METHOD FOR GENERATING LOCATION TARGETED, KEYWORD-TRIGGERED, ADS AND GENERATING USER RECALLABLE LAYER-BASED ADS

• US 20130132396A1
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Published: 05/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Ohazama, Chikai J., Sacks, Joshua, Chen, Chia-Nee Michelle, Mavinkurve, Sanjay Gajanan, Charaniya, Amin P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,069,866 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/743
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

Location-specific content is automatically generated for a particular entity having a plurality of physical locations. Database entries that contain identifying data associated with the particular entity are searched for to obtain location information of each of the plurality of physical locations. The location information, in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity, is stored in a computer-readable electronic database such that a user-generated query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location causes a processor to execute operations that initiates a search of the computer-readable electronic database for the location information of the physical locations that are in proximity to the search location. At least one result that is displayable to the user is provided.

Claims

1. A method of automatically generating location-specific content for a particular entity having a plurality of physical locations, the method comprising:

searching for database entries that contain identifying data associated with the particular entity to obtain location information of each of the plurality of physical locations;

storing, in a computer-readable electronic database, the location information in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity such that a user-generated query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location causes a processor to execute operations that initiates a search of the computer-readable electronic database for the location information of the physical locations that are in proximity to the search location; and

providing at least one result that is displayable to the user.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identifying data is a name of the particular entity or a uniform resource locator (URL) of a web site associated with the particular entity.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the searching includes searching within on-line content associated with the particular entity by matching identifying data contained within the on-line content to identical data contained within the entries.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the searching searches at least one of a business listing data feed, a web site, or a data file.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the storing includes storing one or more details relating to each physical location, and the details relating to a given physical location are selected from the group consisting of a photograph of that physical location, hours of operation for that physical location, a telephone number of that physical location, a URL of a web site for that physical location, and an icon indicating an attribute for that physical location.

6. A method of providing location-specific content for a particular entity having a plurality of physical locations, the method comprising:

storing, in a database, the location information of each of the plurality of physical locations in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity;

receiving, over a network from a user terminal, a user-entered query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location;

searching the database for the location information of the physical locations that are in proximity to the search location;

generating a map of a region that includes the search location;

generating an overlying layer for the map, the overlying layer including one or more markers that are positioned to overlay the map at the physical locations that are located within the map region; and

transmitting at least the map over the network to the user terminal for display on a display screen.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more markers of the overlying layer are icons associated with the particular entity or are favicons associated with a web site of the particular entity.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the transmitting step includes transmitting the overlying layer together with the map such that the map and the overlying layer are initially shown concurrently on the display screen.

9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising providing, on the display screen, a user interface element that can be activated to turn on or off the displaying of the overlying layer.

10. The method according to claim 6, further comprising generating content for the particular entity, and wherein the transmitting step includes transmitting the content together with the map such that the map and the content are shown concurrently at different regions of the display screen.

11. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

generating a list of the physical locations that are located within the map region, the list including one or more details relating to each listed physical location which are selected from the group consisting of the address of that physical location, a photograph of that physical location, hours of operation for that physical location, a telephone number of that physical location, a URL of a web site for that physical location, and an icon indicating an attribute for that physical location.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the transmitting step includes transmitting the list together with the map such that map and the list are initially shown concurrently at different regions of the display screen.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein each of the markers of the overlying layer is unique to that physical location, and the list of the physical locations includes, for each physical location, the marker that overlies that physical location.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

generating a further overlying layer that includes at least part of the list, and

providing, on the display screen together with the map, a user interface element that can be activated to turn on the displaying of the further overlying layer, the further overlying layer obscuring at least part of the map.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

providing, on the display screen together with the further overlying layer, a user interface element that can be activated to turn off the displaying of the further overlying layer.

16. A system for automatically generating location-specific content for a particular entity having a plurality of physical locations, the system comprising:

a memory operable to store a computer-readable electronic database;

a processor operable to search for database entries that contain identifying data associated with the particular entity to obtain location information of each of the plurality of physical locations, and to store, in the computer-readable electronic database, the location information in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity such that a user-generated query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location causes a processor to execute operations that initiates a search of the computer-readable electronic database for the location information of the physical locations that are in proximity to the search location, and to provide at least one result that is displayable to the user.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the identifying data is a name of the particular entity or a uniform resource locator (URL) of a web site associated with the particular entity.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the processor is operable to search within on-line content associated with the particular entity by matching identifying data contained within the on-line content to identical data contained within the entries.

19. The system according to claim 16, wherein the processor is operable to search at least one of a business listing data feed, a web site, or a data file.

20. The system according to claim 16, wherein the processor is operable to store in the memory one or more details relating to each physical location, and the details relating to a given physical location are selected from the group consisting of a photograph of that physical location, hours of operation for that physical location, a telephone number of that physical location, a URL of a web site for that physical location, and an icon indicating an attribute for that physical location.

21. A system for providing location location-specific content for a particular entity having a plurality of physical locations, the system comprising:

a server, including;

a memory operable to store a computer-readable electronic database, and

a processor operable to store, in the data base, the location information of each of the plurality of physical locations in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity, to receive, over a network from a user terminal, a user-entered query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location, to search the database for location information of the physical locations that are in proximity to the search location, to generate a map of a region that includes the search location, to generate an overlying layer for the map, the overlying layer including one or more markers that are positioned to overlay the map at the physical locations that are located within the map region, and to transmit at least the map over the network to the user terminal for display on a display screen.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the one or more markers of the overlying layer are icons associated with the particular entity or are favicons associated with a web site of the particular entity.

23. The system according to claim 21, wherein the processor is operable to transmit the overlying layer together with the map such that the map and the overlying layer are initially shown concurrently on the display screen.

24. The system according to claim 21, wherein the processor is operable to transmit to the user terminal, for display on the display screen, a user interface element that can turn on or off the displaying of the overlying layer.

25. The system according to claim 21, wherein the processor is operable to generate content for the particular entity, and wherein transmitting includes transmitting the content together with the map such that the map and the content are shown concurrently at different regions of the display screen.

26. The system according to claim 21, the processor is further operable to generate a list of the physical locations that are located within the map region, the list including one or more details relating to each listed physical location which are selected from the group consisting of the address of that physical location, a photograph of that physical location, hours of operation for that physical location, a telephone number of that physical location, a URL of a web site for that physical location, and an icon indicating an attribute for that physical location.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein the processor is further operable to transmit the list together with the map such that the map and the list are initially shown concurrently at different regions of the display screen.

28. The system according to claim 26, wherein each of the markers of the overlying layer is unique to that physical location, and the list of the physical locations includes, for each physical location, the marker that overlies that physical location.

29. The system according to claim 26, wherein the processor is further operable to generate a further overlying layer that includes at least part of the list, and to provide to the user terminal, for display on the display screen together with the map, a user interface element that can turn on the displaying of the further overlying layer, the further overlying layer obscuring at least part of the map.

30. The system according to claim 29, wherein the processor is further operable to provide to the user terminal, for display on the display screen together with the further overlying layer, a user interface element that can turn off the displaying of the further overlying layer.