Auctionable rich media search suggestions

• US 8,639,715 B1
• Filed: 07/02/2010
• Issued: 01/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: A9.com Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: A9.com Incorporated (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Amacker, Matthew W., Brinck, Thomas G., White, Ryan M., Erwin, Bryce
• Primary Examiner(s): Trujillo, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, THONG H
• Application Number:
  US12/830,206
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• Field of Search: 707/709, 707/767, 707/6, 707/758, 707/102, 707/719, 719/311
• US Class Current: 707/767
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results

Abstract

Rich media search suggestions may be provided to search facility users. Rich media search suggestions may occupy various sizes of search suggestion presentation “real estate,” and may change size, for example, in response to user interaction. A search facility may partially or fully delegate responsibility for providing search suggestions to third party search suggestion providers. Available search suggestion places may be auctioned to interested third party search suggestion providers. Third party search suggestion providers may be responsible for providing search suggestion presentation specifications (e.g., specified with hypertext markup language) for the delegated search suggestion places. Such search suggestion presentation specifications may be provided at bid time and/or in real-time in response to search input by users. Search input by users may be “streamed” in real-time to third party search suggestion providers, and corresponding search suggestions updated in real-time by the third party search suggestion providers in response.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing rich media search suggestions, comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

receiving at least one character of a search input keystream;

determining a set of search suggestions based at least in part on said at least one character of the search input keystream, the set of search suggestions including at least one rich media search suggestion;

receiving, from a third party search suggestion provider, at least a first web-based presentation specification for said at least one rich media search suggestion and at least one condition based at least in part upon one of a period of time, a number of elements of the search input keystream, or a user actions;

generating a second web-based presentation specification for the set of search suggestions, the second web-based presentation specification for the set of search suggestions incorporating said at least the first web-based presentation specification for said at least one rich media search suggestion in accordance with said at least one condition; and

providing the second web-based presentation specification for the set of search suggestions for web-based rendering,

wherein said at least one rich media search suggestion is presented for at least a guaranteed period of time between prior to an end of the search input keystream and until said at least one condition is met.

2. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one rich media search suggestion comprises interactive rich media.

3. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one rich media search suggestion comprises an interactive rich media advertisement.

4. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein:

the computer-implemented method further comprises searching a content collection based at least in part on one of the set of search suggestions; and

said at least one rich media search suggestion comprises rich media corresponding to a portion of the content collection.

5. A computer-implemented method according to claim 4, wherein said at least one rich media search suggestion comprises rich media representative of the portion of the content collection.

6. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one rich media search suggestion comprises rich media including a keyword corresponding to said at least one character of the search input keystream.

7. A computer-implemented method for rich media search suggestions, comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

receiving at least one element of a search input stream;

determining a set of search suggestions based at least in part on said at least one element of the search input stream, the set of search suggestions to include at least one rich media search suggestion;

receiving said at least one rich media search suggestion and at least one condition based at least in part upon one of a period of time, a number of elements of the search input stream, or a user action

generating search suggestion presentation data incorporating said at least one rich media search suggestion; and

providing the search suggestion presentation data for presentation,

wherein said at least one rich media search suggestion is resented for at least a guaranteed period of time until said at last one condition is met.

8. A computer-implemented method according to claim 7, further comprising:

receiving at least one further element of the search input stream; and

updating said at least one rich media search suggestion based at least in part on said at least one further element of the search input stream.

9. A computer-implemented method according to claim 7, wherein:

the search suggestion presentation data comprises a search suggestion presentation specification specified with a presentation markup language; and

said at least one rich media search suggestion is specified with the presentation markup language.

10. A computer-implemented method according to claim 7, wherein:

receiving said at least one rich media search comprises receiving rich media search suggestion presentation data from a third party rich media search suggestion provider; and

generating the search suggestion presentation data comprises incorporating the rich media search suggestion presentation data into the search suggestion presentation data.

11. A computer-implemented method according to claim 10, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises requesting the rich media search suggestion presentation data from the third party rich media search suggestion provider.

12. A computer-implemented method according to claim 7, wherein the search suggestion presentation data comprises a search suggestion presentation specification that delegates specification of a presentation of said at least one rich media search suggestion to at least one third party rich media search suggestion provider.

13. A computer-implemented method according to claim 12, further comprising:

receiving at least one further element of the search input stream; and

relaying said at least one further element of the search input stream to said at least one third party rich media search suggestion provider.

