Affiliate linking where answerer requests permission to insert an interactive link in an answer

• US 8,515,888 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2010
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Ventilla, Max, Horowitz, Damon, Spiro, Robert J., Stoll, Nathan
• Primary Examiner(s): VINCENT, DAVID ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US12/915,654
• Publication Number:
  US 20110106746A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,026 Days
• Field of Search: 706/12, 706/45, 706/62
• US Class Current: 706/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for a social search engine. In one aspect, a method includes receiving an answer to a question from an answerer; identifying an entity in the answer, in which the entity refers to a product, a service, a company, or a merchant; obtaining permission from the answerer to provide an interactive link for the entity in the answer to a resource from which the entity can be obtained; receiving a user submitted query and determining that the query is related to the entity; and responsive to determining, providing the answer, including the link to the resource, as part of search results that are responsive to the query.

Claims

1. A method implemented by data processing apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving an answer to a question wherein the question was submitted by a user to a system, and wherein the answer was submitted to the system by an answerer that is a member of a social network of the user in response to the question;

identifying an entity in content of the answer, in which the entity refers to a product, a service, a company, or a merchant;

requesting permission from the answerer to provide an interactive link with the answer wherein the interactive link is a link to a resource for the entity that is configured to cause presentation of the resource when selected;

after requesting permission, receiving input from the answerer granting permission to provide the interactive link with the answer;

after receiving input from the answerer granting permission;

receiving a user submitted query and determining that the query is related to the entity; and

responsive to receiving the user submitted query, providing the answer, including the interactive link to the resource, as a search result of a plurality of search results that are responsive to the query.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the entity in content of the answer further comprises using a trained classifier to determine if the content refers to an entity.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein requesting permission from the answerer further comprises providing one or more options to the answerer wherein one of the options is to include the interactive link.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein input from the answerer granting permission results from user selection of the option to include the interactive link.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource is a website or an application.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the interactive link is a hyperlink.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the interactive link includes an affiliate code.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the affiliate code is used by the resource to identify an account.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the account receives credit if the entity is purchased.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the provided answer includes an identity of the answerer.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the resource is a website or an application.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the answer further comprising including a map, an image or a video with the answer.

13. A system comprising:

a computer-readable medium including instructions; and

data processing apparatus coupled to the computer-readable medium and able to execute the instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving an answer to a question wherein the question was submitted by a user to a system, and wherein the answer was submitted to the system by an answerer that is a member of a social network of the user in response to the question;

identifying an entity in content of the answer, in which the entity refers to a product, a service, a company, or a merchant;

requesting permission from the answerer to provide an interactive link with the answer wherein the interactive link is a link to a resource for the entity that is configured to cause presentation of the resource when selected;

after requesting permission, receiving input from the answerer granting permission to provide the interactive link with the answer

after receiving input from the answerer granting permission;

receiving a user submitted query and determining that the query is related to the entity; and

responsive to receiving the user submitted query, providing the answer, including the interactive link to the resource, as a search result of a plurality of search results that are responsive to the query.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein identifying the entity in content of the answer further comprises using a trained classifier to determine if the content refers to an entity.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein requesting permission from the answerer further comprises providing one or more options to the answerer wherein one of the options is to include the interactive link.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein input from the answerer granting permission results from user selection of the option to include the interactive link.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein the resource is a website or an application.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein the interactive link is a hyperlink.

19. The system of claim 13 wherein the interactive link includes an affiliate code.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the affiliate code is used by the resource to identify an account.

21. The system of claim 19 wherein the account receives credit if the entity is purchased.

22. The system of claim 13 wherein the provided answer includes an identity of the answerer.

23. The system of claim 13 wherein the resource is a website or an application.

24. The system of claim 13 wherein providing the answer further comprising including a map, an image or a video with the answer.

25. A computer-readable medium including instructions operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving an answer to a question wherein the question was submitted by a user to a system, and wherein the answer was submitted to the system by an answerer that is a member of a social network of the user in response to the question;

identifying an entity in content of the answer, in which the entity refers to a product, a service, a company, or a merchant;

requesting permission from the answerer to provide an interactive link with the answer wherein the interactive link is a link to a resource for the entity that is configured to cause presentation of the resource when selected;

after requesting permission, receiving input from the answerer granting permission to provide the interactive link with the answer;

after receiving input from the answerer granting permission

receiving a user submitted query and determining that the query is related to the entity; and

responsive to receiving the user submitted query, providing the answer, including the interactive link to the resource, as a search result of a plurality of search results that are responsive to the query.