Process for maintaining ongoing registration for pages on a given search engine

• US 6,253,198 B1
• Filed: 05/11/1999
• Issued: 06/26/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/1999
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Site Update Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Search Mechanics, Inc.
• Inventors: Perkins, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US09/309,681
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2-4, 707/10, 707/102, 707/500, 707/501, 707/9, 707/104, 709/218, 709/203
• US Class Current: 707/711
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A process for maintaining ongoing registration for pages on a given search engine is disclosed. It is a method to actively cause an updating of a specific Internet search engine database regarding a particular WWW resource. The updated information can encompass changed, added, or deleted content of a specific WWW site. The process comprises the steps of having software tools at a local WWW site manually and/or automatically keep an index of added, changed, or deleted content to a particular WWW site since that WWW site was last indexed by a specific Internet search engine. The software tools will notify a specific Internet search engine of the URLs of specific WWW site resources that have been added, changed, or deleted. The Internet search engine will process the list of indices of changes, additions or deletions provided by a web site, or add the URL of resources that require indexing or re-indexing to a database and visit the WWW site to index added or re-index changed content when possible. The benefit to the Internet is the creation of an exception-based, distributed updating system to the Internet search engine as opposed to the cyclical and repetitive inquiring by the Internet search engine to visit all WWW sites to find added, changed, or deleted content. Overall Internet transmissions are reduced by distributing the update and indexing functions locally to web sites and away from the central Internet search engine.

Claims

1. A method to update an internet search engine database with current content from a web site, comprising the step of:

creating and modifying a database of a web site wherein said website database contains content capable of being indexed by an internet search engine;

identifying, using said web site database, new, deleted, unmodified or modified content;

transmitting to said internet search engine a set of indices, wherein said set of indices comprises said new, deleted, unmodified or modified database content;

opening, by a user, a form on a computer to enable or disable internet search engines to be updated with information;

enabling or disabling, by said user, the appropriate internet search engines on said form;

submitting, by said user, said information to a script;

parsing, through the use of said script, said information from said form; and

updating, through the use of said script, said database of search engine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said web site database further comprises a database having one record per resource indexed on said web site.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said one record contains fields including:

a. search engines by which the owner of the web site would like the page to be indexed,

b. a date and time of the last index by search engine,

c. a date and time a page was last modified according to the local indexing engine, and

d. flags to indicate whether a specific resource requires updating, inclusion or removal from a particular search engine database.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said content of said web site database further comprises:

a proxy file field referencing a proxy file containing a description of said resource;

wherein said transmitting means further comprises a means for transmitting said proxy file to said internet search engine; and

said proxy file is used in lieu of new or modified content of said web site database.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said form is an HTML form, said script is a CGI script and said page is an HTML page.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

a. implementing a form to specify web resources a web site manager wishes the process to manage;

b. submitting said form to a script on web server or said surrogate server;

c. parsing, through the use of a script, said new information from said form; and

d. creating a table of files, contained in said search engine database, via said script.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said form is an HTML form, said script is a CGI script and said web resource is a WWW resource.

8. An apparatus for updating an internet search engine database with current content from a web site, comprising:

a means for creating and modifying a database of a web site wherein said website database contains content capable of being indexed by an internet search engine;

a means for identifying, using said web site database, new, deleted, unmodified or modified content;

a means for transmitting to said internet search engine a set of indices, wherein said set of indices comprises said new, deleted, unmodified or modified database content;

a means for opening, by a user, a form on a computer to enable or disable internet search engines to be updated with information;

a means for enabling or disabling, by said user, the appropriate internet search engines on said form;

a means for submitting, by said user, said information to a script;

a means for parsing, through the use of said script, said information from said form; and

a means for updating, through the use of said script, said database of search engine.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said web site database further comprises a database having one record per resource indexed on said web site.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said one record contains fields including:

a. search engines by which the owner of the web site would like the page to be indexed,

b. a date and time of the last index by search engine,

c. a date and time a page was last modified according to the local indexing engine, and

d. flags to indicate whether a specific resource requires updating, inclusion or removal from a particular search engine database.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said content of said web site database further comprises:

a proxy file field referencing a proxy file containing a description of said resource;

wherein said transmitting means further comprises a means for transmitting said proxy file to said internet search engine; and

said proxy file is used in lieu of new or modified content of said web site database.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said form is an HTML form, said script is a CGI script and said page is an HTML page.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a. a means for implementing a form to specify web resources a web site manager wishes the process to manage;

b. a means for submitting said form to a script on web server or said surrogate server;

c. a means for parsing, through the use of a script, said new information from said form; and

d. a means for creating a table of files, contained in said search engine database, via said script.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said form is an HTML form, said script is a CGI script and said web resource is a WWW resource.