14. A computer-implemented method for auctioning search suggestions, comprising:

under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

receiving a bid to provide a search suggestion suited to a common prefix of a set of keywords, the bid specifying a condition based at least in part upon one of a period of time, a number of elements of a search input keystream, or a user action;

receiving the search input keystream that includes the prefix;

auctioning a set of available search suggestion places to determine a corresponding set of winning bids including the bid;

receiving the search suggestion associated with the bid;

generating search suggestion presentation data incorporating the search suggestion associated with the bid and presented in a corresponding search suggestion place in accordance with the condition specified by the bid; and

providing the search suggestion presentation data for presentation,

wherein the search suggestion is presented for at least a guaranteed period of time until said at last one condition is met.

15. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14, wherein the search suggestion presentation data specifies a user interface component for each search suggestion place corresponding to a winning bid.

16. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14, wherein:

the search suggestion presentation data specifies a plurality of search suggestion user interface components corresponding to a plurality of search suggestion places in the set of available search suggestion places, the plurality of search suggestion user interface components in proximity to a search input user interface component; and

search suggestions associated with higher bids are assigned to search suggestion places corresponding to search suggestion user interface components in closer proximity to the search input user interface component.

17. A computer-implemented method according to claim 16, wherein:

a plurality of rich media search suggestions are associated with winning bids and are each assigned to one of the plurality of search suggestion places; and

the search suggestion presentation data specifies that the plurality of search suggestion user interface components are arranged in a stack.

18. A computer-implemented method according to claim 14, wherein the search suggestion presentation data comprises a search suggestion presentation specification that delegates specification of a presentation of the search suggestion associated with the bid to a third party search suggestion provider.

19. A computer-implemented method according to claim 18, further comprising:

receiving at least one further character of the search input keystream in addition to the prefix; and

relaying said at east one further character to the third party search suggestion provider.

20. A computerized system for rich media search suggestions, comprising:

a processor;

a memory device including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computerized system to;

receive at least one element of a search input stream;

determine a set of search suggestions based at least in part on said at least one element of the search input stream, the set of search suggestions to include a set of rich media search suggestions;

receive the set of rich media search suggestions and at least one condition based at least in part upon one of a period of time, a number of elements of the search input stream, or a user action;

generate search suggestion presentation data incorporating the set of rich media search suggestions, the search suggestion presentation data incorporating said at least one of the set of rich media search suggestions being in accordance with said at least one condition; and

provide the search suggestion presentation data for presentation,

wherein the set of rich media search suggestions are presented for at least a guaranteed period of time until said at least one condition is met.

21. A computerized system according to claim 20, wherein the search user interface module is further configured to, at least:

receive an indication of a selection of said at least one of the set of rich media search suggestions; and

provide a set of search results in accordance with said at least one of the set of rich media search suggestions and said at least one condition.

22. A computerized system according to claim 21, wherein:

a set of search terms is specified for said at least one of the set of rich media search suggestions independent of the search input stream; and

providing the set of search results in accordance with said at least one of the set of rich media search suggestions comprises determining the set of search results based at least in part on the set of search terms specified for said at least one of the set of rich media search suggestions.

23. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having collectively thereon computer-executable instructions that configure one or more computers to collectively, at least:

receive at least one element of a search input stream;

determine a first set of rich media search suggestions based at least in part on said at least one element of the search input stream;

receive a first web-based presentation specification for each of the first set of rich media search suggestions and at least one condition based at least in part upon one of a period of time, a number of elements of the search input stream, or a user action;

generate a second-web based presentation specification for each of the first set of rich media search suggestions, the second-web based presentation specification incorporating the first web-based specification for each of the first set of rich media suggestions;

provide the second web-based presentation specification for presentation, each of the first set of rich media search suggestions being presented for at least a guaranteed period of time until said at least one condition is met;

receive a further element of the search input stream; and

determine a second set of rich media search suggestions based at least in part on said at least one element of the search input stream and the further element of the search input stream.

24. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to claim 23, wherein said at least one condition corresponds to an amount of time the at least one of the first set of rich media search suggestions is presented to a user of the one or more computers.

25. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media according to claim 23, wherein the first set of rich media search suggestions includes said at least one of the first set of rich media search suggestions when at least one associated presentation time is within said at least one period of time.