INTERACTIVE MAP-BASED SEARCH AND ADVERTISING

• US 20100198684A1
• Filed: 04/14/2010
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Appliance Computing, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Redfin Corporation
• Inventors: Smith, Marcus, Kong, Savan, Horton, Josh, Eraker, David
• Granted Patent: US 9,436,945 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.49
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate

Abstract

A computer system locates objects and content by navigating an aerial or satellite image map of a geographic region. The system determines a search region corresponding to the geographic region by use of geospatial information associated with the geographic region. Once the search region is determined, the system searches a database for objects and content that are associated with the search region and that satisfy certain predetermined criteria and characteristics. Relevant ads are then shown to the user within an interactive mapping experience.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for forming on-line advertisements, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a query for content within a viewing window of a map, the query including geospatial information;

searching a database for content within a search region defined by the viewing window and geospatial information; and

displaying advertisements connected with the search region defined by the viewing window and geospatial information.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the query is a query for real estate properties and the advertisements are advertisements of services of real estate agents and other service providers associated with a real estate transaction.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying advertisements displays advertisements associated with the content found by searching the database.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the content is a set of real estate properties and the advertisements are advertisements of services of real estate agents and other service providers associated with a real estate transaction connected with the set of real estate properties.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying advertisements is reexecuted to display new advertisements after a period of time.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying advertisements connected with the search region defined by the viewing window, geospatial information, and demographic information.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying advertisements delivers advertisements to an advertiser.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying is executed by Web services for delivering the advertisements.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying advertisements delivers advertisements to a customer.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising interfacing with an advertiser or a customer through an interface, the interface being refrained from refreshing when the advertisements are updated.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the interface is implemented using FLASH.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the act of displaying returns the content to the advertiser or the customer using XML.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the query is a query for properties and the act of displaying displays advertisements alongside the map.

14. A computer-implemented method for presenting advertisements, comprising:

receiving a search and geographic information regarding a region of an aerial image;

obtaining results for the search based on the geographic information; and

displaying content and advertisements as a user conducts the search, or as the user views the results, or as the user interacts with the results.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the content and advertisements include unstructured content.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the user interacts with the results by saving a property in a favorite folder or running a comparative market analysis on a listing.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the act of receiving receives additional searches when the user interacts with the content and advertisements.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising determining relevancy of content and advertisements to display to the user, the relevancy being selected from a group consisting of inputs into the search to determine what the user is looking for, a result selected by the user to determine what the user is interested in, click rates of the user to determine advertisements and categories of advertisements, on-line actions by the user, a user behavior profile in comparison to a database of profiles of users to determine what other users have deemed relevant, indications by the user regarding relevant categories of information, and geographic zoom level including neighborhood level and regional level, wherein the actions by the user are selected from a group consisting of whether the user is registered, whether the user saved searches, whether the use had searched for an agent before, whether the user has set up a profile, whether the user selects a particular button, and whether the user is looking for a house to be fixed, wherein categories of information are selected from a group consisting of agents, coffee shops, and bus stops.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the act of displaying varies the display of content and advertisements depending on a geographic zoom level, the act of displaying showing summarized property view at one geographic zoom level and refraining from showing agents and other service providers associated with a real estate transaction at another geographic zoom level, the act of displaying shows content in relation to the search or the results of the search performed by the user, the content being selected from a group consisting of system-generated content, user-generated content, community-generated content, and property blogs, properties that are similar to a particular property, service providers, and agents based on transaction history, neighborhoods, and ratings.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising pricing advertisements to be sold to an advertiser depending on the geographic information regarding the region of the aerial image and a point on a z axis, which is orthogonal to the dimensions of the region of the aerial image.