Method and apparatus for indentifying related searches in a database search system

• US 6,876,997 B1
• Filed: 05/22/2000
• Issued: 04/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Overture Services Incorporated (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Soulanille, Thomas A., Haugaard, Bradley R., Rorex, Phillip G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Channavajjala, Srirama
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, KHANH B
• Application Number:
  US09/575,894
• Time in Patent Office: 1,779 Days
• Field of Search: 707 3- 6, 707/10, 707/100, 707/101, 705/14, 705/37
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A method of generating a search result list also provides related searches for use by a searcher. Search listings which generate a match with a search request submitted by the searcher are identified in a pay for placement database which includes a plurality of search listings. Related search listings contained in a related search database generated from the pay for placement database are identified as relevant to the search request. A search result list is returned to the searcher including the identified search listings and one or more of the identified search listings.

Claims

1. A computer network search engine apparatus comprising:

a search database having stored therein a plurality of search listings, each listing being associated with an information provider, at least one keyword, a money amount, and a computer network location;

an input device for receiving a keyword entered by a user;

a search engine web server for identifying search listings of the search database having a keyword matching the keyword entered by the user, ordering the identified search listings using the money amounts for the respective identified search listings, and generating a result list including at least some of the ordered listings;

a related searches database having stored thereon related searches listings formed using search listings of the search database, the related searches listings each including a key word and text from the search database associated with the key word;

a related searches web server for identifying related searches listings matching the keyword entered by the user and producing a related searches result list with suggested, related searches for presentation to the user along with the result list;

an output device for providing the result list and the related search result list to the user, and

recording means for recording a request from the user to retrieve information associated with a listing selected from the result list, including account identification information for charging to an account of the information provider associated with the selected listing the money amount associated with the selected listing.

2. The computer network search engine apparatus of claim 1 wherein the related searches database has stored thereon an inverted index including a plurality of rows of data, each row including a key word, data defining the number of search listings of the search database bidded on the key word and data defining search listings of the search database bidding on the key word.

3. The computer network search engine apparatus of claim 2 wherein each row of the inverted index further includes raw text defining the key word and a list of all information providers bidding on the key word.

4. The computer network search engine apparatus of claim 1 wherein the input device comprises a search engine web page displayable on a client computer of the user.

5. The computer network search engine apparatus of claim 1 wherein the output device comprises a search engine web page displayable on a client computer of the user, the search engine web page including a first area displaying a portion of the result list and a second are displaying a portion of the related search result list.

6. The computer network search engine apparatus of claim 5 wherein the portion of the related search result list is displayed on the search engine web page as a plurality of clickable links, each clickable link being associated with a related search result listing.

7. The computer network search engine apparatus of claim 1 wherein the related searches web server is configured to weight the related searches listings according to predetermined weighting criteria and order the a related searches result list according to the weighting of the related searches listings.

8. The computer network search engine apparatus of claim 7 wherein the related searches web server is configured to weight the related searches listings according to at least one of

increasing relative weighting of the related searches listing which includes one or more bidded search terms identified by an information provider,

increasing the relative weighting of the related searches listing which is contained in a description of a search listing identified by an information provider,

increasing relative weighting of a related searches listing which is contained in a title of a search listing identified by an information provider,

increasing relative weighting of a related searches listing which is contained in metatag keywords of a web page maintained by an information provider, and

increasing relative weighting of a related searches listing which is contained in text data of a web page maintained by an information provider.

9. A database search system comprising:

a search database having stored therein a plurality of search listings each listing being associated with an information provider, at least one keyword, a money amount, and a computer network location;

a search engine web server accessible over a network by an advertiser web server and a client computer and configured to receive search queries from the client computer and, in response thereto, to provide to the client computer a search result list including relevant entries located in the search database using the received search queries and ordered using the money amounts for the respective entries;

a related searches database having stored thereon related search listings generated from the search database;

a related searches database accessible over a network by an advertiser web server and a client computer, and configured to receive the search queries from the client computer and, in response thereto, to provide to the client computer, along with the search result list, entries for one or more related search listings located in the related searches database using the received search queries; and

an account management server configured to store account information for advertisers including the information provider.

10. The database search system of claim 9 wherein the one or more related search listings comprise a predetermined number of most relevant and most bidded-on terms in the related searches database as determined by the related searches web server.

11. The database search system of claim 9 wherein the entries for the one or more related search listings are displayed as clickable links adjacent to the search result list on a search engine web page.

12. The database search system of claim 9 wherein the related searches web server is configured:

to receive a search query and,

in response to the received search query, to search an inverted index stored in the related searches database and containing data from web pages referenced by the search database, and

to identify index entries matching the received search query.

13. The database search system of claim 12 wherein the related searches web server is further configured:

in response to the search query, to search meta-information about the web pages referenced by the search database, the meta-information being stored in the related searches database, and

to identify index entries of meta-information matching the received search query.

14. The database search system of claim 13 wherein the related searches web server is further configured:

to sort the identified index entries and the identified index entries of meta-information by relevance, and

to provide a predetermined number of most relevant entries as the entries for one or more related search listings.