System and method allowing advertisers to manage search listings in a pay for placement search system using grouping

• US 7,698,315 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2006
• Issued: 04/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhao, Peng, Phillips, Susan Florence, Snell, Scott W., Graham, Gabriel, Kharma, Kenneth A., Watkins, Benjamin James, Ropp, Matthew S., Daw, Jeremy, Colace, Ann-Bettina, Soulanille, Thomas A., Cheung, Dominic Dough-Ming
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBINSON, GRETA LEE
• Application Number:
  US11/429,738
• Publication Number:
  US 20060206508A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,436 Days
• Field of Search: 707/5, 707/10, 707/100, 707/104.1, 707/200, 707/201, 707/102, 707/8, 707/3, 707/4, 705/1, 705/37, 705/80, 705/30, 705/35, 705/70, 705/10, 715/700, 715/744, 715/745, 715/747, 715/749, 715/273
• US Class Current: 707/607
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A system for advertisers to efficiently manage their search listings in placement database search system includes grouping means for managing multiple categories for the search listings and query means for searching search listings. The system further includes quick-fill means for modifying an attribute in a plurality of search listings by specifying the modification at a single location.

Claims

1. A method for an advertising campaign management system, the method comprising:

storing account information for one or more advertisers;

in association with account information, storing data defining a plurality of advertisements associated with an advertiser, the data being linked together as an advertising group, to include at least one advertisement category, according to a grouping indication received from the advertiser;

producing a display for a computer display device showing the account information along with the associated data for the advertising group when the account information is accessed by the advertiser, wherein the display includes a quick-fill button to simultaneously set a category for a plurality of displayed advertisements; and

enabling the advertiser to simultaneously modify a plurality of advertisements, to include simultaneously setting a category for the plurality of advertisements with the quick-fill button, wherein submission of a modification through the display operates commonly on the plurality of advertisements in response to information received from the advertiser.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein storing data comprises:

associating in memory the data defining the plurality of advertisements that together are to be handled in a similar manner, or operated upon commonly, in the advertising campaign management system.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a grouping indication from an advertiser along with an indication of advertisements associated with the advertiser to which the grouping indication should apply to group the advertisements according to the grouping indication.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein receiving a grouping indication comprises receiving a category name entered by the advertiser in an input text box of a web page displayed to the advertiser.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein producing a display comprises:

producing a display showing a menu selector for actuation by the advertiser to switch between multiple accounts; and

producing a display showing details of each account upon actuation of the menu selector.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein producing a display showing details of each account comprises:

producing a display showing at least one of an account identifier, an account name, a product and a market.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

calculating performance metrics for the advertising group; and

producing a display showing a statistics view based on the calculated performance metrics.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

predicting future click traffic for the advertising group based on analysis of past click traffic in the at least one advertisement category.

9. A method for an advertising campaign management system, the method comprising:

in association with stored account information, storing data defining a plurality of advertisements associated with an advertiser, the plurality of advertisements being linked together as at least one category, according to a grouping indication received from the advertiser;

producing a user interface for a computer display device showing the account information along with the associated advertisements for a category when the account information is accessed by the advertiser, wherein the user interface includes a quick-fill button to simultaneously set a category for a plurality of displayed advertisements; and

enabling the advertiser to simultaneously create a plurality of new advertisements through a sub-page of the user interface and to categorize the plurality of new advertisements into at least one category;

wherein during creating a plurality of new advertisements the advertiser has the option to click on an information button to automatically copy the data from a previous advertisement into the next advertisement to speed the creation of new advertisements.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

enabling the advertiser to modify a plurality of advertisements grouped within a category through a sub-page of the user interface, wherein submission of a modification through the display operates commonly on the plurality of advertisements in response to information received from the advertiser.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the information received from the advertiser is an attribute of advertisement data received at a single location of the user interface.

12. A method for an advertising campaign management system, the method comprising:

in association with stored account information, storing data defining a plurality of advertisements associated with an advertiser, the plurality of advertisements being linked together as at least one category, according to a grouping indication received from the advertiser;

producing a user interface for a computer display device showing the account information along with the associated advertisements for a category when the account information is accessed by the advertiser, wherein the user interface includes a quick-fill button to simultaneously set a category for a plurality of displayed advertisements;

enabling the advertiser to simultaneously create a plurality of new advertisements through a sub-page of the user interface and to categorize the plurality of new advertisements into at least one category with the quick-fill button, which operates commonly on the plurality of new advertisements when selected;

enabling the advertiser to view a plurality of advertisements across one or more categories; and

enabling the advertiser to perform filtered searches of the plurality of advertisements based on at least one attribute of the advertisement data.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

enabling the advertiser to simultaneously commonly modify one or more advertisements that are the results of a filtered search.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

enabling the advertiser to modify a plurality of advertisements grouped within a category through a sub-page of the user interface, wherein submission of a modification through the display operates commonly on the plurality of advertisements in response to information received from the advertiser.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the information received from the advertiser is an attribute of advertisement data received at a single location of the user interface.