enables the search user to establish the search-user specific personal search engine via the autonomous personal search engine, without receiving advertising displays provided by the autonomous personal search engine.